Probably when I was about 11 – I remember being totally amazed by the amount of information in the periodic table, and how Mendeleev had left gaps that predicted the properties of elements that weren’t yet discovered.
Your organization field and mission:
We focus on real-world, applicable solutions that are driven by collaboration and partnership, to ensure that we deliver research with impact so that new digital processes are designed, deployed, and adopted in ways that are transparent, inclusive and with security at their core.
Please tell us briefly about your role in the company / at your organization:
I bring together researchers, industry, charities, and the public sector to drive innovation and impact in the digital space.
Your interest in STEM
I remember admiring the acheivements of Dorothy Hodgkin, and being completely thrilled when I emailed an Oxford professor (Prof Lynne Cox) when I was 16, and she emailed me back. Eventually she taught me at undergraduate, which was brilliant. I am inspired by the ordinary women around me who are extraordinary in their own ways – the school friend who was written off by all our teachers as “trouble” and left school at 16, who has become an accountant. The friend who drove 200 miles for a job interview at 41 weeks pregnant, got the job, and then delivered her baby at home while her toddler napped. Friends who’ve overcome eating disorders, cancer, baby loss, and still show up every day, supporting other women and modelling leadership, resilience, and success.
Your studies
During my undergraduate degree I developed a chronic illness, which meant I needed to repeat a year, which was very challenging in a range of ways, including having to finish my degree in a different cohort to my friends. This taught me the power of commitment and resolve, as in the end, it was sheer effort of will to complete my studies. Completing my degree, however, was crucial for all the opportunities that followed.
Consider carefully what field you want to become an expert in, and follow that. Your expertise will always be valuable. However, there are many routes to success, and if you’re not thriving in a particular environment, consider changing that environment. Find a place where you are valued.
You at work
I am very proud of having maintained an upward trajectory while changing career paths.
Your point of view
Technology can level the playing field in many ways – hybrid and home working, tech entreprenuership, automating many of the tasks that have traditionally fallen to women to manage, but for it to deliver for women, women must remain engaged at the design stage, to ensure that bias isn’t built in to new technologies.
Keep your skills up to date, and be flexible and responsive to the needs of the work market.
I’d like the gender pay gap to disappear!
To finish with
Fairness, openness, transparency, loyalty, accuracy.
I am again moving into a slightly different field, so it will be the challenge of building my profile and competencies in that space.
I hope to be looking at senior leadership/c-suite roles.
The current activity has been implemented in the framework of the Project: Code4Europe,
GA Number: 101158834. Official project website : https://codeweek.eu/