In the last year, the third cohort enrolled in the 100 Black Women Professors NOW! programme, a pioneering initiative led by the Women’s Higher Education Network (WHEN), included 10 Bristol academic staff and PhD students. Two participants from Bristol, Dr Oghale Ayetuoma and Dr Cynthia Ochieng, talk about their careers so far, the challenges they encountered, and how 100 Black Women Professors NOW! has helped.
Dr Oghale Ayetuoma, Senior Lecturer in Human Resources Management and Work, School of Management
I lecture and do research in human resource management; I completed my PhD at the University of Huddersfield, looking specifically at talent management in public and private sector organisations.
I started at Bristol in 2018 and progressed up the lecturer levels, and I had tried to apply for a Senior Associate role at the time I started because I knew that I was ready for it, but I was told that it was too soon and my application was rejected. When things like that happen, it can make you worry whether you’ll ever be able to progress. But I was determined not to be deterred.
The programme gave me the confidence to get my application in for the Senior Lecturer position. We had a great support system, including a sponsor, a mentor and a coach. I was trained in how to take stock of my achievements through action planning and how to find the right people to talk to about my application. And having put in the required work to meet the criteria and with the supportive environment created through the program, I successfully progressed to Senior Lecturer this year.
The challenges we face as Black women, and Black people generally in academia, are often systemic. It was great that our line managers and members of the University’s Executive Group were also engaged in the programme – I think it really increased their awareness. Things have definitely improved with the support I get from my line manager.
I’ve begun to understand what I really want to focus on to take my career forward and how I align it to my values. We don’t all necessarily want to be professors, but we’re more confident now that we can be. Whether it’s leadership or the academic route, I can work towards it, and I know how to get support.
The programme has also allowed us to be heard by the senior team about some of the challenges we face, at different levels, with career development. We now need to build on this. And our policies are being impacted in various ways as a result of the programme. I hope this drives lasting change for those who will follow in our footsteps.
I’m now working towards an Associate Professorship. I’ve been getting advice from my coach, the senior leaders – even the Vice-Chancellor, which is amazing. I’m confident that my end goal of getting a full professorship is possible.
Dr Cynthia Ochieng, Research Fellow in the School of Psychological Science and Bristol Medical School
I conduct applied health research in different specialities including palliative care, neurology and surgical research. More recently, I have been working in the School of Psychology and the Medical School co-producing behaviour change interventions.
I arrived at Bristol in 2013 and did most of my PhD here. I was a Senior Research Associate in the Medical School from 2016 to 2017, then moved to several other institutions where I had both positive and negative experiences, before I returned to Bristol in 2020 to take up a research role.
The 100 Black Women Professors Now! programme came at a pivotal moment for me: I’d been stuck at the Senior Research Associate level for several years, and I knew I was more than capable of moving to the next level. I’d asked for opportunities with various managers and the answer was always ‘We’ll look into it’, or ‘Let’s chat some more’, but nothing ever came of it. I was beginning to get frustrated, much like many of my friends who had ultimately decided to leave academia.
The programme has been great. We’ve had support which has reminded us that we do have the skills and the experience to accomplish our goals, and tips on how to promote ourselves by speaking up, staying visible and being assertive in asking for opportunities. Our line managers and senior university management are also involved in opening up those opportunities more and ensuring that we’re properly supported.
Sometimes a manager will say ‘You shouldn’t apply for that grant – you need to concentrate on finishing your current project.’ But you need that grant to get to the next level. So having the confidence to go back and say, ‘I will finish this project, but I also need to do this for my career growth’ – that’s made a real impact for me. Now when I say I want to go for a grant, it’s taken seriously, and things move forward.
I’ve found the whole experience very motivating. I have a plan for my career: I know for sure that I need to keep pushing for those grant applications, and to increase my output in terms of research papers and to do more teaching. These things are not always easy to attain, but I now have a better idea of how to navigate the challenges and push back.
Photography by Bhagesh Sachania