[2024-07-21] Challenging assumptions

A friend recently sent me an interesting article about Maggie Aderin-Pocock, who is described as "the most famous Black female scientist in the United Kingdom." Her achievements are numerous and varied:
  • She has worked on many space-technology projects, including one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope.
  • She co-hosted the BBC’s astronomy program The Sky at Night and was nominated for a BAFTA award for her work on the children's program Stargazing.
  • She has spent the last 20 years encouraging people from under-represented groups to enter careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), reaching more than half a million people.
  • She has written several books, including Am I Made of Stardust?, which won the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize.
  • She served as a commissioner on the UK government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
  • She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to science education and diversity.
And she has been recognized as a role model by Barbie, which created a doll in her likeness.

The entire article is worth a read (including her experience with dyslexia and her views on the importance of diversity in science), but what stood out for me was Aderin-Pocock's response to racism and discrimination. She shares two stories that illustrate her view that re-education is preferable to anger and confrontation in the face of automatic assumptions:
  1. "Just after I earned my PhD in mechanical engineering, I was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase and I went to the office of one of the contractors for the UK Ministry of Defence. The chap at the gate looked up briefly, handed me some keys and said: 'Start cleaning the offices at the back first and work your way to the front.' So, he saw me, the suit and the briefcase, but then he saw a Black woman and thought, she must be the cleaner! There is nothing wrong with being a cleaner, but it’s the automatic assumption that needs to be challenged."
  2. "Similarly, as a space scientist managing big projects, I’ve put new teams together. Once, when I was about to chair a first team meeting, someone came in, saw me and said: 'Two sugars in my coffee, love, and bring it over when you’re ready.' So, I got him his coffee! Then I walked straight to the front of the room and said: 'My name’s Dr Maggie Aderin, let’s get this meeting started.'"
Aderin-Pocock admits that, in the latter case, a few jaws dropped. "I quite liked that," she said.

I loved those two stories. I thought you might too!