Sir, — Kate O’Riordan (Letters, May 28th) points out that my opinion piece (May 27th) was focused only on research careers in higher education. That is perfectly true.
However, her suggestion that the problems experienced by post-doctoral researchers (post-doc) in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) are common to all women outside the home is not quite true. Both women and men in post-doc positions experience long periods of very high levels of dependence on a principal investigator (typically a permanent academic) who effectively controls not only their current workload, often in a collective laboratory situation, but also their access to funding, references, recognition in the form of publications and academic contacts, all of which affect their access to a permanent academic job in a very limited jobs market.
Post-doc awards in Stem tend to be for three-five years, whereas those in arts, humanities and social sciences are typically much shorter (one-two years). This appears to be an advantage, but effectively prolongs the period of precarity and their desire to remain in academia. Multiple post-doc periods are not unique.
Long periods of precarious employment also impact on their possibilities as regards childbearing.
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The OECD Global Science Forum in 2021 recognised the particular situation of post-doc researchers. Neither the Higher Education Authority, Science Foundation Ireland or the universities seem interested in finding out what happens to them here after their post-docs, or indeed their career aspirations.
Could this because they are seen as useful but disposable contributors to the careers of the permanent Stem academics and the global ranking of the universities?
— Yours, etc,
Prof PAT O’CONNOR,
Professor emeritus
sociology and social policy,
University of Limerick.