October is Black History Month, a period of celebration and reflection on the contributions members of the Black community have made to our society, historically, culturally and (for us, of course) scientifically! Black scientists have been responsible for treatments for leprosy (Alice Ball), and cataracts (Patricia Bath), discovered new species of termites (Margaret Collins), pioneered modern crop rotation methods (George Washington Carver), been to space (Mae Jemison, Ronald E. McNair, Guion Bluford) and helped us get there in the first place (Christine Darden, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn). Whilst their efforts in the STEM fields cannot be understated, for the longest time, Black people have been underrepresented across the STEM spectrum - and for those who have made their way into STEM, their contributions have historically been marginalised and overlooked at best, and erased and misattributed to white colleagues at worst.

Whilst representation of Black people within STEM has been hard-won and is slowly improving, there still exist woeful disparities between the number of white-identifying people within the sector, and those who are often grouped unceremoniously into the opaque and reductive category of "people of colour or other ethnic minorities". Indeed, in the latest RACE Report of environmental and sustainability-based organisations in the UK, just 4.7% of their staff identified as "Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic" - with approximately 1.3% of those surveyed identifying as having a Black ethnic background. Seeing as though 3.5% of the UK's workforce identifies as Black (and 22% sit within the broader BAME category), work still needs to be done to ensure that the environmental sector is representative and encourages a diverse range of talent to embark on such a career.

We were thrilled therefore when Malita, a Lancaster local and sustainability consultant, got in touch with us about contributing a blog post about her career and journey as a young, Black, female scientist within the environmental sector! You can’t be what you can’t see, so we’re hoping that Malita’s story can help to encourage other young people like her to envisage a future for themselves within environmental sciences.

Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?

I'm Malita, and I'm a Graduate Sustainability Consultant at Expedition Engineering, part of the Useful Simple Trust, in London. I grew up in Preston but went to high school and sixth form in Lancaster, so the area still feels like home. My mum also works at Lancaster University, in the Law School. I studied Environmental Science at the University of York. I've just finished a Master's in Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy at King's College London, which I'm very pleased to say I passed with a distinction!

What first got you interested in the environment?

There wasn't one big lightbulb moment for me; it was more of a slow build. I loved being outdoors as a child, and I was lucky enough to have the Lake District on my doorstep. My family made the most of it, and I think that's where my love of nature started. Once you appreciate how beautiful something is, you start wanting to protect it.

It finally clicked at sixth form, when I realised the three A Levels I wanted to take (Geography, Chemistry and Biology) fitted perfectly with Environmental Science. That combination set me up really well for my degree.

How did you get from studying to your current role?

Definitely not in a straight line!

My first year at York was during Covid, which was a strange time to be an environmental science student. We missed out on a lot of practical learning, including lab work and a field trip to Tenerife. Even so, I loved my three years there. For my dissertation I looked at food waste in the care home where I worked part-time, which was a great way of connecting my studies to the real world.

After graduating, I took two years out. I saved up, went backpacking around Australia for six weeks with a friend, and then did a five-month internship with a small climate solutions company in Auckland, New Zealand. I supported their stakeholder engagement, helped secure a partnership with a Dutch flood-prevention company, and represented the organisation at conferences across the country. I absolutely loved living in New Zealand.

When I came home, I threw myself into graduate job applications. For about six months it was all I focused on, alongside working in a coffee shop and then as a project coordinator. It didn't go well. After rejection after rejection, I'd lost a lot of my confidence. I'd always wanted to live in London, so I decided that if I couldn't get a job there, the next best thing would be to study there. That's when I applied for my Master's at King's.

That year was one of the hardest of my life. Money was extremely tight, and I was working 20–30 hours a week in a pub alongside my course, just about keeping my head above water. The course was really interesting, though more academic than I expected, and I missed the hands-on side of my undergraduate degree. I was also lucky enough to get an internship in the Energy and Natural Resources team at the Commonwealth Secretariat. There I supported research into climate solutions across member states, covering renewable energy, climate resilience and climate finance. One of the best parts was the number of events I got to attend and the people I met.

All the way through, job applications felt like a second part-time job. This time, though, it paid off. I reached six final-stage interviews. I received three offers and withdrew from two others because I'd already found the role I really wanted. I've now been at Expedition for almost two months.

What does environmental consultancy involve, and what does your role look like day to day?

Whenever a new neighbourhood or development is planned, developers and councils need to show how it will meet requirements around climate, nature, water and the community. Our job is to help them work out what those requirements are and how the design can meet them.

In my team, sustainability consultants work alongside civil engineers and masterplanners. That means sustainability is built into a design from the start rather than bolted on at the end. A lot of the work is essentially translation. Planning conditions, local policy, client ambitions and engineering reports often say different things, and we pull them together into something a project team can actually act on.

Day to day, that means:

• Reading and mapping a lot of documents
• Working out what's a legal requirement and what's an ambition
• Spotting gaps
• Turning it all into clear tables, slides and briefing notes

I also do a bit of writing, from project case studies to a response on the green infrastructure policies in the Draft London Plan. Alongside that, I'm learning carbon footprinting tools and building up my knowledge of energy, water and nature. The scale varies too: so far I've worked on a single large development, city-level climate adaptation, and organisation-wide carbon work.

At the moment I'm working on a large new innovation district. We're shaping its sustainability and energy strategy at the stage when a lot of the detail is still being decided, so there's real room to influence the outcome.

What I've enjoyed most is the variety. I don't think my brain has ever worked as hard as it is right now! I feel really fortunate to be trusted with live client work as a new starter. It's also brilliant to see things I studied in my Master's, like planning policy and climate adaptation, being used on real projects.

Did you face any challenges along the way?

Honestly, I didn't feel I faced many barriers until I started applying for jobs. I was applying for roles I felt well qualified for and getting rejected again and again. Meanwhile, some friends with similar or weaker results seemed to find it much easier, and most of them were white men. I couldn't help wondering whether something else was going on. I'll never know for sure, but I think it's a feeling many people from underrepresented backgrounds will recognise.

Money was a challenge too. My Commonwealth Secretariat internship was unpaid, so I was juggling it with my studies and pub shifts. Not everyone can afford to do that, and I think it's something the sector needs to think about.

What got me through was perseverance. Two years of rejections wore my confidence down, and getting back into applications the second time was much harder than the first. But I'm so glad I kept going, because it led me to a company I genuinely love working for.

Even now, I face challenges. There are days when I doubt myself and feel like I don't deserve to be at the company. Something that's really helped is learning to treat myself with more kindness. When that voice creeps in, I remind myself that they chose me. I earned my place, and I do deserve to be there.

What has stood out to you about the sector so far?

I've been really surprised by how few Black people I've seen in the industry, especially Black men. I assumed London would be different because it's such a diverse city. To put it in context, I've been mistaken for someone else three times since starting this role, at networking events and even in the office. It's never been the same person. That really shows how few people there must be who look like me.

On a more positive note, I've also been struck by how optimistic everyone is, even though the science can be frightening. When I left university, I felt quite scared about the future, so it's been lovely to be surrounded by people who are hopeful and focused on solutions. Working for a company that's actively trying do good and change the industry has been really motivating. It's rewarding to be part of the change, rather than studying it from what felt like afar.

What would help more people from Black and other underrepresented backgrounds see the environmental sector as a career for them?

Seeing people like you makes a huge difference. I remember a careers day at York where people from different industries came to talk about their work. I looked around and thought: not only are there no Black people here, there's only one woman. It's hard to picture yourself in a field when no one in it looks like you.

I also think some families don't see the environmental sector as a "proper" career in the way they might see medicine, law or finance, and that can be especially true in some communities. Part of the problem is how little environmental education there is at school. This is the future, and it's something we should be teaching all young people about, not as a niche interest but as a real career path.

That's one reason I joined GEEP, the Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme. I mentor engineering students, over 90% of whom are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, through one-to-one support and workshops.

What would you say to someone thinking about studying an environmental subject, particularly if they don't often see people like them in the field?

Go for it! If it's what you're passionate about, you belong there just as much as anyone else. You're just as capable as the people around you, even if they don't look like you. And by being there, you become the person someone else might need to see, which makes it easier for whoever comes next.

What would you tell your younger self?

I'd tell her that the environment needs people like her. People from different backgrounds see the world differently, and that perspective is needed more than ever, so take up space. I'd also tell her that rejection isn't a verdict on whether you belong. Keep going, because it will be worth it.

Related Blogs

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  STEMMing the Leaky Pipeline: What the certificate doesn't show - completing a PhD with a hidden disability in an academic culture of constant productivity

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  STEMMing the Leaky Pipeline: In conversation with the Commonwealth Fellows

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  STEMMing the Leaky Pipeline: A “Pride in Science” special

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.