Women's Mentoring Lunch with Johanna Mollerstrom
As part of our commitment to fostering gender balance and inclusive academic careers, FAIR hosted a women’s mentoring lunch last week featuring Professor Johanna Mollerstrom. The event offered a space for discussion on mentoring, career development, and navigating academic life.
Drawing from her extensive experience in academia, Johanna shared valuable insights into how mentoring relationships can help early-career women navigate the often-challenging balance between research, teaching, and service.
“There are many ‘dos and don’ts’ in academia that are virtually impossible to know without experience,” she noted. “Having a mentor speeds up the learning process and helps you understand how things really work.”
A central theme of the lunch was how mentors can support mentees in prioritizing their time effectively—especially when it comes to choosing which opportunities to pursue. Johanna emphasized the importance of learning when to say yes and, just as crucially, when to say no.
“Everyone will face ample opportunities, but there may be significant uncertainty about which are worthwhile. Here, mentoring can really make a difference.”
Beyond day-to-day guidance, the conversation also touched on how more established academics can advocate for structural changes—such as a fairer distribution of teaching and service responsibilities—and the often overlooked value of sponsorship. While mentorship provides advice, sponsorship can open doors to coauthorships, funding, and leadership roles.
“It’s generally easier for senior academics to gain access to perks like travel funding or research opportunities. Sponsorship is about sharing those resources with younger scholars.”
Finally, Johanna highlighted the cultural impact of mentoring in academia. By creating spaces for connection and support, mentoring relationships reduce the sense of isolation that can lead to burnout and increase retention of women in research environments.
“A reason for burnout is often that a person feels alone in the challenges they are facing. Mentoring reminds us that we’re not alone.”
We would like to thank Johanna Mollerstrom for sharing her experiences and reflections, and the BALANSE programme for supporting the initiative. The lunch was organized by Aline Butikofer with support from the BALANSE programme and offered a valuable opportunity to discuss the role of mentoring in academic career development and in building a more supportive research environment.
This event was made possible through funding from the FAIR Women's Initiative, a continuation of the BALANSE grant awarded by the Research Council of Norway, which supports research institutions in promoting gender balance in Norwegian research.