I became an ‘accidental trailblazer’ for women in Stem

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon. Picture:: Glasgow Caledonian University/PA Wire

The new chancellor of a Scottish university, who describes herself as an “accidental trailblazer”, has said she will fulfil the role for the common good.

Anne-Marie Imafidon has spent her career helping young women break into the largely male-dominated science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) field.

Recognised around the world for founding Stemettes, a social enterprise which encourages girls and young women to enter the field, Dr Imafidon will be officially installed as chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) on July 2.

Dr Imafidon, 33, has worked on a wide range of Stem projects, including writing books on the industry, hosting podcasts and appearing on television shows, and Stemettes has reached around 60,000 young women.

Ahead of her installation as chancellor, she said she is “really excited” to be working with GCU, and that she plans to be a “chancellor for the common good” – a key value held by the university.

She said she has “always had a love for technology, maths and all things logical”, and she never considered that chasing her dreams may be considered “odd” as a young black woman until she officially entered the field.

It was her early experiences of various forms of discrimination that led her to help make Stem industries a more accepting space for women.

She said: “There are lots of things that were different about me that never really seemed to crop up in conversations or as we were building databases or whatever else.

“It’s always been an interesting one to kind of reflect on being in that minority and something that, at times, is also a shrinking minority in technical spaces.

“It’s always been something I’ve enjoyed doing, something I’ve enjoyed doing as a hobby as well as a career, and it’s only as I’ve got older and been more perceptive.

“Maybe I’ve got more wise that I’ve kind of looked up and looked around in those rooms rather than just looking at the technology and noticed that yeah, there’s something off or something strange about me being one of the only women in this space, so I’ve ended up being almost an accidental trailblazer or leader in recognising there’s a problem with that, wanting to do something about it, and then being really driven, motivated, but also fortunate to be able to then have impact on changing the situation based on my own experiences.”

Dr Imafidon, who is originally from London, said she has always wanted to be an entrepreneur in her field, with various projects under her wing as well as Stemettes.

She said: “I actually set up quite a number of different businesses before I started Stemettes as an organisation.

“I ran a networking events company at one point with my friends, and my best friend and I, for a very, very short period, ran a dating company as well.

“At GCU we have a big focus on entrepreneurship as well and the opportunities that that creates for folks when they embark on that journey.”