Hook of Hope

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improved awareness of the science and evidence ecosystem especially in the policy and operational decision-making process. Author Nurjahan Khatun BSc (Hons), MSc, MAPM was asked by the Lifelong Learning and Skills directorate to be a key note speaker for Scottish Government Away Day.

civilservicelive2023 #moderncivilservice #scienceandinnovation #civilservice #paneldiscussion #CSL23And I have a legacy fellowship run by the Rothschild family, which has allowed me to be part of a community that brings together social entrepreneurs. A tip I always give to my mentees is this: don't take no for an answer. Allow yourself to feel down fora few days, but bring yourself up, reach out to your support networks, and keep pushing. You have to persevere. If I gave up on my dream to become a Director, I would not have this job to look forward to. It was difficult to adjust to the bureaucratic processes. I was doing things I hadn't done for a decade, and that, coupled with the fact that I took a demotion in pay and grade, made my job very unsatisfactory.Also, I experienced a lot of discrimination. Nurjahan returned to the United States in 2006 under a B-2 visa, which is given out for leisure, tourism or medical treatment. After years of renewing it, there were delays in the approval process, and ultimately, in 2009, she was forced to return to Bangladesh, where she feared for her safety.

Sadly,there are six areas where I've felt discrimination: because I'm a woman and a woman in the technology space; I'm a brown woman from an ethnic minority, and I'm visibly Muslim. I also suffered ageism from being younger than my line managers and a bit more experienced. I am finally, finally at home," Nurjahan says. "I feel home, for me, is America because this is where I am comfortable in my own skin." We can't ignore that the murder of George Floyd sent waves of change to all spectrums of society, andit isa great time as an ethnic minority to leverage that in a positive way and where possible use that as an opportunity to develop and grow yourself. Departments are realising the benefit of diversity, and that's good news for you. There are so many talent programmes for ethnic minorities now. It wasn't like that in the early years of my career. The interview took place before Khatun's presentation at this week's Ethnic Minorities into Leadershipin Leeds. In the conversation, she revealeddetails of the challenges she encountered, the sources of resilience, and the drivers to become the leader she wanted to be. A whole new world

I've got this constant fire in my belly: I genuinely believe that we belong, and because of the difficulties I have experienced in my life and professional career, especially around discrimination, I don't want others to go through what I've gone through. Ever since I left the Home Office, I've been aiming for the SCS and getting myself ready to do what I needed to apply for a deputy director role. It took me five years of continuous interviewing for a senior civil servant position, sogetting the role is a monumental momentbecause I am not aware of any other visible female Muslimdirector anywhere in government. I was working 16 hours a day and six days a week. I was travelling around the world; it was allvery intense. That kind of lifestyle is not conducive to caring responsibilities. So, I had to make a decision and change the type of job I was doing,” she said.

Extracurricular activities worked for me because doing those things outside my day job made me a better leader in the civil service. My dad used to say: what you put in is what you get out. But if you're going to be lazy about it and not do anything to make things happen for yourself, nothing will fall into your lap. Sharing her story allowed Nurjahan to demonstrate how education played a positive role in her own leadership journey - with the aim to increase the team's understanding of lived experience in informing their work and identifying the work culture the team wants within their own Directorate. I spent five-and-a-half years at the Home Office, but this time was sadlynegative. It was completely different from my experience in the private sector, and I didn't have anybody helping me navigate that landscape. It was a great session that focussed on evidence, analysis, science and innovation, providing an invaluable chance to learn more about the science and evidence ecosystem in the Civil Service and its partners. Discussions was led by leaders in analysis, operational, delivery, policy and science. The session aimed to encourage and nurture scientific inquisitiveness and analytical curiosity and allowed the audience to gain:Just by coming together has been a huge success. By the end of the day I was like a proud Mama as I was overwhelmed with feeling incredibly proud of having such an amazing team who are supportive, go the extra mile despite the challenges, who are kind and respond so professionally to my every demand! Thank you to our amazing chair Jason Dewhurst and my fellow panel members Christophe Prince and James Cooke for an informative and interactive session.