WISE@QMUL

Women In Science and Engeneering

The issueRebecca, Amelie, Claire and Rita
Female retention in science, engineering and technology (SET) is an important issue with economic and social implications. 1 Governments spend a lot of money and effort training females to the highest level, and even though women normally achieve quite high marks whilst studying at undergraduate level (denoting academic interest and ability to engage in the scientific work) the female retention in SET research careers is still, in XXI st century, extremely poor.

In chemistry and physics, in the UK, although the proportion of female students is quite different at undergraduate level (40% and 20% respectively), the proportion of female professors is the same in both subjects (around 1%). 1 Several reasons might be proposed for this fact but it remains evident that the biggest drop happens at PhD level. In fact, in a recent study 1 , 72% of the inquired first year PhD female students declared future plans to pursue a research career (in academia and/or industry). When their thesis was submitted, the number dropped to a staggering 37%. Needless is to say that the male students did not report the same behaviour (only 2% changed heart about a research career).

So what...?
Well, you can choose to be a part of the statistics or not. Myself and Claire Sarell, another PhD student at Queen Mary (a Biochemist), started to look around and saw the statistic repeated in our own departments. What we also saw is that most students, us included, were basically reporting a lack of faith in their own futures and a great need for encouragement. Nevertheless, whenever a good chat with a friendly academic occurred (be it our own supervisors or not), the confidence levels were boosted up and research seemed like a more enjoyable option.

With that though in mind, we set up the Wise@QMUL Society ( W omen I n S cience and E ngeneering @Queen Mary University). We wanted to hear from women who had “made it”. How they did it and what advice they would give us. We also wanted to hear what options were out there for careers that did not involve academia and find out if maybe those experiences fitted in with our goals for the future.

More than a space for “group complaining” we wanted to create a positive encouraging atmosphere that allowed networking and value creation. And, yes, men were always very welcomed in our meetings!

With the first couple of internal talks, interest arose in other departments and right now, the Wise@Qmul core is composed of two other students (Amelie Anglade and Rebecca Stewart, both electronic engineers) and we have developed a wider scope of action.

We have also been successful in securing funding from the School of Post-Graduate Studies here at QMUL, something that probably wouldn't have happened without the support and encouragement of Dr Marina Resmini, our very own Network Coordinator, Professor Ursula Martin, one of the Vice Principals at Queen Mary and Professor Maurice Elphick, Director of Graduate Studies for Science and Engineering.

The Launch WISE launch party
As a result, we decided to officially launch the WISE Society. Because we don't want to be “just another society”, we kept everything very informal, with loads of nibbles and drinks thrown in the mix, and a lot of friendly chat to go with it. More than 40 people showed up for support (including a lot of male postgraduates). From that event, we learnt about what needs to be done and how we can go about and give our own small contribution. The Vice Principal and the Director of Graduate Studies were kind enough to take some time out of their busy schedules to come and talk to us. We could also introduce our forthcoming events for the next year: namely the “Speed Researching”. (Check our website for more information: www.wiseqmul.wordpress.com )

What now...? Professor Ursula Martin
The main objectives of the society are providing information, encouragement and opportunities for networking. Whatever we do next depends only on the support of our members (who have been quite enthusiastic so far) and our own determination. In the future, we have several talks lined up, with both men and woman, from academia and industry and a lot of social gatherings meant mainly to develop our networking skills.

It is our goal to “be the change we want to see” 2 , and through that, to really ACT in our own careers as the main characters, and not REACT to whatever plot was set out before us.

1 – Newsome, J; The Chemistry PhD: the impact on Women's retention , RSC, 2007.
2- "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Ghandi.

By Rita Jorge

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