Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion in June

At Advance Tapes, we pride ourselves on Diversity and Inclusion. June is the month to celebrate Diversity and Inclusion and we wanted to share with you some statistics and examples of how we foster this within our organisation.

We are working towards our Management and Senior Leadership teams having an equal male/female split. Currently we are working at 45% Female members, 55% Male member.

According to LinkedIn, within the UK Women make up 30% of management roles. This shows that we are trending higher than the UK average.

We are really proud to have a focus in Diversity month with Agnieszka Milewczyk, who is our female Senior Project Scientist. Within the UK females only make up 24% of the STEM sector (Source: Wise).

What Agnieszka likes to be called?

I like to be called Agnes, as this is internationally recognised abbreviation of my name. People within our company are extremely creative and have fun producing new abbreviations, so I’ve been called many names e.g.: Agnies, Agonies or Aggers

Why did you come to UK?

12 years ago, shortly after my graduation from Chemical faculty at University of Technology in Gdansk I took summer trip to UK and extended my journey since then.

Why did you decide to follow a path in science?

Chemistry and biology and their interlink were extremely interesting for me, from my junior years. Love for nature and fascination with its beauty were passed on to me by my parents. Later excitement for chemistry was spread by brilliant teachers within my high school. All those factors added together with my determination resulted in completing a degree in Biotechnology.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love challenges! Tell me that something is impossible, and I will do my best to prove you wrong. I like to learn new things and discovering interdependencies, as this is an initial improvement tool. A challenge and change those are thrilling and motivating things, that are required within every working environment, and I’m honoured to take my part in starting those changes within our company.

What do you do outside of your day job?

I love to explore nature, especially during long walkies with Muffy (my Yorkshire terrier predator). I’m addicted to watching tennis (only WTA, sorry boys!). I participate in various vegan events and initiatives that lead to reducing environmental impact that society has on the planet, as There Is No Planet B!