International Women's Day, which falls on the 8 of March each year, has been celebrated across the world since the early 1900s. Originally, its aim was to provide a forum for women to campaign for equality and women’s rights. Over time, it has evolved and now in March each year, thousands of events are held globally to recognise the progress that has been made. The events are intended to inspire women and to celebrate their achievements. Join us for our International Women's Day celebrations over March. If you'd like to feature your IWD event or activities here, please let us know.
Restricted access to campus on 8 March
The University will be operating limited services today Wednesday 8 March due to the current adverse weather which is affecting Bath and the surrounding areas where many of our staff live, you can find more info here. If you're attending one of the in-person IWD events listed below, please check with the event organizer about any changes to venue or date if these haven't been communicated to you already.
Keynote speaker events:
University’s Athena Swan Committee (USAT) and ART-AI (UKRI CDT in Accountable, Responsible and Transparent AI) are pleased to co-host Londa Schiebinger from Stanford University to deliver an online talk on ‘Gendered Innovations: Enhancing Excellence in Science & Technology’ via Zoom at 4-5pm on 8 March. Find out more about the event and register here.
Making Respectable Women: Changing Moralities, Changing Times with Professor Mary Evans, London School of Economics, Emeritus Leverhulme Professor hosted by Professor Rajani Naidoo, Vice President for Community and Inclusion. Find out more about the event and register here. Due to adverse weather conditions, this talk will take place online only (instead of a hybrid delivery), so please email Lucy Spedo Mirandola for a Zoom link.
Workshop for women of colour studying at the University
Organised jointly by Culture and Inclusion and Student Support & Safeguarding teams, this online workshop featuring Toluwa Oyeleye will be exploring how self-worth, self-love and self-confidence look like for students of colour, with practical tips and wellbeing techniques provided. The seminar is designed to be a small, intimate online workshop, providing a space where we can talk openly, without judgement and without hesitation. We are coming together to learn, to share and most importantly to reflect. Join Toluwa on the 8 March, 12-1pm via Zoom by registering on Eventbrite.
The SU
The SU are hosting a panel event with staff and student speakers, celebrating the different experiences of being women. Our speakers include Dr Fran Amery, Senior Lecturer in PoLIS, along with three brilliant students. Refreshments will be provided and there will be an opportunity for a Q&A and networking. Come along on Wednesday 8 March 12:15 - 13:15 in Weston Studio, The Edge. Check out the event on the SU's 'What's On' page. Feminism and Gender Equality Society will also be out in The SU, raising money for domestic abuse charity Fearless.
IWD blog by Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sarah Hainsworth
As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, Professor Sarah Hainsworth invites us to focus on the International element of the celebration and have asked four senior colleagues to share their experiences of what it is to work and succeed at the University as a woman in an international context. Read the full blog here.
School of Management
The School of Management is holding a number of events throughout the day on Wednesday 8 March 2023, from network meetings, panel discussions to presentations and more. Check out a dedicated Celebrating International Women's Day at the School of Management page for more information and to register.
Department of PoLIS
Dr Galadriel Ravelli, Dr Milena Romano, and Dr Sandra Daroczi from Department of Politics, Languages and International Development (PoLIS) invite you to a creative arts and crafts workshop 'Reclaiming our Time'. It will encourage participants to challenge women’s underrepresentation in the public sphere through the symbolic act of ‘reclaiming our time’. Together, we will create a calendar to celebrate women’s contributions to world history day by day! It's open to staff and students from across the University and the workshop will take place on Wednesday, 8 March 2023; 15:15 -16:30 in 1W 2.02. Places are limited so please book here at the Eventbrite link.
Department of Computer Science
Culture and Inclusion team in collaboration with Athena Swan Lead in Computer Science Dr Thomas Powell released a blog post featuring reflections from three women in the Department (an UG student, an academic, and a PGR student), exploring their career paths, interests, motivations, the value of role models, decisions they are most proud of and what advice would they want to share with fellow students or academics.
Skills Centre
To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, staff from the Skills Centre write about the women they most admire from their different cultures. You can read their brilliant blog here.
In conversation with Prof Nancy Harding: IWD edition
We're delighted to share an IWD interview with Prof Nancy Harding, Professor of Human Resources Management and Head of the Strategy and Organisation Division at the University of Bath School of Management. Nancy shares what inspired her, her journey to entering academia, her career and the successes and challenges she has met along the way.
Launch of the new women's network
We have a new Women's Network – Career, Growth and Community (WN:CGC) aimed at women in grades 2 – 7. Find out more about the network, including the aims, details of the online pre-launch event on 9 March and the in person launch event on 20th March on their webpage.
Say thank you to the women you work with
Communications team set up a new Yammer Group for International Women’s Day as a place for you to give your peers the recognition they deserve. Make a post and tag your colleagues this International Women’s Day to show how much you appreciate what they do here at the University. It can be as general as thanking someone for their ongoing support, or as specific as giving them appreciation for reviewing your latest research paper! Find out more about this project and get involved by following this link.
Library's reading lists
The Library has collated online reading lists (Library Lists) that showcase materials on women in STEM, women in Civil Engineering and women in Architecture.
Honouring refugees this IWD
As we celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 and press for gender parity across the globe, let's remember to honour refugee women and girls who face unparalleled dangers and show remarkable strength every day. If you'd like to donate to support HIAS and their response to refugee crisis in Ukraine and, most recently, Turkey and Syria, check out their dedicated webpages for more info and details.