WISE & Aston University/Brunel University/Manchester Metropolitan University are looking for women STEM professionals to help us in a study about their experience with mental health in STEM research and innovation arenas. The study will ultimately use our findings to develop guidelines on how to support the work and career experiences of women in STEM academia and mental health.
This project aims to develop knowledge and guidelines on how to support the work and career experiences of women academics and practitioners who experience mental health issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, panic disorder etc.) in STEM research and innovation.
The study will look to:
- Understand the diversity of lived experiences, considering intersectionality in individuals’ accounts.
- Explore work experiences and career implications during and post-COVID.
- Increase awareness of what supports (i.e., formal and informal forms of support) women professionals in STEM to pre-empt mental health issues, avoid exacerbating existing mental health issues, and persist while advancing their careers in the context of mental health concerns.
Criteria
- You identify as a woman who has previously worked as or currently works as a STEM researcher or innovator at a university or organisation in engineering, pharma, science, and/or ICT industries.
- You identify as having experienced Mental Health Issues (MHIs) at some point of your career in STEM Research and Innovation.
- You are able to communicate in English.
- You are over the age of 18.
What to expect
- Once you have expressed interest in participating you will be contacted by WISE
- We will send you our recruitment guidelines, participant information sheets, and consent forms
- Finally, we will schedule you for a 60-90 minute one-to-one interview with a member of the research team
- Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams
Why Participate?
By participating in this study and sharing your lived experiences you are directly contributing to the restructuring and reshaping of both narratives and policies around mental health issues for women in STEM.
As we continue to strive towards gender parity in STEM, we hope this research study will make STEM careers more welcoming for women, now and in the future.
Please contact Shamineh Mavalvala, WISE at s.mavalvala@wisecampaign.org.uk OR complete this form to express your interest in participating.
Help us spread the word by downloading and sharing our research poster here.
