International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022

Vicki Chalker is a microbiologist and Head of the Science and Engineering profession at the UK Health Security Agency. For International Women and Girls in Science Day 2022, Vicki talks about why careers in science stand out, the next generation of scientists, and the importance of bringing people together.

Being the Head of the Science and Engineering professions really matters to me. This role gives colleagues a collective voice and helps ensure they are listened to.

Careers in science are so varied and one of the highlights is the vast amount of people you get to work with and cross paths with. I have worked with some amazing and inspirational people from all over the world, which is a real privilege. I find it fascinating how you meet people who have come into science from lots of different circumstances.

My circumstances at the start of my career felt uncertain. I graduated and had no fixed address or financial stability and was sofa surfing. Different backgrounds and beginnings are what make the profession all the more exciting and enriched and why diversity is so important.

For example, I am currently mentoring a junior scientist in Ghana, an opportunity that came about because I am helping him implement antibiotic resistance screening and surveillance in his hospital. I've been able to help him apply for grants, and I even taught him to play tennis when he visited the UK. Experiences like this aren’t unique to science, but it is a career with so many opportunities to learn and connect and share our work across the UK and globally.

This is why I have put so much time into building networks. I often think of my role as playing the part of a connector, signposting individuals and teams to others so they can progress work together.

At UKHSA I work with several networks such as the Outreach Network, Women in Science and Engineering network, Bioinformatics Network, and more. On a wider scale, I chair for the Government Science and Engineering Team Diversity and Inclusion Action Group Board. As part of this work, we are connecting networks across government, working to improve the diversity of STEM subjects.

One network I am really proud to have helped establish is the Social Mobility Group within Government science and engineering diversity and inclusion action group. There's a huge disparity in this country for young people and the more we can support talent into science and engineering the better for the future workforce and society. We should be embracing neurodiversity in our recruitment methods and teams going forward and there is so much more we can do to help welcome people into our profession.

I am excited to work with these networks and hopefully others in the future to bring scientists together and make it easier to share our work, experiences, and diversify the profession.

There are so many varied science careers within government. As part of the GSE Profession diversity and inclusion strategy, we in UKHSA are working with other government partners to increase the diversity of evidence and expertise used and to develop a diverse STEM talent pipeline.

UKHSA contributes to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) which aims to promote the inclusion and progression of people from diverse backgrounds in STEM, and to encourage government, parliamentarians, academics, businesses and other stakeholders to work towards a STEM sector that is representative of the population.

There is a lot of excellent work going on and this is a brilliant time to get into science.

Visit our YouTube channel to hear more from some of our incredible female scientists on why a career in science was for them: UKHSA YouTube channel

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