International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place on Tuesday 8 March 2022, with activities taking place throughout March.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias:

“Imagine a gender equal world.
A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
Together we can forge women’s equality.
Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.” IWD 2022

We invite the entire university to be part of this conversation and show how you are breaking gender stereotypes. Why not share a photo and caption on the 8 March using #BreaktheBias, #WeAreUoN, #IWD_UoN.

Central Activities:

#BreakTheBias: A Focus on Women’s Health and Wellbeing
Thursday 10 March, 1pm – 2.30pm
Online, Microsoft Teams
Register your attendance

We invite the entire university to be part of this conversation and show how you are breaking gender stereotypes. Why not share a photo and caption on the 8 March using #BreaktheBias, #WeAreUoN, #IWD_UoN.

Join us for a panel discussion, chaired by Professor Katherine Linehan (PVC for EDI), where we explore how we can create an inclusive university that supports the health and wellbeing of women on campus.

We invite the entire university to be part of this conversation. Together we can #BreakTheBias.

Our speakers include:
Professor Katherine Linehan
Katherine Linehan joined University of Nottingham as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Equality Diversity, Inclusion and People in January 2022. Katherine joined the university from University of Sheffield where she was the deputy EDI lead for the institution as a whole, supporting the work of the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Katherine chaired the institution’s Gender Equality Committee, securing the Silver Athena SWAN award for it in 2018. She also led Sheffield’s response to the UKRI and EPSRC Race Equality Initiative and the diversification of the curriculum across her Faculty.
Katherine is committed to driving EDI at UoN “My ambition is to create a diverse and inclusive staff and student community in which all are given equal opportunity to thrive and showcase their talents. I want to foster an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and valued bringing their authentic self to the university to work or to study.”

Stacy Johnson
I am a Trinidadian immigrant nurse and academic activist. I am an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences and the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Reverse Mentoring Practice, a University of Nottingham spin out. I have been thinking deeply about the impact of psychological and moral distress on women’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Daisy Forster
As a third year Liberal Arts student, I’ve struggled with chronic migraines and headaches throughout my degree and understand what it feels like to have a condition be overlooked and misunderstood. I decided to start a Women*s Health Campaign to close the Gender Health Gap at UoN and make women* with health conditions feel that they are taken seriously. Hearing heart-breaking stories from students and staff through this campaign has made me realise how important and serious the issue really is. I’m very excited and honoured to take part in this event!

Claire Thompson
I am the Associate Director (Student Wellbeing) at the university. I am a graduate of the Nottingham School of Psychology and entered the world of social work after I left university, specialising in the area of adult mental health. The social work values of equality and inclusion are very close to my heart and I am delighted to be a part of celebrating International Women’s Day.

30 Minutes for Me – IWD Moves+ Challenge

Why not take part in one (or all!) of our IWD 2022 Moves+ challenges? Through the Moves+ app we are setting a series of challenges that not only get us moving but also celebrate women who are #breakingthebias when it comes to sport.

Physical activity is so important for our health and wellbeing. Not only is it great for our physical health but it also de-stresses and boost mood.

It is important that we take time for ourselves, so this International Women’s Day we are encouraging you all to take ’30 minutes for me’. Go for a walk, run, swim or whatever floats your boat! Just get out there for 30 minutes and feel the benefit. Why not take a walk around the campus? Walking routes can be viewed here.

Our big challenge this year is in celebration of Preet Chandi, the first woman of colour to reach the South Pole. The physio and army captain managed to complete a 700-mile solo expedition to the South Pole in 40 days, seven hours and three minutes – becoming the third fastest female solo skier to ever complete the journey. We are challenging you to walk 8,000 steps a day (total of 56,0000 over the week) and collectively we hope to cover 700miles.

More information on the Moves+ app can be found here.

Remember sport is for everyone!

The university’s Department of Sport offers inclusive initiatives and Empower gives female students the opportunity to keep fit, educate themselves on a healthy lifestyle and become part of a dynamic community.

Local Activities:

IWD Creative Competition Social Event- School of Psychology
For the second year, the School of Psychology hosted a Creative Challenge Competition to celebrate IWD. You can view this year’s student submissions here. We are hosting an IWD social event and competition winners announcement on Tuesday 8 of March at 2pm in the Psychology Social space. We will have coffee and cake, announce the Creative Challenge Competition Winners and host a pub quiz by the Psychology Society, followed by an informal discussion on breaking the bias.

Project Period: Paint it Red
Thursday 3 March, 11am –2.30pm
Senate Chamber, Trent Building, University Park Campus
Register your attendance

A menstrual and menopause workshop hosted by Kavita Raniga, Kate Butcher and Dom Mosses, with special guest speaker, Dr Claire Hardy.

How Can We Stop Forced Marriage
Thursday 3 March, 1-2pm
A100, Law & Social Sciences Building
Register your attendance

Presented by Dr Helen McCabe, join the School of Politics and International Relations for tea, coffee, pastries -and a conversation on how we can stop forced marriages.

IWD Film Screening at Sutton Bonington
Thursday 3 March, 6.30pm
The Nest, Sutton Bonington Campus

To celebrate IWD, Sutton Bonington EDI in collaboration with ResX will be showing a free entry intersectional feminist film The film choice will be put to a vote in the run up to the day between ‘Hidden Figures’ (BAME) and ‘Orlando’ (LGBT+).

For more information on these film choices (and other great options for IWD) see these complementary links:

Parade:20 feminist films for IWD (including HF).
Vogue:12 feminist films for IWD (including O).

Inspiring Women in STEM
Tuesday 8 March, 6pm – 7.30pm GMT, Microsoft Teams
Book your place here.

To celebrate International Women’s Day the University of Nottingham are hosting “Inspiring Women in STEM: #BreakTheBias”, a virtual talk aimed at current and prospective students, alumni, staff and the wider community. Hosted by Chemical Engineering Professor Rachel Gomes and Programme Director for Biotechnology, Dr Nagamani Bora, the talk will explore the International Women’s Day 2022 campaign theme: #BreakTheBias.

We are bringing together a panel of female STEM graduates, to celebrate women’s achievements, challenge biases and forge women’s equality in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics.

Find more details about the guest speakers here.

Break ‘dance’ out the bias
Tuesday 8 March, Medical School Foyer

To celebrate IWD 2022 the School of Health Sciences and School of Medicine will be hosting an event in the Medical School Foyer.

We are requesting donations for the Hygiene Bank – a local organisation that believes it is not right that feeling clean should be a luxury or a privilege for anyone in our society, yet many are living in poverty and cannot afford to stay clean.

We welcome donations of unused, in-date personal care and household cleaning essentials – including deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, make-up, nappies, toilet roll, laundry detergent and surface cleaner.

Donation boxes will be in the following locations;

B99 Executive Office, School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences Staff Room

For more information contact Linda Allsop.

IWD in Chaplaincy and Faith
Tuesday 8 March, 3pm – 4pm
Location: A46, Trent Building, University Campus. Students and staff will have the option of attending in person or watching a live stream online.
Sign up for the event here.

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Break the Bias’. In keeping with this, we are asking each panel member to answer the following question:

‘What bias have you experienced as a woman of faith?’ 

Each panel member will have 5 minutes to share their response to this question and then we will open this up for a 30minute Q&A session.

IWD at KMC : Admissions and Enquiries Team
Tuesday 8 March 2022, Kings Meadow Campus
Contact: Helena Morgan and Heather Nelson

The Admissions and Enquiries team will be welcoming a guest speaker from POW Nottingham to learn more about the experiences of marginalised women in our local community, followed by a craft sale and book swap to celebrate the talented creators across the team.

Public Lecture: Decisions and outcomes of women – research in the School of Economics
Tuesday 8 March 2022, 4.30pm – 5.30pm
A48, Sir Clive Granger Building, University Park Campus

We are hosting a public lecture to celebrate International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March. Academics in the School of Economics will present a brief summary of their current research on women.

4.35pm – 4.45pm “Women are hardworking, men are brilliant? Evidence from the economics job market” Markus Eberhardt

4.45pm – 4.55pm “Social norms and money-hiding by wives in sub-Saharan Africa” Abigail Barr

4.55pm – 5.05pm “Women’s expectations in the job market are changing: a study of millennials to boomers” Trudy Owens

5.05pm – 5.15pm “Gender effects in the battle of the sexes: a tale of two countries” Silvia Sonderegger

5.15pm – 5.25pm “The Suffrage Movement and Women’s Mobilisation into Politics: Evidence from the 1913 Pilgrimage” Valeria Rueda

Gender+ and elections in India’s most populous state
Date: Friday 18 March 2022, 12pm – 1.30pm (UK)/ 5.30-7pm (IST)
Online MS Teams webinar
Registration link to follow

This webinar, organised for International Women’s Day 2022, will explore challenges for women’s political participation in India. India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, home to more than 200 million people, has just concluded its state election in February – March 2022 to elect its state government. It is a politically dynamic state with several major parties. The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party, also the ruling party of national government, has governed the state from 2017-2022. The 2022 election is particularly noteworthy for the implementation of a 40% gender quota for candidates from one of the parties in the contest, the Indian National Congress party.  Results will be declared on 10 March. All three webinar speakers have spent time on the ground during the election campaign and have been closely involved with understanding the challenges faced by diverse women candidates in this election and women’s experiences as voters. We very much look forward to hearing their insights, in terms of the campaign, the results, and broader reflections on the status of women’s political participation in India.

We are grateful to the University of Nottingham’s International Women’s Day programme for co-funding this event, along with UoN’s Asia Research Institute.
Find a list of speaker profiles for this event here.

Watch and Listen

We also encourage you to engage with the creative content which was developed as part of International Women’s Day 2021:

Videos, produced by staff and students at the UoN, to recognise and celebrate women.

A reading of ‘Hers for the taking’: a poem about female empowerment by Arshia Agrawal – UoN Staff and Students

Choosing to Challenge through Dance – The SU Dance Society

Celebrating Women in Engineering: Product Design and Manufacture – The Design Society

Celebrating IWD: A video from UoN staff talking about what IWD means to them – UoN Staff

Podcasts – Listen on Spotify

Episode 1 – How we can meet new challenges with a community of women – a conversation with Mel Berry and Holly Woodford

Listen to this podcast chat with Mel and Holly from HerSpirt. They talk about how HerSpirit, an innovative and inspirational initiative has supported women to embark on new challenges to promote physical and mental wellbeing.

Episode 2 – How I’ve challenged myself during lockdown – a conversation with Katharine, Liz and Linda from the University of Nottingham Womens Network

Listen to Katharine, Liz and Linda talk about their experiences of challenging themselves with new ventures that helped them to stay physically and emotionally positive and put a smile on their faces.

Episode 3 – How I have challenged myself to enter a field I love – a conversation with Lukeki Kaindama, alumna and Principal Scientist at Public Health England

Listen to this podcast to hear more from our inspiring alumna Lukeki Kaindama about her story to pursue a career in Public Health, what she had to do on the way to get to the job she loves now and her tips on the challenges she overcame on the way.

Episode 4 – How I challenged myself to take part in a huge physical challenge after a health scare- a conversation with alumna Emma Cole

Listen to this podcast to hear more from our amazing alumna Emma Cole, who although suffering from health problems early last year took on a huge physical challenge during lockdown.

Episode 5 – How I’ve been challenged during the pandemic and how I set up my business as a new graduate – a conversation with alumna Olivia Swift

Listen to this podcast to hear more from our Alumni Laureate Award winner Olivia Swift. Olivia is a trained midwife and entrepreneur who talks frankly about how she has faced challenges during the pandemic and working out how to continue to support her company, Lotus Maternity, during the pandemic and whilst settling up her brand.

Episode 6 – How I challenged myself to progress in a career in microbiology and space – a conversation with alumna Emily P. Seto

Listen to this podcast to hear more from our Alumni Laureate Award winner Emily P. Seto. Hear about Emily’s health issues in childhood and how this solidified her interests in microbiology. Emily has now moved from clinical sciences to aerospace and what challenges she has faced along the way include gender stereotypes around working in science.

Feminist Archive East Midlands at the University of Nottingham

A team of volunteers and former members of the Nottingham Women’s Liberation Group have been working with Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham to create a feminist archive for the East Midlands.

The archive consists of material compiled by women involved in various strands of activism between the 1960s and 1990s, relating primarily to the activities of the Nottingham Women’s Liberation Group (second-wave feminist activism).

Find out more.