"An important point is that I am a Black, African woman. I can’t shed my blackness when I embody my femaleness. My experience, like my identity, is intersectional."
Meet Lauryn Mwale, a final year Mathematics student at the University of Edinburgh who is the author of The Shuri Effect: a non-fiction book about Black women in STEM, why they are under-represented and how to fix this.
As soon as I heard about her book, I knew Pioneer's community would be perfect for supporting her pre-sale campaign* before publication in August 2021. Lauryn's inspiring journey of finding her voice to empower others is remarkable, and is something we can all learn from.
*see end of article
"Right now, I’m writing a book about Black women in STEM... I realised that I have a perspective and it's valuable, regardless of my age."
"I had to rewire the way I thought about Maths to engage with it at university level and that never ending challenge was exactly what I wanted."
Why choose Maths at Edinburgh? What part of your university experience have you enjoyed most?
I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was motivated to study Maths because it had always challenged me. I am a really stubborn person and I am most interested in the things that most confuse me so I kept it in the mix as I applied for things. I considered Maths and Econ and Philosophy and Econ and finally enrolled at Edinburgh Uni for Maths and Business. Before I had even set foot in my first business lecture, I opted to drop it.
I have enjoyed the university experience immensely. Maths is so much more creative than we all give it credit for. I had to rewire the way I thought about Maths to engage with it at university level and that never ending challenge was exactly what I wanted. It has been really hard and I am often working through concepts and problems at the back of my mind while I’m doing other things like cooking or even watching TV. A lot of my friends and classmates can speak to that kind of obsession with being a bit confused. There are so many different avenues to explore so I have found my preferred niches and that’s lovely too; to see that different kinds of mathematicians can exist.
"There were very few Black people and Black women in my lectures... I had to continue to work on my imposter syndrome but having someone validate my place was invaluable."
Could you tell us a bit more about your experience as a female Maths student? What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
An important point is that I am a Black, African woman. I can’t shed my blackness when I embody my femaleness. My experience, like my identity, is intersectional.
A really hard thing was the initial jump in difficulty. A levels and uni only vaguely resemble each other so I had a lot of anxiety and fear in my first month or six weeks. There were very few Black people and Black women in my lectures so I stuck out and that made me uncomfortable because I really wanted to blend into the furniture. I felt like an admissions error because everyone seemed so much smarter than me and I was terrified of having to answer a question in front of the group. I reached out to my personal tutor and during our meeting, I shared these anxieties. He told me what all recovering overachievers need to hear; he said that I had nothing to worry about. The transition is hard for everyone and the work I was doing was good and I should be proud of it. Obviously, I had to continue to work on my imposter syndrome but having someone validate my place was invaluable.
Besides that, I have had terrible experiences of my wish for invisibility coming true. A common microaggression is having people repeatedly speak over you and then having someone repeat your idea like it’s something they thought up. It feels terrible but you have to do what you can to protect your peace. I know when I want to emphasise my value as a person and force people who wish to ignore me to see me and when to leave it alone for my own sake, not theirs.
What outreach work have you been involved in?
I am a serial volunteer so I have gotten involved with loads of things. Some highlights include a project I did with YWCA Scotland and the Scottish parliament to study the transition to employment for BAME (an imperfect acronym I do not like) women. I think we may have been the first fully diverse committee of the Scottish parliament. I spent 2 and a half years as a part of AIESEC Edinburgh and AIESEC UK. My AIESEC memories are some of my favourites. It was a great space to grow as a leader and I even got to volunteer abroad on an AIESEC project; I spent a couple of months in Belgrade, Serbia working with teenagers. Right now, I’m writing a book about Black women in STEM. I always wanted to be a fiction author and expected to write a book much later in life. I realised that I have a perspective and it's valuable, regardless of my age. It’s been a lot of fun carrying out interviews and a lot of uncomfortable learnings as I do research. It’ll be published this summer so I’m in the thick of writing and it's really exciting and important to share these stories and ideas.
What are your future plans?
I will be working in financial services in London after I finish my degree. I have always wanted to live in London so I look forward to that. I’m developing a social enterprise to get more Black women in STEM. That was in motion long before the book but they definitely support each other. I also think I’ll keep writing. It has been a fun exciting process and I want to challenge myself to write fiction. Like most of the world, I binged Bridgerton. It definitely has its issues but all in all, I loved it so I’m really tempted to write a romance novel. Stacy Abrams has a career as a romance thriller novelist so I’d be following in the footsteps of some commendable women.
*Please support Lauryn's book on the web page below! Here, you can also find out more about what the book entails, such as the 30+ interviewees who are Black women from across the globe.