Category: Article
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It’s never the tip of the iceberg…
It’s never the tip of the iceberg… Last month, CERN hosted a meeting of the European Ombuds and Mediator group, which brought together some 25 Ombuds from both the public and private sectors in Europe. It was an excellent opportunity for members of the network to connect with each other and share some of their
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Accelerating gender equality
Accelerating gender equality When I started working at CERN in 1976, women were a relatively rare sight. The few women who did work here generally held administrative roles, many having started with the incongruous job title of “scanning girls”, regardless of the age at which they had been recruited. Back then it was quite normal
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Watch out for those warning signals!
Watch out for those warning signals! Have you ever found yourself listening to someone and, although all the words make absolute sense, you have the feeling that something is not quite the way it sounds? Without being able to put your finger on exactly what is causing the doubt, you start to question their motives
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Horns and halos
Horns and halos Labelling colleagues – either in negative (“horns”) or positive (“halos”) terms – is like looking at them through a lens that colours all our perceptions, as well as those of others around us. This may result in a preconceived bias towards them that affects our judgements and, regardless of whether this takes
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Do we not owe it to our daughters?
Do we not owe it to our daughters? The “Gender in Physics” conference hosted by CERN last week showed that our Organization has been at the forefront of the drive towards gender equality in science over the last 20 years, with the launch of its Equal Opportunities Programme in 1996 leading the way. With women
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Nurturing trust
Nurturing trust The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time for us, as individuals, to take stock of things past and to set ourselves goals for the future. Why not then also make it a time where collectively, as CERN contributors, we choose to reflect on our everyday interactions and decide on ways
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Lost in the layers
Lost in the layers When one is leading a project that is part of the activities of a team within a larger group that, in turn, consists of many sections, there is a real risk that information about who actually did what gets lost in the multiple layers of hierarchy. In large organisations like CERN,
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Ombuds’ Corner: a land of equal opportunity?
Ombuds’ Corner: a land of equal opportunity? Sometimes sexism hides behind the words and apparent compliments that women hear from their colleagues, supervisors and managers. This can be a slippery slope, where the rules of the game often depend on the cultures involved, and the players’ actions may be said to be defined by their
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The Ombud’s clock ticks on…
The Ombud’s clock ticks on… Confidentiality, impartiality, informality and independence: these are the guiding principles of the Ombud role. However, in order to have the best possible chances of a positive outcome, another important ingredient is needed: early action. Do not wait until a situation has deteriorated so far that it becomes unbearable – set
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The gift of feedback (part 2)
The gift of feedback (part 2) “When feedback is specific and timely, and also accompanied by a genuinely positive intention, it may be considered to be a gift”. This was the concluding message of the article in the last Bulletin. But how can negative feedback be perceived as an appreciated and useful gift? As discussed