Lieke Schrijvers

My academic background is in gender studies and religious studies. At Utrecht University I started my PhD in 2016, after graduating from the research master in Gender & Ethnicity. I am currently a member of a research project about religious conversion, at the department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Besides my academic interests, I am committed to intersectional feminist and queer social movements, where I can combine academia with politics and concrete actions. Over the past years, I have come to realize that there is a lot to improve in the rights of PhD candidates. Increasing numbers of temporary workers in academia – such as postdocs and teachers – are added to this group of precarious employees in times of financial crises. With UPP, I devote myself to improving the transparency and accessibility of PhD rights and responsibilities. Moreover, I am particularly devoted to meaningful accessibility and inclusivity, and will work together with (amongst others) the Task Force Diversity to counter exploitation and discrimination on the workfloor.

In the University Council, I am member of the committee on Finance, Staff and IT, as well as member of the PR committee and spokesperson for the Faculty of Social Sciences. In addition, I am a representative of Utrecht’s independent PhD network PROUT.

From April – August 2021, Lieke replaces Anne as vice-chairperson of the staff delegation and acting chair of UPP.