Interview with Paulette Watson, CEO and founder of Academy Achievers and winner of the 2019 WinTRADE Women in Engineering Award
by Ilaria Biancacci
Paulette Watson was awarded with the WinTRADE Women of Engineering Award by the Ministry of Defence in 2019 and she is the CEO for Academy Achievers, a no-for-profit organization that works with children and young people aged between five to 19 years old, who are vulnerable, disaffected, disadvantaged, and come from hard to reach communities, leading in Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM).
Born and raised in Lewisham, Paulette started moving the first steps into STEM 20 years ago, but her passion for math and problem solving came from her father, “He was my inspiration, I remember when we were young, he would made me and my brother memorize the times tables, from 1 to 12, and if we didn’t know them we were in a lot of troubles. Math was very important at home. He was a mechanical engineer and people would always go to him to have their car fixed and I always thought “I want to be like him, I want to fix things, find solutions to problems”. I grew up with an inquisitive mind and my father nurtured that, showed me how to be an engine of change”.
Paulette Watson has spent a decade as an educational technologist. She holds an MA in ICT and Education, and an MBA in International School Leadership. She focus on Digital Transformational Strategy, Data Analytics, Gender Diversity, and Recruiting, and include all of these in the values and mission of Academy Achievers, which she founded in 2005 as a voluntary community group and incorporated it in April 2017. Her mission is to make young people ready for a digital world that will not leave anyone behind.
During her extensive experience as a teacher she realized that, especially black girls, were not equipped with the right tools and skills to enter the market place. “There was a problem 20 years ago, and is still there now”, said Paulette. “There has been a race between corporate and institutions to bring black women on board, but I do not want to be only a token for their diversity and inclusion policies, and nor should be other women and girls. I want to be part of something where I can make a change, bringing other women up with me, through a very much needed digital transformation. That is why I have launched the #BeMe Project”.
It all started in 2019, after the WinTRADE Award for Women in Engineering. “I attended a week of events and conferences, with so many inspiring women in top position, not only in tech, and I particularly remember the report presented by Alison Rose, the Chief Executive of NatWest Group. In the Rose Review, Alison wrote that just one in three UK entrepreneurs is female, and only one per cent of venture funding goes to all-female teams. So I thought, what about black women, where are they? And sadly, numbers were not representing us at all. With the help of the Redbull mentorship programme I finally decided to launch the #BeMe project to raise 1 million BME girls aspirations in Science Technology Engineering Math related careers. I want to create a pipeline of career opportunities, equip and prepare them to get confidently into STEM roles”.
#BeMe is here to give access and open the doors for girls into STEM careers, helping them to make decisions, choose their own career paths and being surrounded by an inspiring network. The project will offer mentoring opportunities with mentor that looks like them, CV writing, entrepreneurship, resilience and mental health workshops.
The project is currently in the crowdfunding phase, with the aim to raise £16.750 to create an online platform where the girls can interact directly with peers and mentors, and accessing resources. Part of the money will also be used to launch a Podcast series, entirely created and programmed by the girls for the girls, to let them use their creative skills and create a platform that will amplifies their voices and experiences. “ It is very important for me to be an advocate for black girls, so that they will not be digitally excluded anymore. Failure only occurs when you give up”, concluded Paulette. “Keep going, as long as you are alive and kicking; every morning is a new day, start over, and be passionate about what you do”.
