In January 2024, I created the #EveryLittleActionCounts campaign as a cornerstone of Positive Academia because I believe that transformative change begins with small, intentional steps. Academia often feels like a place of immense pressure, competition, and isolation, but I see it as an opportunity to foster a more inclusive, supportive, and empowering environment. This campaign is my way of reimagining what academia can be—a space where every voice matters, every action has value, and every individual feels seen and heard.

The idea behind #EveryLittleActionCounts is simple but profound: small actions, when multiplied, create a ripple effect that can change the culture of academia. Whether it’s offering a kind word, sharing resources, mentoring a student, or simply showing gratitude, these acts collectively build a more positive and compassionate academic community.

This matters deeply to me because I’ve experienced firsthand the impact of small gestures—both given and received—that have lifted me during challenging times and inspired me to keep striving for more. I want to pay that forward and encourage others to do the same.

Positive Academia is more than a philosophy; it’s a movement to cultivate inclusion, collaboration, and kindness in all corners of academia. Through #EveryLittleAction, we hope to inspire others to take meaningful steps toward this vision, showing that together, we can create an academia that thrives on shared humanity and collective growth.

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Building Positive Academia through a feminist lens

In academia, we often encounter environments shaped by competition, exclusion, and hierarchy that can hinder the flourishing of collaboration and care, inclusion, and networks. It’s time to challenge these norms and reimagine academia as a space that uplifts, nurtures, and empowers. Christa Sathish, a passionate advocate for feminist perspectives in her research and teaching, has created and launched this campaign to drive this transformation.

Through #FeministAcademia – a complement to the #EveryLittleActionCounts initiative (launched by Christa Sathish) and the #PositiveAcademia initiative (launched by Anne-Wil Harzing) – we enhance the development and nurturing of Positive Academia as a transformative vision for academia. This vision emphasises intersectionality, gender equality, collective action, empowerment and autonomy, and social justice. Feminism teaches us that power is not finite, success is not individual, and the stories of those on the margins hold profound wisdom to help us shaping a better future.

This campaign uses weekly fables to reimagine academia as a zoo – a place where structures, hierarchies, and behaviours can be critiqued and reshaped. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight two of my dear CYGNA sisters, Axèle Giroud and Martyna Śliwa. I had a wonderful discussion with them about the academic zoo and safari during our Cumberland Lodge event in 2024, which inspired me to walk the talk.

Our weekly allegories explore and promote feminist practices such as:

• Collaboration over competition: building networks of mutual support and dismantling hierarchies that privilege the few.
• Care as a core value: prioritising well-being and challenging the myth of endless productivity.
• Equity in opportunity: addressing systemic barriers to ensure every voice can grow and thrive.
• Reimagining power: moving toward collective, inclusive decision-making that empowers all.

Our campaign is not just about telling stories – it is a call to action. Each fable challenges us to reflect on the structures we inhabit and inspires us to imagine and build new ones. #FeministAcademia envisions an academic world where every contribution is valued, no one is excluded, and the future is shaped collectively.

Join us on this transformative journey. Together, we can weave a new web for academia – one strong enough to hold us all!

Follow our campaign #FeministAcademia on LinkedIn