Staff news

International Women’s Day 2021

Get involved in events taking place across the University to celebrate IWD 2021.

International Women’s Day will take place on Monday 8 March, and the theme for this year is #ChoosetoChallenge. Colleagues and students across the University have organised online events to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.

A summary of some of the events open to staff and students can be found below.

Women EmpowerED: Wikipedia Editathon with guest speaker Professor Linda Bauld – 6 March 2021

Time: 1pm – 4.30pm (full schedule on EventBrite page below)

Wikipedia is the 5th most visited website in the world but lacks diversity in its editors and its articles. As part of the Women EmpowerED Conference, this event will focus on improving the representation of women and gender minorities on Wikipedia.

Professor Linda Bauld will give a talk on online representation of women, and the University’s Wikipedian in Residence, Ewan McAndrew, will deliver a training session on editing Wikipedia pages and creating new pages for notable women and gender minorities who are not currently represented.

Sign up via EventBrite

Feminist Classrooms Past, Present and Future – with GenderEd and the Students Association – 8 March 2021

Time: 1pm – 2.30pm

This event will explore what feminism means in the classroom.

On International Women’s Day feminist academics and students discuss the challenges, dilemmas and transformational potential of practicing intersectional feminism in the classroom past and present. The event will draw on the Voices from the Early Days oral history project which has begun to map the history of feminist, women’s and gender studies teaching at University of Edinburgh.

More information including the line-up of speakers can be found on the EventBrite page.

The Role of Women in HIV and LGBTQ+ Activism – with the Staff Pride Network, GenderEd and IASH – 9 March 2021

Time: 6pm – 7.30pm

The success of the recent Channel 4 series 'It's a Sin' has shone a light on those affected by the AIDS crisis in the 80s and 90s. The character of Jill has inspired conversations about the role of women at this time, often as supporters, carers and campaigners for justice.

Hosted by the University’s Staff Pride Network, GenderEd and IASH, this event will reflect on the contributions made by women towards HIV and AIDS justice and LGBTQ+ rights.

More information, including the great panel of women involved in the event, can be found on the Eventbrite page.

#ChooseToChallenge with Sports & Exercise

To mark International Women’s Day, the University’s Sports & Exercise team will be sharing how members of their community #ChooseToChallenge. You can find out more on their website, and make sure to follow them on Twitter @PleasanceGym