2025: The Power of CYGNA - Every Contribution Matters to #AccelerateAction
Discover how small actions within the CYGNA network can foster inclusion, kick-off collaborations, and drive meaningful change in academia
Huong Nguyen, Tina Miedtank and Cordula Barzantny at AoM [note the CYGNA backpack!]
This year’s International Women's Day theme is #AccelerateAction. While this call to action might evoke images of grand gestures and systemic changes, I want to emphasize that impactful actions can begin with small, everyday gestures. In this post, I reflect on how these seemingly minor actions can foster a sense of belonging, spark new initiatives, and even drive institutional change. Throughout my academic journey, I have experienced firsthand how our CYGNA network serves as fertile ground for these small yet powerful actions.
Feeling seen and valued
I first realized this during my PhD program when CYGNA co-founder Anne-Wil Harzing visited my university. Eager to speak with her but feeling like "just a little PhD student" among a crowd of (mainly male) professors, I hesitated. To my surprise, she noticed me, deliberately stepped aside from her conversation, and engaged with me. That simple act made me feel seen and valued. It was a moment of encouragement that expanded my sense of possibility for my academic future.
In hindsight, this encounter is a clear reminder that inclusion is not just about structures or policies — it is also about the everyday interactions that make people feel seen and heard with their unique experiences and perspectives. We all have the power to create a more positive and inclusive environment by celebrating and supporting one another.
Creating belonging at conferences and beyond
A similar experience happened years later. Through a CYGNA session, I had connected online with Huong Nguyen. Our interactions remained virtual — until we unexpectedly met in person in 2023 during a session of the Academy of Management conference. Her genuine warmth and excitement upon seeing me turned this large anonymous conference and stiff session into a warm and familiar space. That encounter reaffirmed the power of CYGNA — not just as a professional community, but as a space where we can be ourselves and built supportive connections.
CYGNA offers such spaces in a more structured way. For example, Huong Nguyen, Emamuzo Idegbesor, and Seonyoung Hwang, and I are organizing an online networking event in May 2025 for CYGNA members to share their work on gender and diversity. In recent years, CYGNA members have also started to pre-organize meetups at various conferences offering a safe space where we can connect, support one another, and navigate conferences in particular and academia in general. Thank you to all who organized these meet-ups and, in doing so, are also contributing to #AccelerateAction!
Standing up for our rights
Finally, an example of how a seemingly minor action can empower someone to stand up for their rights occurred when a senior colleague, Vera, asked how I was doing — a pretty standard question. At the time, I was exhausted — my four-month-old daughter had not been sleeping well the previous night, I was coordinating and teaching a new course, and I had just been assigned additional teaching responsibilities. Instead of brushing off my fatigue, Vera listened, gave me space to express my feelings, and validated my emotions. During our conversation she encouraged me to advocate for my right to accommodate breastfeeding hours during my work time — a right protected by Dutch law but not formally accounted for at my university.
With her encouragement, I gathered my confidence and spoke up. Eventually this breastfeeding time was formally recognized in my teaching allocation. After reaching out to our trade union, I also learned that this right was not institutionalized anywhere at my university. I sincerely hope that my small steps will contribute to broader change — not just at my institution but perhaps also at others in the Netherlands. Thanks to Vera’s support and the inspiration I gained from various role models I've met through CYGNA sessions, I found the strength to stand up for my rights.
Contribute to #AccelerateAction
These moments remind me of the butterfly effect—the idea that small actions can lead to significant change. Whether it's acknowledging someone, warmly welcoming them, or listening and validating their feelings, these gestures can have a big impact. CYGNA facilitates such moments of exchanging small actions and supporting each other — whether early career researchers or colleagues near and far. This Women’s Day, I encourage you all to reflect on how your small actions can contribute to #AccelerateAction and create meaningful change.
Related videos
Related pages
- About Cygna - Background on the CYGNA network
- Quick overview - Overview of presenations in our meetings with linked slidedecks
- Meetings - Information about forthcoming CYGNA meetings, and links to prior years
- Membership - Information for and about the Cygna network membership
- Readings and inspirations - Inspirational readings and resources for female academics
- The Cygna charter - Documents our CYGNA charter
- Cygna videos - Repository of introduction videos of our CYGNA coordination team
- Cygna history - Tracing the history of our network since 2014, includes links to all of our meetings
- Frequently asked questions - Everything you may want to know about the CYGNA network and more
- The SWAN project - Initiated by Christa Sathish and Clarice Santos and implemented by Jacqueline Leon Ribas, this project created two swans reflecting CYGNA’s equal, inclusive, collective identity and the diversity of the network and its members
- Conference meet-ups - Provides brief write-ups of CYGNA conference meet-ups
- 10-year Anniversary event - Programme page for our 10-year anniversary event
- International Women's Day - Our collection of posts for international women's day
- CYG: Teaching & Scholarship Research - Our first CYG = SIG = Special Interest Group
- CYG: Career stage CYGs - Introductory page for our new career stage CYGs
- Cygna Writes - Introductory page for our new CYGNA Writes initiative - Writing in Community, Achieving in Silence
- Cygna Collaborations - Reports on some of the many collaborations our swans have engaged in across the CYGNA network
Copyright © 2025 Tina Miedtank. All rights reserved. Page last modified on Mon 3 Mar 2025 12:39
Tina Miedtank is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Netherlands. She currently serves as the Personal and Professional Learning Line Coordinator for the undergraduate Business Administration program. Tina's research centers on strategic HRM topics with a particular interest in how practical and creative applications can foster diversity and gender equality.
