WiES Mentor Scheme
WiES sets out to support and inspire, mentor and socialise, empower and encourage.
As part of our aims, we proudly announce the launch of our mentoring scheme.
If you could offer your support to someone as a WiES mentor, or if you would like the support of one as a mentee, you can sign up to take part as either a mentor or a mentee (or both!) by contacting Frances (frances.cooper@ucl.ac.uk). We will then make introductions between suitable mentors and mentees.
If you have registered your interest for our mentoring scheme, we will be in touch with you soon. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us straight away. We will continue to make enquiries and find suitable mentors as and when they become available.
A focus on gender-race intersectionality to understand BAME women under representation in geoscience
Dr. Sudeshna Basu, Dr. Andrew Thomson and Isabelle Hoppe from UCL, are working on the project A focus on gender-race intersectionality to understand BAME women under representation in geoscience with colleagues from other universities in UK and Australia [Dr. A. Basu, RHUL; Dr. C. Persano, Glasgow University; Dr. C. Tiddy, UNISA, Australia].
The aim of the project is to improve our understanding on the double bind facing women from minority ethnicity in geoscience, to provide insights to their near invisibility in this field from enrolment to senior positions.

Multiple factors deter women from continuing in academic careers. In geoscience, the lack of gender diversity is being addressed in UK and Australia, although it remains far from achieving a healthy balance. However, the lack of racial diversity hasn’t received a similar level of attention. Most of the geoscientists to be awarded a doctoral degree are white, with an even smaller proportion of academic positions held by people of colour, a situation comparable for US, UK and Australia. The picture gets more complex when intersectionality comes into play.
The project is supported by the UCL Global Engagement fund to Sudeshna Basu and her colleagues collaborating on this study. Watch this space for further updates.