STEM and research careers

Intergenerational Fairness And The Challenges Facing Scientists At Different Career Stages

26/10/2022

As part of wider work to address barriers to participation and success in STEM, the Royal Society commissioned CRAC’s help to understand more about the challenges and opportunities that scientists face at different career stages. One aspect of the project is to explore ‘intergenerational fairness’ in academic careers, and particularly how sufficient opportunities for progression can be available for early and mid-career researchers whilst retaining the contributions of researchers in the later stages of their careers.

To explore these issues, CRAC has conducted a series of focus groups with academics across career stages to explore the challenges that individuals face within research careers at different stages, as well as interviews with a range of senior HR Directors and Heads of Department to understand how universities are managing their academic workforces.