Women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)?need more than ¡°advice¡± and ¡°mentoring¡±, according to a high-flying researcher, who said support?should take the form of?¡°action¡±, or ¡°sponsorship¡± instead.

Dana Al-Sulaiman, an assistant professor of material science and engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), said that girls and women were entering STEM classrooms at ¡°unprecedented¡± rates, highlighting that in Saudi Arabia they represented six in 10 graduates across the disciplines.

But Al-Sulaiman said that, despite change happening across the globe, ¡°Let¡¯s not mistake this progress for arrival.¡± Women were far less well represented in the upper tiers of science, she explained, arguing that positive female role models would not alone be enough to shift the dial significantly.

¡°As you move women up the trajectory towards leadership, something else becomes much more important than role models, and that¡¯s not just mentorship, [that¡¯s] the word sponsorship,¡± Al-Sulaiman told ̽»¨ÊÓƵ¡¯s World Academic Summit, which is being held at KAUST.

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¡°Mentorship enables men and women in STEM careers to excel. But sponsorship shines a light on this excellence. It ensures that this excellence is seen. So it¡¯s when basically I vouch for someone, so I can nominate my student for an award or I can invite my postdoc to co-chair a session at a conference.

¡°That¡¯s what we need. That¡¯s the difference between basically advice and action.¡±

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Al-Sulaiman, who was born in Saudi Arabia, completed her PhD at Imperial College London before holding a series of postdoctoral posts at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined KAUST in 2021 and leads a laboratory developing advanced materials for minimally invasive disease diagnosis and healthcare.

She has won a series of international awards, including the L¡¯Or¨¦al-Unesco For Women in Science Regional Young Talent Award.

More flexible funding mechanisms will also be vital in supporting women to thrive in STEM, said Al-Sulaiman, advocating the creation of more grants to help women re-enter the scientific workplace after motherhood and ¡°micro-grants¡± to help researchers with childcare during conferences.

¡°When women rise, they rise together and they make space for other women,¡± Al-Sulaiman added. ¡°So if you as a leader invite women to your next boardroom, what they¡¯re going to do is they¡¯re going to bring some more chairs and invite more women on there.

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¡°So that¡¯s really nice to see about women. If you shine a light on one, she¡¯ll shine a light on everybody else. I think that¡¯s really beautiful.¡±

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com