Professor Sian Taylor-Philips: In 10 years has anything changed for Women and Girls in Science?
We spoke to six women – undergraduates and researchers from the University of Warwick – to learn about their experiences of nurturing talent in girls and women in stem. There remain barriers entry with the UN reporting only 12% of members in national science academies are women. And for women and girls marginalised by culture, disabilities, rural deprivation and those who identify as LGBTQ+ – the barriers to entry and progression are even higher.
It’s been 10 years since the UN announced the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science to highlight the gender gap in Stem-related fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and the slow progress of women into senior positions. As of 2023, the number of women graduates in Stem had increase by 5% to just 35% since 2014, when the Awareness Day launched.
Professor Sian Taylor-Philips
Professor of population health, The University of Warwick, co-leading the EDITH trial
“Science is a fascinating and rewarding career. It includes a variety of interesting challenges and an opportunity to have genuine impacts on national and international policy and, in my case, health outcomes for millions of people. That is a great privilege.”
How did you become a leader in policy focused research?
“I was awarded fellowship funding early in my career and that gives fantastic opportunities to lead your own research and challenges you to be more ambitious. I’m now an NIHR Research Professor, which provides a high level of support to build a sustainable research group.”
Do you ever get imposter syndrome?
“Absolutely! I think it's completely normal to experience imposter syndrome, the important thing is finding strategies to manage it. As a woman I don't think you always have as much confidence in your own abilities as men, and that made my first year at university quite challenging. I was worried I might fail, and then I got a first. So, I clearly didn’t have an entirely accurate assessment of my own abilities or progress!”
Have you always known you wanted to work in research?
“Consulting a careers adviser really helped me align my skills, interests and values. It was really the best use of £200! It allowed me to refocus my skills back at Warwick and take up a Postdoc looking at fatigue in radiologists in breast cancer screening”.
What was the turning point in your career?
“Applying for an NIHR postdoctoral fellowship was probably a turning point in my career, I got some really difficult feedback. I wasn’t being ambitious enough, and because of the feedback my postdoc scaled up to a large, randomised control trial published in a high-profile publication.”
What do you do as an NIHR research professor?
“With the support of the NIHR I’ve been given the opportunity to help redesign how we do things. You have the opportunity not just to answer research questions, but to think about the broader systems of funding and delivering research and medicine, and how research interacts with policy, and help improve those systems. That’s a much bigger impact than a single research study.”
Why are women leaders important?
“I have experienced huge support from brilliant inspirational women in leadership positions. That has helped me become a better researcher and leader. Aileen Clarke was my line manager and is still my mentor. She saw that I had potential and freed up time in my day job to move me into the fellowship pathway. That transformed my career. Anne Mackie, at the UK National Screening Committee, guides my understanding of the policy arena and how academics can be helpful. Janet Dunn, a leading triallist, has also mentored and guided me for years. A number of other fantastic female leaders have given their time and energy to support me. I endeavour to provide that support to others too"
What are the barriers for women in science?
“The broader system is dependent on confidence for progression, and we know through research that there's a disparity in confidence between men and women. Universities need to search out actual talent proactively and develop this and not base progression on confidence.”
What are the rewards for a career in science?
“Research is a rewarding career because you get to use your brain, and you have much more autonomy than other jobs. You come up with your own ideas, get them funded, see them through to completion, and you might just watch national and international policy change as result of your idea. Your work, is just incredibly rewarding.”
