To mark ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science’, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) are celebrating the outstanding achievements of the women we have working in science.
Jan Davidge is our Workforce Development Support Unit Manager at HEIW, however, she hasn’t always worked in this field. Here, Jan tells us about her career in science and how she didn’t stop being a mum of four get in the way of her achieving her dream.
“I grew up during the 1960’s, the only child of a working class family in the Gwent valleys.
From an early age, I envisioned my life working in a lab, wearing a white coat, conducting experiments; but as was the norm in those days, science wasn’t a topic for girls to study.
‘Physics is fun, fellas’. A phrase I recall from my Grammar school physics teacher. There were just six girls in my science class of 36. Fast forward a few years and the number of girls doing science in my sixth form was just three. I studied botany, zoology and chemistry.
After leaving school, I went on to teacher training college and taught science in multiple schools and further education colleges. In time, my family life took over. I had four lovely children and travelled to America, but I never lost the desire to want to progress in science.
It was during my time teaching at West Mon comprehensive school that I made the decision to obtain a degree through the Open University (OU). It was now the nineties, I was entering my forties and I had four children who were growing up. I worked and was mum/wife during the day, studying during the evenings.
It was sometimes hard work, but I was committed. I was at a great advantage studying through the OU because I could balance work, family life and education. This is why I am fully supportive of encouraging flexible working, tailoring it to the individual, allowing them the opportunity to develop and achieve.
I was extremely lucky that after completing my degree, the OU launched their online masters courses. I enrolled and in 2001 gained an MSc in Science and Communication. Alongside this, I was lucky enough to be accepted by Cardiff University to study for a PhD in Chemistry with my fees being offset by doing some undergraduate teaching.
I was now aged 44 so had the added benefits of experience and routine. I worked on my PhD throughout the working day and my MSc in the evenings. I graduated with a PhD in 2002.
Achieving my doctorate is something I am so proud of. It not only helped me to achieve my dream of a career in science, but it allowed me to show my children, especially my daughter, that women can have it all.
There is one phrase which has remained with me since I was a small girl. The words of my headmistress and chemistry teacher, ‘We should forge ahead girls’.
My advice to all women and girls wanting a career in science is if you’re sure it’s what you want to do, don’t let anything get in your way.
Age, family, gender, ethnicity, social status are not barriers. If you have the skills and determination, there is nothing you can’t achieve.”