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Last week, we spoke with Professor Marika Taylor, Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham.
A University of Cambridge alumna, Marika undertook her PhD with Stephen Hawking. Her thesis “Problems in M-Theory” focused on black holes, string theory, and holography. Her research focuses on mathematical and theoretical physics, a highly competitive field with a historic low representation of women.
…“what I think has changed since I started in the field about 25 years ago is recognition that there is an isolation and a recognition of the need for women to network across fields, to mentor and nurture – and also a recognition that there are cultural barriers, that it isn’t as simple as getting women there, that the culture has to be welcoming for women who join.”
Although there has been a shift in culture, she noted that “it is a systemic issue and it’s an issue which is shared by many people”, and despite growing recognition of the challenges underrepresented groups face, “it’s still very slow”.
What’s more, the negative aspects of culture still prevail, even if less overt than they were 30 years ago: “when we talk to people from underrepresented groups, they still see those kinds of behaviours coming through, whether it’s microaggressions, thoughtless remarks, or whether it’s an implicit bias – people are more likely to work with people who are like them, they’re more likely to appoint people like them. Those cultural aspects are still there for many people, I think.”
Marika spoke about the evidence of success when it comes to networking and mentoring programmes, pointing out that “they are consistently shown to increase the sense of belonging of underrepresented groups to increase their knowledge of what is required for career progression”. The relationships formed are stimulating and invaluable – “often what starts as a networking or mentoring relationship actually becomes a research relationship and academic relationship”.
The effectiveness of these interventions is critical, but “the other thing which is consistently important, it’s not the action per se, but it is the genuine commitment from the top of the organisation – buy-in of senior leadership and a willingness to embrace change and hear things which are sometimes unwelcome truths.”
In line with this, Marika reflected on her time at the University of Birmingham and some of the initiatives she has implemented, such as “using really talented external leadership coaches and team coaches to work with particular individuals, and to work with particular research groups in order to help them realise their potential. Another part of it is just looking at where the gaps of the portfolio are and looking at where we can put in very effective interventions which are actually going to make a significant difference – so things like real support for people going for interviews, for research funding.”
Talking on this theme, Marika said “I think the change that we’re seeing, and we’re going to see over the coming years is, more women and more underrepresented groups coming through to senior leadership, coming through into the leadership of big research consortia.” She highlighted that “not being the only woman in the room or the only ethnic minority person in the room, but having multiple people there, it gives that amplification”.
It was an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation, and we were really encouraged to hear about the work Marika is doing to promote advancement for women in her field.
Interview with Kate Hunter, Partner, UK Higher Education
Kate is a Partner, UK.
Her experience of senior level executive search includes Board, Chief Executive, Senior Academic and Administrative appointments globally within the Higher Education, Health and Social Care, and the Arts and Culture sector practices.
Kate began her career in the arts, working in communications roles, culminating as Head of Communications at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Kate has around 15 years’ experience of working in global higher education, both from within an institution and externally, as an advancement practitioner and an advisor to government, institutions and other stakeholders. Prior to joining Perrett Laver, Kate was Executive Director for CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Europe. CASE is a global membership association with a focus on advocacy, training, research and data to support advancement – fundraising, marketing, communications, alumni relations. Kate worked closely with HEFCE, Universities UK and Arts & Business on sector-wide initiatives to build advancement capacity, including launching a fundraising graduate trainee programme. Kate holds a BA Hons in French with Spanish.
