International Day of Women and Girls in Science Questions and Answers with Julie Davies, Laboratory Director
At SLS Laboratory Services, empowering our female colleagues to progress in their careers is very important to us. According to the Institute of Engineering and Technology, women only account for 29% of the STEM industry and this is a number we’d like to see increase.
As part of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we asked Julie Davies, Laboratory Manager, for her thoughts on how the UK can get more women in science and what she enjoys most about working in the industry.
What is your role at SLS Laboratory Services?
I’m the Laboratory Director so I oversee both our toxicology and pathology laboratories.
How did you get into a career in STEM?
I graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Biochemistry, moving onto do a PhD in the Department of Neuroscience, looking at understanding one of the causes of blindness in the elderly.
I then got a position as a trainee clinical scientist in the NHS, undertaking an MSc in Clinical Biochemistry before moving to Cardiff on the Higher Specialist Training programme. This allowed me to ultimately become a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists once I had completed by FRCPath.
What do you love most about working in STEM?
The continually changing environment and working out the best way to apply what I know to make things better
Do you feel there have been a lot of women in STEM during your career?
My background has mainly been in healthcare so it’s pleasing to say I have seen more women than men in this field.
How do you think we can encourage more girls and young women to consider a career in STEM?
I think this depends on the area you are taking about. There seems to be disproportionately fewer women in the fields of maths, computer science and engineering and technology rather than the physical sciences.
Author: Julie Davies – Laboratory Director.