In this chapter we (three women academics from diverse backgrounds and countries) engage in a raw and uncensored conversation about academia, life, and our careers. We invite you to join us for a conversation sitting on a park bench, covering the following topics: (1) unconventional career paths; (2) the opportunities or reservations we see in the use of digital innovations; (3) our own challenges with combining both work and family lives; (4) our passion projects; (5) what we learned from our failures and how it helped us to grow; (6) the current climate of canceling DEI initiatives; (7) future skills we believe early career academics should have; and, finally, we close with (8) our personal stories and reflect on our own positionality. Our intention in writing this chapter was less about contributing to current knowledge per se, but rather to share what is going through our minds, and as a way to start the conversation about how we can collectively move towards greater equality in academia.
