International Day of Women and Girls in Science - Hüma Özaksoy

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which takes place on the 11th of February each year, aims to promote the full and equal access and participation of females in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This year will focus on the role of Women and Girls and Science as relates to the UN's Sustainable and Equitable Development Goals.

We are proud to celebrate this day by inviting some of our female representatives in Science to share their thoughts and experiences of being female in the field of Science.

Hüma Özaksoy, Associate Scientist, R&D
Based in Turkey

What's your current role?

I am a chemist in the R&D department based out of Istanbul.

What did you study?

I hold a B.Sc. Chemistry degree from the Middle East Technical University, Turkey. 

What was your favorite subject at school?

My favorite subjects at university were organic chemistry and quantum chemistry. 

What makes you most excited about working with this company?

Finding hygiene solutions for different sectors made me realize that cleaning and disinfecting these different areas are not easy subjects since they require various approaches for every different case. This makes the formula-creating part of my job very dynamic and challenging in an enthusiastic way.

How did you end up here? Why did you become a scientist? What drew you to this field?

I have always been interested in natural sciences since I was a little kid. I used to do experiments at home by following the book which my father bought for me. Of course, my parents were the reason how I met with science in the first place at that age, but they were not trying to push me towards sciences, they also introduced me to arts as well. I could have gotten bored with natural sciences and study arts instead because I liked both of them very much. But at the end of the day, I am grateful that I went to study chemistry.

Do you think that women in science still have disadvantages nowadays?

I consider myself a really lucky person in this manner because I have not seen any woman friend of mine at the college being mistreated, neither by our professors nor by their parents/relatives. And also, as much as I have seen in my surroundings, my woman colleagues were always encouraged and supported in terms of academics. But I know that this is still a problem in the global world but not just only in the science world. I really hope that very soon, we will live in the days where we feel 100% safe, 100% supported, 100% equal and peaceful forever.

Hear from other members of our team, Nastasia Ramsamy, Dr Gemma McKenzie, Susan Naranjo, Florencia Arrosio, Céline Lovato, or find out about the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.