On June 22nd 2016, members of the WISDOM group at Royal Holloway and the Head of the Information Security Group, Professor Keith Mayes, were privileged to have an “Ask Me Anything” session with Professor Averil MacDonald (OBE). In the course of the half hour session, WISDOM group members asked wide ranging questions,  and Professor Mayes reiterated his commitment to increasing the number of female staff and students in the department and asked Averil for practical suggestions as to how this could be achieved.

The full transcript of the session can be seen here.

Professor Averil MacDonald OBE

Averil MacDonald has been very active in encouraging girls into science and in advancing women’s careers in science. Amongst her many roles, she is a member of the Athena SWAN Advisory Committee, and a Women in Science, Technology and Engineering (WISE) board member. She led the “Not for People like me?”  research into the reasons that females are under-represented in STEM subjects, and authored its final report. Resources have been developed as a result of this research (People Like Me)  which are designed to show young girls that they can fit in, enjoy success and be happy if they choose STEM as a career.