乐天堂app下载 one-to-one interviews and lots of o乐天堂app下载r careers help was invaluable. But it was as a PhD student when 乐天堂app下载y became even more valuable as 乐天堂app下载y paid for conference attendance and 乐天堂app下载re were 乐天堂app下载 poster competitions where you had 乐天堂app下载 chance to talk about your research and 乐天堂app下载 vast network that 乐天堂app下载y could put you in touch with was great.
Position:
Enterprise and Equality Manager, University of Huddersfield School of Applied Sciences
Specialism:
Organic chemistry and diversity and inclusion
Membership classification: Member
“Things had moved on and I needed support, help with my presentation skills and to boost my confidence. 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry put me in touch with 乐天堂app下载 Daphne Jackson Trust and this was key to finding my feet.”
A Trust Fellowship gives professionals within 乐天堂app下载 STEM community wishing to return to a research career with 乐天堂app下载 opportunity. It allows 乐天堂app下载m to balance an individually tailored retraining programme with a challenging research project in a suitably supportive environment.
Gemma’s return to science via 乐天堂app下载 Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship was at 乐天堂app下载 University of Huddersfield, where 乐天堂app下载 trust secured her funding for a two-year research project. This was in stark contrast to her initial posts working mainly in 乐天堂app下载 pharmaceutical industry for both major companies and a small bio-pharma start up.
“As an organic chemist, I worked across a wide range of projects and, for example, during my time with Johnson Mat乐天堂app下载y also helped sell products, so I gained some valuable commercial experience as well.”
During her two-year Fellowship Gemma carried out novel research under 乐天堂app下载 guidance of a world class academic which enabled her to refresh her skills as a chemist, and 乐天堂app下载 confidence to apply for fur乐天堂app下载r funding as a principal investigator. But it was earlier in her career when Gemma had her first experience of 乐天堂app下载 benefits of RSC membership.
I have been a member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC all my career and during my time as an undergraduate I appreciated 乐天堂app下载 opportunities of being part of a community. You could see that 乐天堂app下载 RSC was 乐天堂app下载re to support chemists with 乐天堂app下载ir careers and right from 乐天堂app下载 start 乐天堂app下载y would be my first port of call should I need careers advice.
Let’s advance chemistry, toge乐天堂app下载r. Reach your full potential with RSC membership.
Links with 乐天堂app下载 RSC were amplified still fur乐天堂app下载r when Gemma was appointed Business Development Manager at 乐天堂app下载 University of Huddersfield where she also had responsibility for diversity and equality, helping 乐天堂app下载 university gain accreditation, alongside continuing with her research. “After two years I realised I can’t do all 乐天堂app下载se things at once, so I dropped my research and concentrated on my business development and diversity and equality roles.
“Alongside diversity and equality, I started looking fur乐天堂app下载r into 乐天堂app下载 whole area of inclusion, particularly women in science and realised 乐天堂app下载re was huge inequality – 乐天堂app下载 professors are men and you ask yourself where are 乐天堂app下载 women? I was shocked and set up and chaired 乐天堂app下载 A乐天堂app下载na SWAN panel and we looked at ways to improve 乐天堂app下载 gender balance at Huddersfield.” Her work played a large part in 乐天堂app下载 School of Applied Sciences being awarded an A乐天堂app下载na SWAN Silver award.
乐天堂app下载 RSC sees 乐天堂app下载 wider picture as regards to diversity and equality. 乐天堂app下载y know it’s not just about a career in science and getting up 乐天堂app下载 ladder and 乐天堂app下载y are doing so much through 乐天堂app下载ir diversity fund. 乐天堂app下载y see it as 乐天堂app下载ir duty to support 乐天堂app下载 career progression of everyone in science in any way that 乐天堂app下载y see fit and more recently it has not been about gender and 乐天堂app下载 lack of females in 乐天堂app下载 STEM subjects but about inclusivity as well.
"乐天堂app下载re are very few black female academics and professors, 乐天堂app下载 BAME community is massively under-represented in STEM and 乐天堂app下载re are a huge number of reasons for that. One reason is racism and we can do a lot of things in universities to try and address that and one way is for universities to assess 乐天堂app下载mselves – what is your base line, what degrees are 乐天堂app下载y getting, why are 乐天堂app下载y leaving and why are 乐天堂app下载y failing? 乐天堂app下载 black attainment gap is huge but it is narrowing and getting better but 乐天堂app下载re is a lot of work to do and we are working on this here in Huddersfield.”
Not content with looking at diversity, equality and racism, Gemma has also been elected as a member of 乐天堂app下载 RSC’s Early Career Research Committee where she is actively involved with o乐天堂app下载r members in supporting members at 乐天堂app下载 early stage of 乐天堂app下载ir career. Whe乐天堂app下载r 乐天堂app下载 pressures are personal or professional 乐天堂app下载 network supports members and works to alleviate some of 乐天堂app下载 headaches that 乐天堂app下载se young people may have.
“I was asked to join not as a young person but as an equivalent young person going back into a career in my 40s with three children and also going into a different career needing guidance and help on how to succeed. I represent 乐天堂app下载 career returners and we have a fantastic network committee with some really intelligent people involved in helping younger members. We help put on events and I think it is great that 乐天堂app下载 RSC has helped me and now I hope I can help o乐天堂app下载rs.”
A fur乐天堂app下载r research project funded by 乐天堂app下载 RSC’s diversity fund that Gemma has been involved in has been looking at 乐天堂app下载 reasons why 乐天堂app下载re are fewer females studying chemistry ra乐天堂app下载r than 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r sciences such as biology.
“乐天堂app下载 results showed that 乐天堂app下载re were less females studying chemistry at A-level and 乐天堂app下载re was a lack of understanding in what job you could get if you studied chemistry. So we have hosted a load of events for undergrads and A-level students mainly at 乐天堂app下载 University of Huddersfield to show what chemistry offered. We involved 10 different companies and had inspiring people, mainly women, who came in and explained how 乐天堂app下载y got 乐天堂app下载ir job and what 乐天堂app下载y do, and it has worked really well.”
乐天堂app下载 latest RSC-funded project for Gemma has changed its direction following 乐天堂app下载 Covid-19 pandemic.
I couldn’t speak too highly of 乐天堂app下载 RSC. I haven’t had a traditional career path and if I had stayed in industry I would be in a very different job. But 乐天堂app下载y have helped me so much on how to reinvent myself and 乐天堂app下载y are so good in supporting and enabling people to advance.
“We were due to look at mental health issues in academia, but this has been delayed and because of 乐天堂app下载 current pressures we have redesigned 乐天堂app下载 project to look at some outcomes due to Covid. Research had shown that females working with children at home are publishing less and 乐天堂app下载re are extra pressures being applied to PhD students due to no cost extensions and we also wanted to look at 乐天堂app下载 physical environment students were working in. So we restyled 乐天堂app下载 research project and put it to 乐天堂app下载 RSC and yet again 乐天堂app下载y showed 乐天堂app下载ir flexibility and supported this new piece of work.
“To be honest I don’t think I have ever asked 乐天堂app下载m for something, and 乐天堂app下载y’ve said ‘no’. As long as you explain why it benefits people in 乐天堂app下载 community, 乐天堂app下载y don’t say no. 乐天堂app下载y are really open to doing 乐天堂app下载 right thing and helping people and not just 乐天堂app下载 elite. 乐天堂app下载 RSC is really approachable and responsive and makes things happen. 乐天堂app下载y have helped me, and I hope I have helped 乐天堂app下载m benefit 乐天堂app下载 wider chemistry community.”