For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, QBI is drawing attention to the the important roles women play in science, and the continuous need for more diversity in STEM. We asked four QBI women who have recently started their own labs, including Allison Williams, to share the challenging as well as encouraging experiences they face in their careers.

What inspired your love for science?

I grew up in an academic household, and my mom was a school teacher. And she just always inspired our curiosity. I remember, you know, at eight years old, I asked her, how can fruits were made? And she didn't really have an answer for me. So she called up a friend at a factory that does that and she dropped me off with a pen and paper and she said when I'm finished learning how fruits are canned, I should write her a report. I remember when I wanted to understand about why there was pollution, especially in the waters around Jamaica, she said, "Okay, well, you're going to go see what that will do for fish, and aqua life, in general," and she just really inspired us to go out and find out what these issues are and see if we could be a part of the solution. So, I would say I lay that curiosity-driven science that I do, right at her feet.

She brought me my first science encyclopedia. And one thing I remember is you can use a magnifying glass to start fire. That was one of the experiments that I did it and burned the grass on our entire front yard. And I thought she would be so mad and so I was hiding from her. And when she got home from work, she just looked to me and said, "Well, good. Now I don't have to pay someone to cut it." I think that, you know, just having that sort of support to explore your external environment as a child was really what brought me here.

Did you always know that you wanted to go down the scientific route?

Well, you know, I think as a child, I had a lot of different curiosities. So I don't think I always knew, but I think it was always a better fit for my personality. And I would tell you that I was also interested in art and literature, I spent two years of intense study of Victorian era literature. I think though, I really had the opportunity to explore, you know, different things, the arts, the sciences, to really figure out what my fit in this world would be. So my answer to that would be no, but it was always a better fit for my personality and how I viewed the world.

What is your role at UCSF?

My daily role, really, since the past four months, is getting a new lab started, recruiting people, getting it up and running, and thinking about where I want to bring the lab in the future, what kind of science I want to do, and how I want to transform not only myself, but the way that my science is appreciated by the world. And I think all those things just bundled into one super awesome environment with amazing people who are just so inspiring really inspires me to step my game up. I think what I really love about this place is as we come back to creativity, you have so many scientists here that are pushing their fields right now and really going outside of the box and not being restricted to one idea. I mean, just think about the coronavirus response, right? How many people pivoted from their original themes to merge this really international effort to push the science along? I really feel that, you know, coming into this place has just has been inspiring and motivating at this moment.

What do you think can be done to help to encourage more diversity in STEM fields?

I think this has to be a community effort. I've been reflecting on this a lot recently. I went to Duke for graduate school, and I remember we used to do these outreach programs in the community to inspire young students to come in and do science. And I think what we found was that, there's so much misconception about what we do, you know, as scientists, and I think we have to do a better job, first in our communities and in communication of science, to allow young people to understand how powerful the process of discovery can be, and how what we do is transforming the world, right?

I mean, in terms of health care, in terms of increasing outcomes, for survival of different diseases, you know, what we do actually has real world effects, even though we're in our little bubble at times. I think we lack the sort of communication that is needed to really inspire people the way that they're inspired about basketball players, or, you know, being the next Beyonce. Hell, I would love to be the next Beyonce. But that was not in the cards, right. I think if we just had, at the community level, the ability to really show them the potential of what we're doing and the creative freedom we have to pursue questions that we are passionate about, and that these overarching questions that will not only answer our particular little curiosities, but have real global impact ... if we could somehow translate that information in a community based effort, that we would actually increase the amount of people who are interested.

And of course, you can get them interested, but the other part of that is support, right? Coming up as a woman of color ... I have been to this place, because I had a network of people who've really supported me to this point. But while this should be a universal thing, I also understand my privilege in this regard and understand also that this is not necessarily open for other budding scientists that are coming up. So, one thing that we can do is to improve mentorship, and mentorship doesn't have to necessarily mean the people you have in your own team. But also, you know, how can you really mold young budding scientists who want to pursue curiosity, science or just even wanting to make a contribution in this world. How can we somehow support their careers? I think this is where we're really lacking.

What are your thoughts on the lack of funding for minority groups in science, such as black scientists and female scientists?

I am about to submit my first NIH grant and it was a thought. I thought, "Oh, my goodness, after all this work!" you know, and how do we get rid of these sort of systemic biases? I've started the conversation with people who I know are in positions of power and have the ability to change this. And you wouldn't believe the sort of excuses one hears. It's sort of, "Oh, maybe the science doesn't fit into the scope of what the NIH is doing," and I'm like "You know, there's not just one or two of us, there's actually thousands of us". How is it that our work will not fit into the scope of the NIH and I think, sitting back, we have to get rid of these preconceived ideas and systemic bias from people who are even, you know, advocates for us. Even when they have the best intentions, there's still these systemic biases that need to be identified and addressed. And I think universities as a whole are starting to have training in this regard. But I definitely think there needs to be a little more there.

A big aspect of women in science is balancing a career with motherhood. Do you have a family of your own?

I am a mother with two kids. Yeah, oh, that's a special dimension, right? Because I think some people would rather not confront that there are obstacles in the way for women with children in their pursuit of science. And these obstacles, quite frankly, shouldn't be there. But I think a lot of people just look away and don't really acknowledge that there are particular challenges that come up when you're a mom and you also want to do fantastic science. There are certain limitations that are not necessarily put by you, but just the organization of the system, and I think, in no greater way is this reflected than during the pandemic. I'm afraid to see what will happen for the science that's coming out of labs of people with children, women with children, just because of the challenge of being a teacher, parent, scientist, professor, all mangled into one. All those things present particular challenges to your career for the funding and there's no allowances that's being made at the moment. The NIH didn't say "Oh, well, we know that you probably have your five, ten-year-old kids at home that you're currently teaching. And because we know this, we're going to give you some amount of latitude in probably not having a whole host of preliminary data in order to get funded" you know, it presents a lot of challenges that I think nobody is openly addressing.

Women are particularly impacted by this and we're getting in a space now where we have just started to understand our worth, and be vocal about it. So we're now in this space. We're now in the space where we see this particular challenge, we've been vocal about it, but there are no tools that are really put into fix it. So I shudder to think –and I hope not– how it will affect their careers or our careers moving out of this pandemic.

Would you say there have been positive changes that bring you hope for women in science?

There are. I think I can speak on both fronts. For women in science, women are knowing their worth, they are being their best friends and best advocates. I feel that we're in this beautiful time where it is possible. When I started out in graduate school, many years ago, I remember someone telling me that a good time to have a child is when you've gotten tenure. You know, think about that, right? Some people will not have tenure until they're in their late 30s or late 40s. But why should it be? Why should that limitation be set up? And back then most of the women scientists that I knew did not have children. And so now we're in this age where women are seeing that it's okay to balance your family, it's okay to pursue this career, as aggressively and as passionately as you want and still have a beautiful family life. I would say the best thing that's now coming out is that we are being our best advocate. And, you know, in terms of diversity, again, the voices have gotten so loud, that people are highlighting the achievements of African American scientists that maybe have not been known or that  people have not been aware of. What has come out of this is that you realize that you're not alone. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the administration, we are still too few. We're stepping into this age now, where a voice is being lended to that and so I see improvements that are being made. I mean, I'm here, right?

If you were to give your younger self advice, or a young woman entering STEM, what would you tell her?

I would just say be fearless (and that goes for all areas of life). We sometimes put up those barriers in our minds, you know, we sometimes put up these chains of, "Oh, I cannot do this, I cannot move," and the obstacles that are there, they are real. But if this is something you're passionate about, just keep going, just keep trying, just keep moving, and just have faith that it will work out. If I were to say anything to my younger self, that would definitely be it.