A space of empowerment and belonging
Leonie Fernholz
The MPIfG hosted the second Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy in September 2025. First launched two years earlier in response to the problem of women’s underrepresentation at all levels of the discipline, the initiative aims to establish a network of women researchers in political economy and reduce existing gendered inequalities. Leonie Fernholz, a doctoral researcher at the MPIfG, shares her personal impressions and insights from a week of workshops, skills sessions, and roundtables.
After four days and twenty sessions, lectures, panel discussions, and a successful supporting program, the Second Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy left the thirty-five participants and speakers in no doubt that, as women, we are all part of political economy and can shape the discipline through our research interests and communication. Encouraged by women who have succeeded in the field and become professors – without having to change their personality or abandon their family plans – we welcomed the opportunity to address challenging issues openly in an atmosphere of trust and support.
»As women, we are all part of political economy and can shape the discipline through our research interests and communication.«
Setting the tone of the conference in her introduction, co-organizer Pálma Polyák (MPIfG) spoke candidly about her positive experience at the first Summer School – a stark contrast to the discrimination she, like many other women, has experienced at male-dominated conferences. She also talked about her civil society and political engagement and encouraged the participants to share their own accounts of similar activities, which quickly revealed the extent to which women in political economy are active in society and in shaping the world for the better. This shared insight was particularly striking given the group’s diversity, with attendees from different continents, at different stages of their academic careers – from first-year PhDs to early-stage postdocs – and with diverse research interests and methods ranging from ethnographies to survey experiments. Co-organizer Dustin Voss (MPIfG) said he now knew how it felt to be the only man in the room: in a word, “weird” – accurately describing how women often feel in academic settings. This year’s Summer School was an entirely different experience, however, where I felt neither weird nor out of place at all.
I particularly appreciated how Pauline Kohlhase (MPIfG) and Pálma Polyák straight away encouraged us to also connect with each other and our more senior colleagues outside of the formal sessions. For the first coffee break they had created a poster specifically designed to motivate us to approach other attendees and think together about how to make political economy a more women-friendly environment. For those of us who find networking difficult, this was a positive experience and got the Summer School off to a good start.
The program offered a balanced mix of academic and practical sessions. Among the topics we covered were career and family planning, publishing, and grant applications. In the thematic sessions on financialization and climate politics, Natascha van der Zwan (Leiden University) and Diane Bolet (University of Essex) shared insights into their research approaches and development. Sharing experiences was a recurring theme throughout the week.
»Sharing experiences was a recurring theme throughout the week.«
In the remaining thematic session on geoeconomics, Carola Westermeier (MPIfG) focused on theoretical concepts and their usefulness beyond her own research. She explained that precisely defined concepts had helped her to better situate her interdisciplinary research. Her experience was similar to but different from that of Sonja Avlijaš (University of Belgrade), who only recognized the relevance of her own work to other fields as a postdoc. For many years her main research interest in gender was difficult to position within political economy because the discipline was not ready to embrace it as a perspective. These discussions simultaneously turned attention to difficulties encountered by researchers working outside of core Global North countries (such as Germany, France, or the UK). We discussed how bringing new perspectives to an established field is difficult but can be very worthwhile, and how finding other researchers who understand and support your work is key. It was encouraging to hear that this is a process and often takes time.
Good timing and supportive networks were a main theme of the Zoom roundtable with Dorothee Bohle (University of Vienna), Elsa Massoc (University of St. Gallen), Manuela Moschella (University of Bologna) and Kathleen Thelen (MIT). We discussed structural issues and whether gender can be embedded more systematically in political economy, but also acknowledged that the growth models literature has taken some important first steps by integrating gender dimensions and the care economy in its analysis. While recognizing the problems of women being less cited, having fewer coauthored papers, and getting more critical student feedback, the panel members had all seen a slight improvement in recent years, which they put down especially to women promoting each other and men becoming increasingly aware and actively including women in their networks.
The four panel members also gave some very practical advice on how to approach more senior scholars for valuable feedback, and on the importance of peer networking. What struck me especially from this particular session was how different the four women’s academic careers had been and the personal decisions they had to take. Insecurity and uncertainty are by no means uncommon in the early stages of an academic career, and learning from others’ experiences is essential. While everyone encounters setbacks at some point, women may find it harder to get back on their feet in academia, not least because of their care obligations. Here Manuela Moschella and Elsa Massoc generously shared insights into their experience of navigating a family and a career.
Arianna Tassinari (University of Bologna) expanded on the theme in her aptly titled session “Beyond the Myth of Having it All.” Talking to each other and listening to the – same but different – personal experiences of other women in this session was empowering. We discussed everything from partners and grandparents to housework, pregnancy, children, and loss. Everyone agreed that what really helps are supportive colleagues and flexible structures.
»What really helps are supportive colleagues and flexible structures.«
The eight work-in-progress sessions themselves helped us to learn more about each other and our work during the conference. Together we presented our research and received constructive feedback from both peers and established scholars. Many of our discussions continued beyond the sessions: Whether it was a coffee break, lunch, or a visit together to Cologne Cathedral, all the participants appreciated the space and encouragement to connect with each other. This openness reflected the thoughtful planning that had gone into making this year’s Summer School a platform for intellectual exchange, personal development, and networking for women in political economy, but also a space of empowerment and belonging.
Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy
Many highly qualified and talented women leave academia after graduating with a doctoral degree, often partly because of a lack of role models and supportive networks in their field. The MPIfG’s Max Planck Summer School for Women in Political Economy sets out to counter this trend.
Following its very successful launch in 2023, the second conference was held in September 2025. The Summer School is open to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working in comparative and international political economy and related disciplines. Its program combines thematic sessions with opportunities for attendees to present and discuss their work in progress. Complementing these sessions are workshops with a more practical focus, for example on academic publishing and applying for third-party funding.
Dialogue between early-career researchers and leading international women scholars in political economy has become the hallmark of the Summer School. Cornelia Woll (Hertie School) opened this year’s event with her lecture “Economic Statecraft and Negotiated Justice in Global Markets.”
The Summer School is organized by the MPIfG’s Political Economy Research Area. Its organizing team in 2025 was Pálma Polyák, Dustin Voss, Hanna Doose, Anna Hehenberger, Pauline Kohlhase, and Camilla Locatelli.
