International Women's Day 2021
Celebrate this year's International Women's Day at online events arranged by the University, YUSU and others.
International Women's Day, which takes place on Monday 8 March, is an opportunity to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It's a time for unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whether at a global or local level.
Related activities and news
The Centre for Women's Studies is supporting and contributing to the programme of events offered by York International Women's Week (YIWW), which runs from 6 to 14 March. Check out this year's full programme, or follow the YIWW Facebook page for updates.
Resources and more
Find out how the University is supporting women and working towards gender equality.
There are a number of relevant policies, guidance documents and resources available via the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion web pages.
Events
We've listed below events organised by the University or YUSU. You can also find details on our Equality and Diversity Events Calendar; subscribe to this calendar, or to individual events, and the details will be added to your calendar so you don't miss the events that you're interested in!
Some of the events below require booking - follow the links for more details.
Student-run events
From March 8 -12, the YUSU Women and Non-binary Network have put together a programme of events including a 24 hour fundraiser for Women's AID and IDAS. See the list below and find more details on Instagram and Facebook. Daisy Slate and Néha Shah (both she/her) are the YUSU Women and Non-binary Officers.
Monday 8 March
11am History 101 Netflix party screening
12pm W+NB and UYWRUFC 24 hour exercise fundraiser for Women's Aid and IDAS
3pm Period. End of sentence. Netflix party screening
Tuesday 9 March
12pm Knock the house down Netflix party screening
6pm Blood, sweat and tears: the true cost of fast fashion. Zoom panel
Wednesday 10 March
12pm Reversing Roe Netflix party screening
5pm Campaigning 101 Zoom panel
Thursday 11 March
12pm Feminists: what were they thinking? Netflix party screening
6pm Talk and Q&A with Eliza Hatch, founder of Cheer Up Luv. Zoom event
Friday 12 March
10am What the f* is going on? Netflix party screening
12pm Instagram scavenger hunt - fundraiser for Refuge
University run events
Thursday 4 March
2pm - 3pm My life in football, Simone Magill
Simone Magill plays for Everton Women's Football Club and has more than 50 caps for Northern Ireland. In her talk, she will discuss pursuing her professional football career alongside her PhD research in Sports Sciences. This event is jointly organised by HYMS and the Departments of Health Sciences at York and Hull.
3.15pm-4.15pm Tales from the Nightingale - setting up an education programme in 5 days, Dr Nicki Credland
We are also excited to hear from Dr Nicki Credland, a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department Paramedical, Peri-operative and Advanced Practice at Hull. Recently, Nicki has led the Critical Care Nurse Educator at the temporary Yorkshire’s Nightingale Hospital, which she will be highlighting in her talk. This event is jointly organised by HYMS and the Departments of Health Sciences at York and Hull.
Friday 5 March
Women don't ask: negotiation and the gender divide
Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever
Saturday 6 - Sunday 14 March
Arctivism: women activists during the Covid-19 crisis. Online exhibition
This exhibition is accompanied by an online event on Wednesday 10 March - details below.
Monday 8 March
Decolonising and diversifying the curriculum
10.30am - 12pm.
This event is open to University of York students and staff. Register to join the discussion.
This discussion event for International Women's Day will explore what it means to decolonise and diversify the curriculum, looking at significant debates and developments in this area and discussing how we are working to diversify and decolonise the curriculum at the University of York. Questions for discussion include:
- What do we mean by 'decolonising and diversifying' the curriculum?
- Does decolonising and diversifying the curriculum give us an opportunity to advance other equalities, alongside race, and how can we take an intersectional approach?
- Is the curriculum gendered?
- How does decolonising interact with feminist perspectives?
- What might decolonising and diversifying the curriculum look like in practice?
- How can we work with students to decolonise and diversify the curriculum?
- What role do 'allies' have in decolonising and diversifying the curriculum?
Please note that this event is an internal only event, open to University of York staff and students. If you would like to attend please complete this booking form.
Picture a scientist
To mark International Women's Day and Athena Swan, the Department of Psychology are screening the stimulating 2020 documentary Picture a scientist about fighting discrimination against women and the loss of amazing women from science.
The documentary is available for streaming from Monday 8 to Wednesday 31 March - you'll need to log in with your University account.
If you want to hear more about the issues raised by the documentary, you can join a Choice magazine panel event on Wednesday 24 March, 8pm GMT (3pm US Eastern time).
International Women's Day talks
This event is jointly organised by HYMS and the Departments of Health Sciences at York and Hull, and features a great line-up of keynote speakers covering a diverse range of topics in celebration of International Women's Day. Sign up to attend one or all of these talks.
1pm-2pm Challenging health inequalities for the LGBTQ+ community, Dr Alison Berner
Dr Alison Berner is Specialty Trainee and Clinical Research Fellow in Medical Oncology (Barts Cancer Institute) and Specialist Registrar in Gender Identity (Gender Identity Clinic Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust)
2pm-2:45pm The future of flex, choose to challenge, Kate Jarman
Kate Jarman is Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Milton Keynes University Hospital and co-founded Flex NHS in 2018 to start a movement that promotes and enable flexible working for the 1.5 million NHS workers.
2.45pm-3.30pm Navigating Spaces in Challenging Places as a Black Healthcare Professional, Dr Margaret Ikpoh
Dr Margaret Ikpoh is a GP Partner, trainer and appraiser in East Yorkshire in the UK. She is also an Associate Director of Primary Care for Hull York Medical School and sits on the EDI board for the Medical School. In August 2020 she was nationally elected to the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) Council and stands for diversity and inclusion.
Tuesday 9 March
A spotlight on women in the Covid pandemic
A selection of filmed interviews from a range of women about the impact of Covid on their lives organised by Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR).
Wednesday 10 March
Third Annual Women in Research Network Conference: Catalyst for Change: Replenish, Regenerate, Reactivate
This event is for University of York researchers. Register to attend the conference.
The aim of the conference is to reflect on our work-life balance, including tools to help manage our work and thinking about how to take the next step in our careers.
The morning will be opened by Professor Kiran Trehan followed by a workshop run by Dr Hannah Roberts a career coach and professional skills trainer. Professor Matthias Ruth will open the afternoon session where we will hear inspiring talks from women researchers passionate about their research, sharing their lived experiences of a career in research.
Women activists during the Covid-19 Crisis - conversations on Arctivism
This event will bring together some of the women artist-activists whose work is part of the Arctivism exhibition running from Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 March (see above).
Thursday 11 March
Join us for a virtual Wikithon, adding our support to women in archaeology by increasing their profile on Wikipedia. Please sign up and join us between 1pm and 3pm.
The double X economy: The epic potential of empowering women
Professor Linda Scott
Thursday 18 March
Women's Role in Peace-building in Afghanistan
A York Ideas lecture to mark International Women's Day, with Fatima Gailani, President of the Afghan Red Crescent Society since 2004, and Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief at The National.