For years, STEM subjects have typically been male dominated, with the achievements of women often hard-won and even then, overshadowed and underplayed. According to the SHE Figures 2024 report released by the Publications Office of the European Union earlier this year, only 21.4% of Doctoral graduates in STEM subjects are female, with less than 33% of women holding higher-level academic positions. Amongst those in research-related positions across the EU, only 34% are women – and a mere 26% make up the heads of decision-making in higher education.

The figures are equally bleak at the pre-career phase; according to an analysis of HESA and UK Government data of STEM graduates compiled by STEM Women, just 31% identify as either female or non-binary. Whilst some disciplines (such as physical and life sciences) have a more even split between the genders, computer science and engineering show an even greater disparity in gender balance, with just 23% and 21% of graduates identifying as something other than male respectively for each discipline. And outside of academia? Only approximately 26% of industry professionals in STEM are women. The loss of women in the STEM fields is often colloquially referred to as “the leaky pipeline”, but these woeful stats suggest not so much a leak as a full-blown sewerage disaster, with a fair amount of blockage right at the top.

Within the remit of the Research and Engagement team is the promotion and celebration of academics and their research, and with International Women’s Day on the horizon, Neil and I thought it would be a great idea to have a chat with some of our wonderful female academics. We wanted to find out what drew them to the sciences, what challenges they’ve been presented with, and if they have any nuggets of wisdom for any fellow women either already in STEM academia, or thinking about taking the plunge into it themselves – with the hopes of maybe doing something to help unclog the waterworks of STEM for women.

Earlier this week, we therefore scheduled a Teams call with Dr Ally Gormally-Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Athena Swan lead in LEC, Professor Elizabete Carmo-Silva, Professor of Crop Physiology and Deputy Director of the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project, Dr Rosa Letizia, Senior Lecturer in Electronic Engineering and Athena Swan lead for the School, and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Sophie Rawnsley-Lau of Chemistry, to gain some insights into their experiences within academia as women at various stages of their careers.

A Spark-Notes transcript of our conversation is below, minus a few swears and Neil’s Teams unceremoniously booting him out of the call halfway through:

So, everyone: what made you choose to go into the sciences? Was there a particular moment or person that made you want to pursue a degree or career in STEM?

Sophie: “When I was a kid, I was just always interested in how things worked, So instead of reading books about, fantasy or whatever, I’d read books on dinosaurs, or what makes a phone work – that sort of thing. I had a really great Chemistry teacher in high school too. My school didn’t have much in the way of GCSEs available, so he started up a higher tier science group after school, which was quite cool. So yeah, I’d say him, and my mum – she always encouraged me too.”

Elizabete: “I really resonated with what Sophie said – I always liked to understand how things worked. As a teenager I really enjoyed maths, and I actually didn’t like plant biology that much -probably because it was so complex and I didn’t understand it. But I vividly remember that in my second year of my biology degree, it just “clicked”, and I thought they were amazing – they can’t run or hide, so they have all of these mechanisms to regulate their metabolism so that they can cope in their environment and that just fascinates me. And it still does, 25 years later!”

Ally: “I’m actually a bit of a discipline hopper! As a teenager, I was just really interested in the environment and climate change, and I actually started off in environmental sciences. And then the opportunity came about to do my interdisciplinary PhD, which brought in a lot more of a social sciences perspective, and led me down the path of human geography.”

Rosa: “I always preferred the science subjects in school – maths, chemistry, biology, physics etc. – so I always knew I was going to go down that route. But when it came to choosing what to study at University, I considered a lot of different options. I was drawn to Engineering as I felt that I could put science into practice with it, and be rewarded with a final product or something I helped develop. I went to University in the early 2000s, when telecommunication really started booming, and I could just see the changes happening in the field as I studied and it really excited me that I could possibly make a contribution to that area.”

Did any of you have any major mentors or female role models that helped you in your journey?

Elizabete: “I’ve been super lucky. When I was an undergrad at the University of Lisbon, I didn’t even know about PhDs being a thing. But I had two female teachers who were really passionate about photosynthesis, and they could see that I was equally as passionate, and they told me that I was a competitive candidate for a paid PhD in Rubisco. And I didn’t even know I could get paid to do a PhD! So, they really believed in me and helped me write my application, and then they asked me if I wanted to go abroad and study in the UK and work with a really important group in the Rubisco field which was like a dream come true! So yeah, the fact that these two women really believed in me was critical to me being where I am now”.

Rosa: “I was in a similar position, I never really considered myself for a PhD. But in my final year, my dissertation supervisor was a female professor, and she recommended me for a PhD position under a colleague’s supervision – and being given that opportunity really changed my life. Mentors can be so important – they can see things in you that you can’t see in yourself, and give you opportunities that you didn’t realise existed for you.”

Ally: “For me, I definitely had people that supported me, but in the environmental sciences when I was studying, it was very much dominated by white men. All of my supervisors have been men, I was examined for my PhD by men. But that said, you can have male colleagues that are allies, that encourage and support you. And that’s definitely happened at different stages of my career; my undergraduate supervisor, for example, was incredibly supportive and gave me the confidence to consider doing a Master’s and a PhD. There were very few female professors when I started, and I never had any ambitions to go beyond a lecturer, but thankfully now LEC is very different and we have amazing people such as Elizabete as professors, and that is really encouraging and inspiring.”

Have any of you faced any challenges from being a woman in STEM? How have you overcome them?

Ally: “It was quite different, maybe 10 years ago or so. I won’t go into specifics, but I’m pretty sure we all have stories where we’ve been mansplained to, or you’ve been the only woman in the room. And I think we all have a responsibility to make things better for the next cohort, specifically for women and other minorities, and to ensure that they have a supportive environment.”

Sophie: “I’m at the start of my academic career, and overall I think I’ve had a fairly positive experience, but I have had times where people have been quite condescending, trying to put across that they are always right, that they’re smarter than you. In my experience it wasn’t related to my gender, but it can be, just more of a challenge in the workplace, but you do have to develop quite a thick skin.”

Elizabete: “Being a woman, and also not having English as my first language, meant I felt the need to push myself hard – really hard, a lot harder than probably a lot of my male colleagues – to prove that I deserved to be there. I put myself under so much pressure. But fortunately, I had the opportunity to undertake a leadership course, and that was really important to me as it made me realise that I wanted to be a leader, but I wanted to be a “female” leader, and not be a leader with typically “male” traits, if that makes sense? Academia is very male-dominated, and a lot of the promotions criteria favour more masculine traits, but those courses made me realise that I wanted to be my own kind of leader.”

That’s interesting. Would you say that the promotions process is still very male-dominated? That as you go up the promotions pyramid you are expected to become more masculine?

Elizabete: “I’d actually say that since I’ve become a professor, I’ve had a lot more power to be and act as the woman that I am than I did before. To get to professor, there is a lot of pressure to express those more male leadership qualities, but once you’re there, I feel that you gain the confidence to be who you really are.”

How would you say Lancaster fairs in addressing these sorts of issues, compared to other institutions you’ve been in?

Ally: “I think it depends a lot as to what Department you’re in, and who you’re interacting with. In LEC, I feel we get a lot of support from the Athena Swan action plan, which has encouraged more female professors and women to apply for promotions more generally, which is very good. It seems to be quite core to our Department’s values.”

To those of you working in more male-dominated departments, such as Chemistry and Engineering, could you share your experiences?

Rosa: “I have to say that so long as you have colleagues that are good mentors – male or female, it doesn’t matter – then for the most part it’s fine. But, especially when I was a young, inexperienced female academic, it was quite daunting giving my first lecture in front of a large number of male students, who have likely only really encountered male academics. I felt like I had to prove myself. There was quite a lot of imposter syndrome that I feel like my male colleagues never experienced. As a female academic, it seems to take longer to develop that confidence in our abilities when we’re in a male-dominated field.”

Sophie: “I agree with Rosa that having a good mentor is key to succeeding in that sort of environment. My PI, for example has always been incredibly supportive, and I’ve never felt that he’s treated me differently to anyone else. In terms of female mentors, I also have the PGR director and a senior academic who are incredibly supportive. So yeah, even though only 27% of us are women, I do feel very supported within my Department.”

Do any of you still come across stereotypes or sexist attitudes towards women in science, either within the University or amongst the general public?

Elizabete: “It might have more to do with the fact that I dress more casually, but a lot of people don’t think I’m a professor when I walk into a room. They assume I’m a post-doctoral researcher or something, and then are quite surprised when they find out I’m actually a professor!”

Ally: “I’ve had it happen quite a few times where students especially will email me “Miss Gormally”, rather than “Dr”. I asked my male colleague if this ever happened to him, and he said they tended to email him “Professor”. So he got a promotion – they elevated his status - whilst diminishing mine! And I know that that’s quite common. And it’s interesting that you mention dress, Elizabete, because I know that I tend to dress more formally to get myself taken more seriously in certain situations, and I don’t feel like our male colleagues feel the need to do that.”

What’s one piece of advice you would give to a young woman looking to pursue an academic career in the sciences?

Rosa: “Definitely seek out a good mentor, even if they aren’t your “official ones”. Identify those people who can support and advise you to the best of their ability.”

Sophie: “Be confident in the skills you have, and know that if you don’t know something, that it’s not a bad thing. You’re there to learn, and all of the academics you’re interacting with were at the same stage you’re at at some point. It takes time to develop your knowledge set and advance your career.”

Ally: “Failure is normal. We get rejected by things all of the time – its just par for the course, and you just have to learn from it and not give up.”

Elizabete: “Believe in yourself, and surround yourself with people who believe in you and inspire you. And do what is right for you.”

We hope to do some similar blogs exploring the role of women+ and other minority groups in STEM in the near future. If you want to get involved, or have an idea for a blog on the theme of “STEM-ing the Leaky Pipeline”, please get in touch with us at fst-research-and-engagement@lancaster.ac.uk.

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