Student review [#20093] for Molecular Biology
at University of Sheffield

The programme is a great programme in terms of academic standing and career prospects after completing the PhD, as Uni of Sheffield is among the red brick universities.
Sheffield uni also has great links to research programmes through UKRI and NERC, which allows fully-funded PhD projects. As well as this, there are fantastic links to other universities to collaborate with.
The facilities in my lab are great also.

However, the main thing I have unfortunately noticed since starting the PhD is the representation of women in STEM. The majority of senior academics and senior positions in my department and in my school are held by men.

The facilities for women in my department are subpar. Women in PhD, PostDocs, fellowships and teaching staff, in my department, who have had a baby have faced difficulties. The maternity pay procedure is non-existant, where HR does not know what to do either. In addition, there are zero breastfeeding or changing facilities in my research building. The building does however have space to bring your dog in for the day .. but not a baby.

The letdown of women in this instance can only come from not having to accommodate before, which comes from the exclusion of women in science. This also comes from the outdated view that women academics must choose academia or to have children, but not both.

My supervisor is a fantastic scientist, and an advocate for women in science, and luckily many of the academics in my school hold this view. However, the issue goes higher than my school being able to fix this.