Changemakers

This Nature Q&A series celebrates people who fight racism in science and who champion inclusion. It also highlights initiatives that could be applied to other scientific workplaces.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock is the most famous Black female scientist in the United Kingdom. She has co-hosted the BBC’s long-running astronomy television programme The Sky at Night since 2014, and earned a BAFTA nomination (from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for her work on the children’s programme Stargazing in 2016.

She studied at Imperial College London, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1990 and a PhD in mechanical engineering in 1994. She has worked on many space-technology projects, notably on a number of satellites to monitor climate change and on NIRSpec, one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that allow it to survey extremely distant galaxies.

Over the past 20 years, Aderin-Pocock has also focused on science communication, encouraging under-represented groups to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. So far, she has given talks to more than 500,000 people globally.

She has written several books, including Am I Made of Stardust?, winner of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize in 2023 — the same year that her star power inspired the makers of Barbie doll role models to make one in her likeness to mark International Women’s Day.

Other accolades include having served as a commissioner on the UK government’s Commission on Race and Ethic Disparities in 2020–21, and being made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in March 2024, for her services to science education and diversity.

What is the great passion that has driven you as a scientist?

I was born in London in 1968. So I was brought up in that hubbub of excitement around the moon landings. I also fell in love with The Clangers, a stop-motion animated children’s programme about a family of mouse-like creatures who lived on a Moon-like planet. I loved everything to do with space. And having the crazy dream of wanting to go into space was a real driving force for me. It still is. I still want to get out there.

Is there one thing from your career you wish you could have a second chance at?

I’m dyslexic, but I didn’t know that when I was at school or university. If I had, I would have been kinder to myself. I was forever beating myself up because my brain didn’t work like other people’s. Now, I see the benefits. I’m more empathic, logical; it’s taught me resilience, to find other ways of working. And, I am an author! I still find that surprising.

When did you decide to tackle diversity in science?

In 2004, I was working as a space scientist at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, part of University College London, and loving my job. But when I advertised to fill some posts, I had few takers, and the people applying weren’t a very diverse group at all. So, I decided I wanted to get out there and ‘sell’ science. That’s what I do.

Growing up, I thought space and astronomy were just done by white guys in togas, because all I’d heard about were the Greeks and the Romans. But archaeo-astronomy shows that every culture across the world, going back at least 7,000 years, has looked up at the night sky. One of the oldest stone circles in the world is on African soil. Known as Nabta Playa, it stands in the Nubian desert in southern Egypt. It beats Stonehenge by about 3,000 years. So, when people say about astronomy, “It’s not for me,” yes it is! Our ancestors did it and we can, too.

Why is diversity and antiracism work important to you?

STEM careers are good, robust careers. You earn more than the average wage and can make a real difference to other people’s lives, and to your own. But for society globally, it’s also crucial that STEM is diverse, or we have problems.

When I first used passport machines, my passport would be rejected. The facial-recognition software just didn’t work for darker-skinned passport photos. When voice-commanded car-navigation systems first came out, women’s voices weren’t recognized and women were told to speak with a deeper voice, like a man. That’s not the solution! It’s the same with medicines. If they are developed using only a small group of people, they don’t work as well for others.

Diverse companies thrive. They make more money; they do better all round. So it’s good for the economy. Diversity is so very important that it’s hard to find an argument against it.

But race and gender are just two demographics that we need to tap into. We also need to do more to accommodate different types of neurodiversity, such as dyslexia, autism and ADHD. And we need to find more and better ways of communicating science — to other scientists and to the public.

How have you dealt with racism or discrimination in your personal or professional life?

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.

The crucial thing is, how do you respond in a situation like that? You can be angry and confrontational, but, to me, it’s about re-education. I calmly said: “Well, actually, I’m here to see so-and-so. My name is Dr Maggie Aderin.”

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.”

A few jaws dropped. I quite liked that. Again, it’s that assumption, and a gentle reminder that you have stereotypical images that aren’t right.

But when racism is subtle, it can be so smooth that you hardly notice it. You end up questioning yourself. “Is it me? Is there a vibe?” I’ve experienced that, too, and it’s much more difficult to tackle.

What is the biggest misconception or racial stereotype you’d like to dispel?

There are blatantly racist people, but most of us have stereotypical ideas and are afraid to question them. We all have biases. That’s human nature. But society can make people scared to explore their biases. It can get very political. So, instead of opening up a debate, we shut it down for fear of making a mistake.

I always think that when we acknowledge our biases, we grow and develop and become better people. It’s also important to show that we aren’t trying to pull others down. Rather, it’s about trying to make a level playing field for everyone. Yes, it’s going to be uncomfortable for some people for a while. But, it’s a matter of education, raising everyone’s aspirations and giving everybody the same opportunities.

What is the coolest discovery that has come out of your work?

The main thing I do is build instruments that other people then use to make discoveries. One of the coolest things was working on NIRSpec, which measures near-infrared radiation, for JWST. I was one of 10,000 scientists working on the telescope, yes, but it was lovely to be part of something that is transforming human knowledge about our Universe.

What do you wish people knew about a career in science?

One of the things we do wrong is put science in an ivory tower so that it looks distant and people are scared of it. Sometimes, a kid asks a question that they think is silly. And I say, “That’s the kind of thing we’re trying to find out. You’re being a scientist for asking that question.”

Another misconception is that scientists are logical and artists are creative. But, of course, there is creativity in science and logic in the arts. So it’s about breaking down those silos.

What is a surprising fact about you that only your family knows?

That I watch Korean dramas on Netflix. I don’t know why, they just work for me. I watched Alchemy of Souls and it touched me. It was my gateway drug into other Korean dramas.