March 8 is International Women's Day. We asked some of our female staff about their roles, challenges and hopes for the future working in STEM and higher education. Dr Anna Porredon Who are you and what do you do? I am Anna Porredon, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Edinburgh. My research focuses on the combination of multiple tracers of the large-scale structure of the universe in order to understand the nature of dark energy and dark matter. I am a coordinator of the Large Scale Structure working group in the Dark Energy Survey and led an essential part of the analysis of its first three years of observations. I am also involved in the preparation of future surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Dr Anna Porredon, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Physics & Astronomy Do you have any thoughts on, or experiences of, the barriers to women working in higher education? Multiple studies show that implicit biases impact hiring women in academia. In addition, hiring statistics indicate that the proportion of women in academic positions tends to decrease as you move up the ladder. There is still much work to do to remove these barriers. What changes would you make to improve the experience for women working in higher education? Support groups for women and mentoring can help navigate these barriers. However, ultimately, we must make systemic changes to address these issues. What have you found rewarding or inspiring about your time as a member of the College community? For me, mentoring and supervising students is really rewarding. Dr Irene Yang Who are you and what do you do? I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow Engineering at The University of Edinburgh working on the Ultrasurge project, a UK wide collaboration alongside researchers from University of Glasgow, Southampton University, Birmingham University and University of Leeds. I completed my DPhil in 2022 under Professor David Murray and Associate Professor Stephen Mellon at the Oxford Orthopaedic Engineering Centre (OOEC). My DPhil thesis was focused on re-designing the Oxford Domed Lateral implant to reduce dislocations of the mobile bearing – during which, I established a collaboration with the Oxford Robotics Institute and built a novel computational testing tool to assess dislocation. Dr Irene Yang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Engineering. Do you have any thoughts on, or experiences of, the barriers to women working in higher education? I think that there are many barriers facing women working in higher education. Firstly, women in STEM research areas are under-represented, which unfortunately results in effects to cultural behaviour. Secondly, the requirements to adhere to high research output is not always easy/possible for mothers. Additionally, more often than we like to admit/realise, women are expected in the workplace to take care of administrative and pastoral activities, which takes a significant amount of time away from working on research output. All of these barriers are exacerbated by other minority identity statuses such as race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation to name a few. These are just to name three barriers, however, many more barriers exist [1]. What changes would you make to improve the experience for women working in higher education? A greater awareness of the workplace cultural issues, active support from professional researchers, particularly male colleagues and those in positions of power and an overall shift in mindset and dissemination in organisations within the higher education sector is required if we are interested in overcoming these barriers. This needs to be persistently improved, to achieve positive change, especially such systemic change is unlikely to be achieved overnight. What have you found rewarding or inspiring about your time as a member of the College community? It has been insightful and inspiring to meet women from a diverse range of backgrounds both personally as well as professionally, actively pursuing a career in academia, or leading a team of researchers. I am deeply grateful to my mentor and PI who is a highly engaged and supportive mentor, ally and expert, who offers me tremendous opportunities to learn and grow each day. [1] Yousaf, R., Schmiede, R. Barriers to women’s representation in academic excellence and positions of power. Asian j. Ger. Eur. stud. 2, 2 (2017). Dr Róisín McKelvey Who are you and what do you do? I am the Diversity and Inclusion Officer in the College of Science and Engineering. My background is in equality legislation and its implementation at the local level, including practitioner awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) issues and related practice. I completed my doctorate, in equality law and language policy, in 2019. In my CSE role, I collaborate with colleagues at School, College and University levels to support EDI initiatives across the institution, as well as progress towards equalities goals that aim to improve the experiences of staff and students, particularly those from underrepresented communities. Dr Róisín McKelvey, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, School of Biological Sciences. Do you have any thoughts on, or experiences of, the barriers to women working in higher education? Representation for women in senior roles remains a challenge, impacting both pay (in)equity, with more men in higher pay grades, and the voice of women in senior leadership. Lack of visibility for underrepresented communities in senior roles can also negatively affect recruitment and retention, due to a lack of role models and peer support. Chances for professional development, access to funding opportunities and progression through career stages can be limited for women, particularly those who are also members of other underrepresented groups. Recruiting and, crucially, retaining staff from these communities requires inclusive workplace cultures that genuinely value their contributions. What changes would you make to improve the experience for women working in higher education? Shifts in recruitment strategies to allow recognition of a broader range of contributions, beyond traditional performance indicators, could increase opportunities for all underrepresented staff communities. Expanding initiatives such as recruitment targets and mentoring to improve funding and progression opportunities for women, with an intersectional approach, would also be helpful. The way in which gender (and other protected characteristics) data are reported in HE can be a challenge, as the degree of inclusivity and nuance in data collection can limit identity reporting options and analyses. This can hinder intersectional understandings of staff communities and thus awareness of staff needs and experiences. What have you found rewarding or inspiring about your time as a member of the College community? I have really appreciated the passion for EDI among my colleagues and the opportunities I have had to collaborate across disciplines, drawing on different subject areas and perspectives to tackle EDI issues across the College and the University. I have found the College community to be engaged and supportive, which has really added to my experience as a member of CSE staff. I've also valued the staff networks and all the EDI awareness raising, campaigning and strategy work they do across the University, in addition to organising frequent and varied events. This article was published on 2024-05-30
