Inclusion and diversity

Finding the right time

While Lindsay was enjoying her work at Bristol, she knew there were limited opportunities for career progression. On moving to Huddersfield she applied to do a part-time PhD as a mature student. While the time management aspects of a part-time position were sometimes challenging, Lindsay feels she got a lot more from the experience as a mature student:

“If I’d done it straight after my MSc, I wouldn’t have got as much out of it. I was aware of the value of it while I was doing it and the effect it might have on my career. I was aware that the more effort you put in, the more reward you get out of it as well. I’m really glad I did it when I did. I loved getting my first paper; I loved getting a result and thinking ‘that’s actually a result that means something, I’ve found out something new.’ I think it’s the novelty and the discovery that makes research so interesting.”

Lindsay is also proud to have achieved Chartered Chemist status, but was initially surprised that she had the experience and skills required. As part of a campaign to encourage more women to apply for professional recognition, Lindsay received a letter from us, inviting her to apply for CChem, and at the same time, FRSC membership. “The general perception is that if men have two out of 10 of the qualifications for something, they’ll go for it on the off chance; women need to have 15 out of 10 before they’ll even think about it. I don’t think I’d have ever considered it at that stage of my career. But it was really important to me, as recognition for myself more than externally. I was really pleased to get it and to record the achievements that I’d made.”

Transforming lives

When Lindsay was in the second year of her PhD, she was asked to teach on an access course that the university used to run, specifically aimed at mature women returning to education. Most of the students were unemployed, from the local area and looking to get into a career in science but without the traditional qualifications required for a degree course.

“I’d never done any teaching; I’d never even thought about doing any teaching, it seemed quite scary. But it was just fantastic.

“You had to learn science communication skills quickly because the students didn’t know what a beaker was or what an atom was. You were starting very much at the beginning but trying to get them to a point where they were preparing to go onto the first year of a degree.

“I related things to cookery because synthetic chemistry is really very similar. I loved the creativity of trying to find ways to explain complicated concepts to people who had no experience of science at all.

“Having come back as a mature student myself and realising the challenges I think I identified with them. I tried to empathise with people and work out where they were coming from and that helped you to find ways of explaining things.”

“It really got me interested in widening participation. The students on the course were by and large from very low socio-economic backgrounds, and to see the value that they added to their lives – a lot of them went on to do degrees at Huddersfield, some of them got firsts and went on to do PhDs – to see the transformation that they made for themselves and their families as well: that was what I really loved about it.”

Fighting for fairness

The experience of teaching on the access to science course encouraged Lindsay to become involved in other activities to support diversity, including a university-wide committee looking at issues specifically related to teaching. “It’s just fighting for fairness for everybody; it’s fighting so that everyone can have the same opportunities and then it’s a level playing field and you can succeed on your merits.”

Through her position on our Inclusion and Diversity Committee, Lindsay is hoping to tackle some of these issues at a strategic level. She would also like to see a lot more role models and examples of different people working in chemistry. “We have started working towards this with 175 faces of chemistry. A really powerful thing if you’re in any kind of disadvantaged position, is realising you’re not the only one. If it can be seen that a learned society is talking about these issues then we can really help people.”

Lindsay cites her bosses from her time at the University of Bristol as role models that inspired her to achieve: “They were so wise and they knew so much about what they were doing and they were really nice people. It showed me that you can get to the top without having to be cut throat, you can be a nice person and be a leader, and an expert, and a mentor.”

A whisper at the top…

Kirsty has always held people as central to a company’s success, but as she progressed at BP, she realised it can be a challenge for management to stay connected to their employees’ needs on the ground. “It’s often said that a whisper at the top becomes a shout at the bottom, while a shout at the bottom becomes a whisper at the top. As I moved to more senior positions, I realised I needed ways to stay in touch with what was happening on the front line. What do the engineers and operators need and what are they actually thinking? Am I just being told what I want to hear? These were the questions I wanted to address so I could give my team the support they needed - to develop themselves and improve the plants/equipment they operated.”

This inclusive approach led Kirsty to change many things, from the introduction of Six Sigma (a management technique for process improvement) to the structure of meetings. Her aim was to ensure that the people with the most important ideas and concerns, rather than the loudest voices, were given an opportunity to express them. She also had a significant focus on her colleagues’ career aspirations. “I became a lot more sensitive to different approaches to career development – not everyone is as forceful as I can be! Some people find it hard to get themselves noticed and are quieter in the way they work and approach things. I was always looking for ways to make sure they were still recognised and supported in a way that worked for them and their approach.”

Realising potential

In her 26 years with BP, Kirsty worked in the UK, Asia and the US and managed teams in a number of different countries, always taking with her a genuine passion for supporting the development of her team members.

While working in the United States, Kirsty recognised a real need to introduce a mentoring system.  With the help of her US colleagues, they set up a team of mentors and mentees from all levels of the organisation. “A real personal highlight for me is helping people to realise their capabilities and potential. For example, an experienced female colleague was doing her current job easily but was thinking about a sideways move rather than a promotion, as she felt she wasn't ready for that step up.” Kirsty went through different job descriptions with her and discussed why she would be well suited, but her colleague was still reluctant to apply. “After six months, she came back and said, ‘you were right, I could have done that job and I would have been good at it’. She eventually went on to get a different job in a higher position, which was really brilliant for her.”

As well as supporting mentoring schemes, Kirsty feels it’s important for more staff, particularly women, to have a sponsor in their company. “A sponsor is someone within your line management who knows your career aspirations and supports and encourages you to progress in your career,” explains Kirsty. “They should be talking about you to senior leaders and suggesting you for roles, promotions or projects aligned with your aspirations. They have the power to influence your progression and make sure you get recognition for what you're doing. It’s important for people to have both a mentor and a sponsor.  In my experience men are generally more likely to ask for a sponsor than women. They can see that need for recognition and championing, whereas women often expect this to happen organically and if it doesn't, they see it either as lack of support or a failing of themselves.”

Women into Manufacturing and Engineering

In her current work as chair of Women into Manufacturing and Engineering, Kirsty is working with companies in the Hull and Humberside area – including Siemens, Airco and Spencer Group – to encourage more women to take up roles in locally based firms.

Manufacturing contributes 17% of employment in the Humber region, compared to 8.7% for England generally, but despite the high demand for people with STEM qualifications, women are still under-represented. Kirsty wants to support more women to take advantage of the opportunities available on their doorstep.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from women returning from career breaks or looking to change careers. We also see women who've moved to the area from abroad with their families and already have an engineering or STEM background but don't know how to access the roles in the Humber area.”

Kirsty has also been working with local schools, giving talks to students about her career. This gives Kirsty the opportunity to dispel some of the stereotypical ideas about male and female careers. “I try not to just focus on the technical side of my job but also mention some of the other exciting things I’ve been able to do as part of my work, such as learning Korean and travelling to offshore platforms in helicopters. It can help to bring the story to life a bit more.”

“I’d like to do more work with careers advisors in schools; they often don’t get enough information on the huge range of jobs available in manufacturing and engineering. Students tend to be told that there are lots of jobs you can do with a background in chemistry but more guidance is needed to help people narrow these down so they can see how their qualities and priorities fit into the field.”

Supporting recognition in industry

Kirsty feels she can bring more of an industry perspective to our Inclusion and Diversity Committee and is particularly keen to encourage more people from industry to apply for our prizes and awards. “In industry, it can be hard to know whether you can apply for prizes and awards because the lines between what’s chemistry and what’s engineering/manufacturing are blurred. We need to make it easier and more inclusive for industrialists.” 

This initial curiosity about how pharmaceuticals worked gave way to a more general interest in chemistry: “The chemistry bug hit when I was doing A-levels,” explains Simon. “I realised that I wanted to do a chemistry degree but I wanted it to be practically based. I was lucky enough to get in on a thin sandwich course at Brunel University, which unfortunately doesn’t run anymore. In my four-year course, I did three industrial placements that were really diverse.” Simon then went on to complete an MSc in New Polymer Synthesis at Lancaster University which was also industry-based, and this led to his first role at ICI Paints. On joining the company in the late 1980s, he soon realised that if he wanted to progress, he would need a PhD.

“I think now people can progress without a PhD as long as they have relevant industrial experience. But when I was at the start of my career, you required this. Things have progressed since then.”

Simon went to the University of Warwick for his PhD but almost missed his first meeting with his potential supervisor. Simon’s parents are originally from Jamaica, and emigrated to the UK in the 1950s. “You can’t tell from my accent or without seeing a photo of me that I’m Afro-Caribbean. I arranged to meet my supervisor at the station. Back in the day, there weren’t things like the internet to find a photo. So, I get to the station and I’m stood there for a while with several people walking past me without asking who I was. I eventually found my supervisor after I approached him as he was expecting somebody totally different. I’m sure that other people like myself have had this experience.”

On completing his PhD, Simon spent five years working in speciality chemicals at BP, before joining Victrex Manufacturing. He then chose to study for an MBA, to strengthen his knowledge of the commercial aspects of working in industry. He graduated from Lancaster University exactly 20 years after leaving there with his MSc. Simon feels his role at Thomas Swan perfectly combines all his experience and learning into one role: “I’m never bored as my Thomas Swan role combines a range of different chemistries, novel processes, business skills and team development.”

Opening doors

Simon sees his position on our Inclusion and Diversity Committee as an opportunity to tackle the lack of ethnic diversity in chemistry from the inside.

“I’ve been in the chemical industry now for over 25 years and what you find is, as you progress, it becomes less diverse which in 2017 is disappointing. [For ethnic diversity] I don’t think it’s changed since I started working in industry. I’d like to contribute to improving this. To influence you’ve got to be in the room to make your case and it’s getting in the room that’s the difficulty.

“This will be the first committee I’ve served on within the Royal Society of Chemistry. One of the things I’ve already noticed is there’s more women than men on this committee – which is brilliant but I would like to see a greater representation from the BAME community. The Royal Society of Chemistry needs to be pushing the barriers out to encourage diversity at all levels.”

Simon believes one of the ways to encourage diversity is to find and promote more role models for young people starting to think about chemistry as a career. “That’s something that definitely needs to change. If you look at sport, music, media, law… there are role models from the BAME community, whereas you look at the sciences and you struggle to find them.”

“I’ve progressed my career because of my track record which is not related to my ethnicity. And as that is the case then hopefully I’m in a position where I can promote diversity from the inside.”