EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 4 ! Scientific communication 181
and three additional specific modules ‘Radio and television training by experienced
science journalists’, ‘On-line communication, tips for a user-friendly website’ and
`Writing reports, basic elements of a clear and readable report’.
The many years of experience of WeCom with communication training for researchers
ensured a good basis and the necessary expertise to develop communication training
for female researchers.
2. Literature study
2.1. Work actively on visibility
“Look at a man as someone with a quiver full of arrows. Seeing an aim, he shoots all
his arrows. Most of the arrows will miss their aim, but there is a big chance that one
arrow strikes home. And that is the one people will remember ...and which they applaud.
A woman on the other hand takes slow steps, carefully considering each one of
them. Only when she is almost certain that she will touch her aim, she will shoot. And it
will strike home. Amazing! But ... it is a pity, because the man has already run away
with the prize.” 201
In the book by Marike Van Zanten “Mevrouw, mijn heren ...” twenty-five top women
talk about their success stories. They reveal how they have succeeded in life. In general,
they all proclaim it is crucial to control your own career in an active way. This,
according to the top women, requires networking and lobbying, e.g. to gain more endorsement
for your position 202 , or to get the support of influential people when important
promotion opportunities present themselves or when your contract should be extended
203 . Furthermore, it is also crucial to maintain your networks during your whole
career 204 . As an Executive Board member says “a top position is always a combination
of quality and opportunism: being at the right moment at the right place. That requires
visibility and networking.” To conclude: ‘influence continues to work via relations and
contacts’ 205 .
Visibility can also be achieved by making your ambitions and your competencies more
recognizable, because others cannot guess what you would like to achieve. For this
201 Dowd, M. (2006). Zijn mannen nodig. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker.
202 Van zanten, M. (2005). Mevrouw, mijne heren ... 25 vrouwen over de weg naar de top. Amsterdam-
Antwerpen: Archipel, p. 237.
203 Van zanten, M, (2005), op. cit., p. 232.
204 Van zanten, M, (2005), op. cit., p. 281.
205 Tannen, D. (1994). Woorden aan het werk. Hoe vrouwen en mannen op het werk met elkaar praten.
Amterdam: Prometheus; op. cit., p. 121.