Speaking out for a diverse workforce

The Royal Society of Chemistry's first female president, Professor Lesley Yellowlees, spoke at the BBC's 100 Women 2014 conference in London last week - where she vowed to continue to speak out for a diverse workforce who are supported throughout their careers.

Professor Yellowlees took part in a panel discussion with the former president of Malawi, Joyce Banda, comedian Shappi Khorsandi and founder of halal foods company iEat, Shazia Saleem.

Speaking to an audience of "women to watch" on the BBC's 100 Women 2014 list, she said: "I never set out to be the Royal Society of Chemistry's first female president and I certainly don't want to be the last.

"Three out of four women graduates leave the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths) workplace. This fall-off of women as they progress up the career ladder is known as the "leaky pipeline." There are many reasons for this such as long working hours, lack of support, unconscious bias, family or carer-considerate working conditions, inflexible working structures and isolation."

She continued: "We need a culture change to fix the leaky pipeline. We need to look harder at inflexible working, good mentoring schemes, visible role models, structured career paths with breaks, childcare facilities, support of senior colleagues, transparency of the promotion process and equal pay."

Reflecting on her own experience as a scientist, she finished: "I've enjoyed the exhilaration of scientific discovery, the reward of seeing students realise their potential, the rigour of the research debate and the opportunity to travel and work with STEM enthusiasts across the globe. And I will speak out for a diverse worksforce who are supported throughout their careers."

You can listen to a BBC World Service recording of the discussion on BBCiPlayer.