EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 2 ! Career paths: recruitment ! promotion ! dismissal 123
5.4.2. Case study results
5.4.2.1. Self-reported reasons to leave Ghent University
Table 20: Self-reported reasons to leave Ghent University. The numbers indicate how many
times this reason was mentioned by the respondents. (For a more detailed table, see
table 2.7 in the Appendices)
Male employees
Female employees
Job insecurity 11 9
Fundamental research 5 10
Lack of support 4 4
Competition 3 3
Bureaucratic atmosphere 0 4
Number of respondents 16 16
5.4.2.1.1. Job insecurity and precarious perspectives
One of the main reasons to leave Ghent University for both women (11) and men (9),
is the job insecurity and short-term contracts. Male and female employees mentioned
that they had no perspectives to become permanently employed after staying another
year or longer, and they often knew it from the start. In other words, a precarious and
demanding continuation of their career did not seem to balance with the future reward
and opportunities. When the profits and losses were weighed, a permanent position
outside university was preferred to the difficulties of advancing an academic career,
such as the heavy competition, obscure criteria for promotion, the importance of networks
and the emphasis on the sheer number of publications. This motive is closely
connected with the merits of a job outside the academic world, such as relevance,
teamwork and new challenges.
More women (11) than men (7) obtained a permanent position after leaving Ghent
University. Men as well as women expressed their negative feelings towards the reckless
competition and scarcity of permanent positions, but men ventured to apply once more
or were offered an opportunity to advance their careers. Among the nine men that are
still working in an academic institution, five applied for a scholarship and four were
explicitly asked. A fifth man refused the offer to stay. In comparison, only three women
are still working in an academic institution, of which two applied for a scholarship and
only one was asked. One woman was not granted funding and left university, two
other women refused the offer to stay.
5.4.2.1.2. Fundamental research
Although at least ten women really liked their jobs, as many of them also expressed the