Diverse Women in STEM
The Instutite of Directors Glass Ceiling Panelists and inspired audience members.
This article covers:
Institute of Directors ‘Glass Ceiling Group’ Women in STEM Panel
Advocacy and how you can help
Health Daley’s Vision for Equity
Institute of Directors ‘Glass Ceiling Group’ Women in STEM Panel
I joined the Glass Ceiling group at the Institute of Directors in London for a panel discussion on Women in STEM that really made me think.
Ibilola Amao, Janet Collyer, Audrey Canning, and Malak Kawan took the audience on a journey through their experiences of overcoming the challenges of underrepresentation, lack of role models, and explained ways to not only cope but thrive throughout careers.
Their advice to those pursuing non-traditional roles for women:
Be yourself. While it’s useful to show interest in what those around you are interested in, it’s important to hold onto your own passions and to express them through your personality.
Leverage mentors. Make sure to lean in on opportunities for good advice from those that advocate for you in the organisation.
Say what you really think, early. There was a high emphasis on developing public speaking confidence and making sure not to wait until the last moment as your contribution could be the missing piece to a stagnant or circling conversation.
Say yes to training opportunities. Take advantage of the network and budget around you to develop skills that are important to the role.
Learn to network and ‘work the room’. A skill that can take some bravery but pays dividends in terms of building profile and sharing your value.
Advocacy, and How You Can Help
Janet Collyer shared a story on her experience after her engineering studies at Cambridge on applying for a role on an oil rig but being denied as she wasn’t the ‘right fit’ but was instead offered a role in the emerging semiconductors industry that consequentially became one of the biggest industries in the world. The outcome was that Janet embarked on an inspirational leadership career towards board and government positions such as being a member of the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel.
Janet was often the only person that looked like her in the room so felt like she was already starting from behind. Janet encouraged others in similar positions to self-advocate and to be brave, but also emphasised that allies and support from those in power made a real difference in her ability to grow and elevate her roles towards successful outcomes.
This is a powerful notion that should serve as a reminder to consider our effect on each other the next time a friend or colleague comes to us with a new idea that might seem ambitious or aspirational.
The audience were completely engaged as panelists shared experiences
Health Daley's Vision for Equity
There are clear imbalances between those that can empower and employ individuals into roles in industry, even when it comes to the language and presentation used in applications and during CV writing. We provide accessible guidance on what to expect from beginning to end of the hiring/ recruitment phase after university and in early career roles to bridge the gap and help individuals sell themselves effectively.
Our purpose at Health Daley is to save our clients the time and money lost in googling generic ideas for improvement or cold-calling style books, courses and other templated ways of reaching goals that are not fit for the clients specific needs.
We do this by providing personalised, actionable advice that will not just make you a better positioned candidate during the hiring process, but will empower you to be more productive when getting settled into your new role.
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We’re excited to partner with you to elevate your career conversations.
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