Event dedicated to Daphne Stam

Event dedicated to Daphne Stam

Dewis, the women’s network at TU Delft, is dedicating its annual event to planetary scientist Daphne Stam. She revealed in late August that she had left the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering because of what she referred to as the ‘macho culture’. In an interview with Delta a week later, Stam recounted how her career had suffered because of the unequal power relations she faced.

“She didn’t feel heard, she didn’t feel treated well,” Dewis wrote in a brief statement. According to the women’s network, Stam’s departure shows ‘way to go to create a safe environment that ensures that women want to stay at the university and have fair and equal opportunities to grow in their academic careers’. Dewis calls for an acceleration of culture change at TU.

In the statement, Dewis says it wishes Stam all the best and is dedicating the event to her. When asked, Stam says she was not informed of this. “I just happened to read it on LinkedIn and find it strange because they have never been able to do anything for me. I don’t think they should have used my name.” (SB)

• The English-language event, ‘Gender Diversity, Work and Care: What Academia Can Learn from Business’, will take place Oct. 5 in the TU Delft aula. More information can be found here.