women-scientists-from-the-united-kingdom

"There is lots of amazing work being done out there by people such as Maggie Philbin [the former presenter of BBC’s Tomorrow’s World] and Anne-Marie Imafidon [Stemettes founder]. But if you think about who is going to play around with algorithms at the weekend to gain experience, it’s less likely to be a woman with kids or anyone with caring responsibilities. When do women have time to experiment with it?"

"I’ve been in this space for a long time, “When I did my degree I was one of two women doing computer science, so I am used to it. But I haven’t seen radical progress. AI is still pretty male dominated."

"Not only is the underlying data itself a problem – “It comes from a western view of the world which can be full of poor data and horrific stuff,– but also there is not enough diversity among the people working in that space. We need people in the room to be able to say, ‘I’m not comfortable with that."

"It may be a lot of fancy maths, but it’s easy to forget there’s a whole supply chain involved with AI,For example, where’s the data from, who’s supplying the algorithms, who maintains it, who’s keeping track, and what happens if something degrades over time or customer behaviour changes? Making sure the right people are accountable in the right way is really important."

"Everyone is talking about it, but not everyone who claims to be doing it really is"

"Machines can only learn from things that are in digital form,so unless something is in noughts and ones, they can’t learn from it. Think about all the experiences you have learnt from that are not digitised – things that have gone well or not so well that are not accessible to machines. There is so much that machines don’t know. They have harvested a lot of data but there’s a lot of knowledge and life experience that’s within us all – but not on the web."

"Human ingenuity, empathy and people working as a team will really come to the fore. We will always need the human connection. And as AI grows, these soft skills will be increasingly critical"

"Sometimes it’s straightforward, say, if a company ran an AI model and attracted 5% more new business. But often it’s much more difficult to assess – for example, how it also affects productivity within wider systems and potentially impacts society more widely"

"“AI is nothing without the data,” she says. “But there’s a lot to think through: where is the data coming from, is it representative, is it sustainable, do you have the rights over that data, could it be biased?"

"So how should businesses approach an AI strategy? “I first ask clients to think about their goals: what is it they want to change in the organisation? Are they looking to attract more customers or maintain the current ones? What insights would be most valuable or what questions do they have? What would you need to know about customers to speak to them in a way that resonates?”"

"Something like ChatGPT is only one possible solution, AI is far broader."

"where can we put AI?” theme going on in boardrooms. “But AI is one of several tools, It can provide insight from data, it can find patterns, generate content, enable conversations between chatbot and customer – but we must use it for the right reasons."

"We are in a hype cycle, And there’s a bit of Fomo [fear of missing out] around AI. Everyone thinks everyone else is doing it and doing it at scale and getting it right – and that’s not really the case. Everyone is in the same period of uncertainty."

"AI is a “fundamentally useful technology”, It harnesses lots of different varieties of maths to solve problems, but as it grows we’ll increasingly need human context and human understanding. The organisations who are going to win will be those who bring those things together in the most effective, inclusive, empathetic way."

"I was born in South Africa and I lived there until I finished my Ph.D. I loved living in South Africa. I love big open spaces and blue skies. But South Africa doesn’t really focus on space science, and that is one of the reasons I moved to Europe. I am now living in London. I enjoy living in London, but the weather can be very dreary; I find winters particularly difficult. However, I do live in a really nice part of London, which is close to a park and near the river."

"There will be times when you don’t think you are doing the right thing, but don’t make any hasty decisions. Just hang on in there and you just might surprise yourself."

"My moment where I connected with science was strangely through an acronym. From memory, the acronym, MRS NERG (Movement, Reproduction, Sensitivity, Nutrition, Excretion, Respiration, Growth), helped me learn what made something a living organism, and from there I didn’t look back!"

"transitioning from academia to the pharmaceutical industry was difficult. I didn’t have any industry experience before applying, and while I knew I had technical and transferrable skills to be an asset to many companies, it took a monumental amount of effort and interviews to convince anyone to give me a chance. Adjusting my CV so that it was more tailored towards industry rather than academia was crucial during this stage."

"There are so many great parts to the job, but one of the best parts is getting to learn about different diseases, and then be involved in developing antibodies that could one day become medicines to fight these diseases."

"If you’re on the fence about a career in the sciences, my biggest piece of advice is you won’t know unless you try. If there are opportunities to find out more about what STEM professionals do, go for it! It may help you decide if a career in STEM is right for you."

"I sensed that this was a kind, caring woman who wanted to avoid hurting me. And then I discovered she was something called a nurse and I thought, nurse, I like the idea of that."

"That’s when I decided I wanted to be a nurse and I never changed my mind at all."

"During that time, I retained links with community nursing, but also with acute nursing by having a clinical link in an NHS Trust on a ward involved with the care of patients with sickle cell disease."

"Because it was an innovative position, seen as pioneering at the time, I could actually develop quite a lot of it in the way that fitted my ideals of multidisciplinary activity."

"I’ve always enjoyed working in a multidisciplinary context and very much in alignment with patients and their families."

"That has changed. There’s still work to be done, of course, but I’m delighted that nurses have played their role along with other professionals and families to ensure that the disease is fully understood, and treatment is available across the country."

"Up until a couple of decades ago probably, sickle cell was very marginalised and quite neglected in terms of its status, if you like, within the hierarchy of illnesses."

"I’m one of the patrons of The Sickle Cell Society, the national charity, so I am constantly aware that there are still areas that need to be improved, where there’s been, sadly, for example, a couple of deaths that shouldn’t have happened."

"As far as my career is concerned I am sure I have got where I am going."

"Astronomy has to be your life, not just your job, or you are unlikely to do well or be happy. If you are going to get married…then you must find a partner who is a true partner, because it is impossible to do everything yourself."

"It is 33 years since I got my PhD."

"I am currently Head of the Astronomy Division and I was Acting Director for about 18 months following the death of the Director."

"I have also been President of the South African Institute of Physics."

"The only woman and only astronomer to hold that position."

"What is clear in South Africa is that many things were strongly biased against women prior to our first democratic election in 1994."

"That bias has been more or less eliminated since."

"That is not to say that women occupy 50% of top posts, but there are at least some women in top posts and the profile of the workforce is gradually changing."

"The legislation that was put in place to try and remove racial discrimination."

"Is also dealing with other types of discrimination but it will take time."

"The racial imbalance in the workforce remains the major problem."

"At SAAO there are a few women in scientific posts."

"All in senior engineering or IT posts. Of the 25 astronomers on the SAAO staff, 5 are women only one of them born in South Africa."

"Of the 5 astronomers on the Executive Committee, I am the only woman."

"8 or 9 hours now, but I used to do 10 to 12 when I did more research."

"I have a husband, John Menzies, who is also an astronomer and who has always been very supportive."

"I do not have children, and am immensely impressed by women who do and also manage to be successful astronomers."

"Less bureaucracy would help in almost every single way."

"It is well worth it, but astronomy has to be your life, not just your job, or you are unlikely to do well or be happy."

"If you are going to get married and or have children then you must find a partner who is a true partner."

"It is impossible to do everything yourself."