Academic taboos: Speaking up for fair pay

In the second article in her series on academic taboos, independent researcher Helen Kara examines an academic culture that amounts to exploitation.

The external examiner for my viva was not the person, seminal in my field, whom I wanted. Rather it was someone more peripheral to my topic, who owed my supervisor a favour. For that reason alone, she thought he would agree to examine my thesis; and he did.

Alongside core work for their own institutions, academics give guest lectures, seminars and keynote speeches at other universities, act as external examiners for vivas and courses, review journal articles and write testimonials for books. No money changes hands (apart from perhaps travel expenses, or sometimes a small honorarium) and nor does it need to, because everyone involved is drawing an academic salary.