Blooming Late Scientists24 Tammi 2025

Dr Abigail Otchere - The Importance of Representation in STEM

We need relatable role models to know we can achieve our dreams.

For women wanting a career in STEM it can be hard to find those that represent us in the careers we want to follow. But for Black women representation is even smaller, making the work of my guest in this episode critical for young Black women entering science subjects.

Dr Abigail Otchere is a PhD graduate and co -founder of SiSTEM UK, a community supporting women in science. Dr Abigail shares her journey into STEM, discussing the fact that Black female representation becomes harder to find the higher you go, which is something she wanted to help change.

Since creating SiSTEM UK she has gone on to speak at events and go to schools to share and inspire younger generations to consider the sciences as an option for their futures.

This is a hugely inspiring and important conversation aiming to change the narrative and increase representation in STEM fields.

“The higher I went the less people I saw that looked like me.” - Abigail

You’ll hear about:

00:53 - An introduction to Abigail

07:18 - Getting over your internal blocks

09:42 - Going higher in STEM seeing fewer people like herself

12:26 - The importance of role models that look like you

13:42 - Why Abigail started SiSTEM UK

16:25 - Abigail's evolution into an event speaker

19:10 - Why are there few Black women in STEM?

22:07 - The biggest challenges for women entering STEM

25:47 - What does SiSTEM UK offer?

30:29 - The future for SiSTEM UK

Abigail’s resources:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-abigail-otchere-0902b2192/

SiSTEM UK on LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sistem-uk/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sistemuk/?hl=en

SiSTEM UK Linktree - https://shorturl.at/xItNF

My resources:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-n/

Keywords

women in STEM, PhD journey, black women in science, STEM education, mentorship, confidence in STEM, Sysstem organization, community building, role models, career development

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