The University is holding a number of events to mark International Women’s Day including a debate on gender imbalance and the use of quotas.
In the UK, 22% of professors are women, 10-15% of senior roles in the private sector are filled by women and 23% of MPs are women.
A team of speakers will consider how this situation can be changed and whether it needs to be changed.
The event will be hosted by Professor Susan Wray, the University’s Director of Athena SWAN (LINK), and panellists will include the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Janet Beer; David Ruebain, Chief Executive of the Equality Challenge Unit; Professor Fiona Beveridge, Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Emma Sims, Vice-President of the Liverpool Guild of Students; and Dr Lauren Walker, an Early Career Researcher at the University.
Debate
The debate, ‘Quotas: the only way, or no way? Gender imbalance and equality vs quality’, will take place at the Victoria Gallery and Museum on Wednesday, 4 March from 12pm to 2pm and will be followed by a networking lunch.
The University is also hosting a screening of Made In Dagenham which tells the story of the sewing machinists’ strike at the Ford Dagenham plant in 1968, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination, demanding equal pay. The strike was successful and led to the Equal Pay Act 1970.
The screening, introduced by Dr Stephanie Petrie from the School of Law and Social Justice, will be held at the Victoria Gallery and Museum on Wednesday, 4 March at 6pm.
Women in leadership
The Institute of Infection and Global Health is also marking International Women’s Day with a guest lecture by Harriet Minter, editor of the Guardian’s Women in Leadership section. The lecture, ‘Women in Leadership – What I’ve Learned From Some of the World’s Greatest Leaders,’ will take place at the Victoria Gallery and Museum on Tuesday, 10 March from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
Events are open to all. Tickets for all events are free but must be booked in advance here: http://www.liv.ac.uk/events/international-womens-day/form.php
For further information about additional activities at the University of Liverpool to mark International Women’s Day, please visit the Liverpool Guild of Students website.