Equalities @ EECS

International Women in Engineering Day is now in its seventh year, the 2020 campaign will be a year that is very different to the norm and we’re asking for your help to achieve this! INWED is an international awareness campaign which raises the profile of women in engineering and focuses attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry.

 

In 2020 we’re want to reach as many people as possible. If you have friends, relatives or colleagues in other countries we’re asking you to aim to involve them in your celebrations, They don’t need to be engineers, just appreciate the contribution that women engineers make. INWED HQ in the UK is now based from home, but we will still be planning our virtual activities to celebrate the day and will continue to co-ordinate your celebrations through our official INWED Activities page. We hope you will join us once again to celebrate the outstanding achievements of women engineers throughout the world. Taking place annually on 23 June, it’s your day, so get involved and help us #ShapeTheWorld this year!

Jobs.ac.uk is hosting a new women’s career event on 28 March 2020:

We are delighted to welcome you to our inaugural event, Women in STEM Careers 2020, hosted by jobs.ac.uk. At a time when women only account for 22% of the UK STEM workforce ^[1], the need for accurate representation within these sectors is increasingly high. As a result, there is a vast amount of opportunities being created for women who either wish to begin their career in STEM or progress from their current role. Our event aims to promote these opportunities by connecting attendees from across the UK with a selection of publically funded and charitable status organisations who are actively seeking to recruit talented women.

For more details and registration: https://blog.jobs.ac.uk/women-in-stem/

Carnegie UK Trust, Operation Black Vote and UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies have published a report on Race Inequality in the Workforce: Exploring connections between work, ethnicity and mental health.

Quoting from the report:

In this report, we present new data from Next Steps, a longitudinal study of the ‘millennial generation’ in England. The work reveals persistent issues around the relationships between employment, ethnicity and mental health and underlines that there are enduring inequalities in the workforce between ethnic groups. We find that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) young adults continue to be at a greater risk of being unemployed than White young adults and that BAME groups are more likely to be in some form of precarious work. The evidence also confirms significant links between employment status and mental health, whereby being unemployed, a shift worker or on a zero-hours contract are all associated with a significantly greater risk of having poor mental ill-health at age 25.

The full report can be found here.

WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) at Queen Mary is hosting a film screening of ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ to mark International Women’s Day on 8th March.

For information and to register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wiseqmul-presents-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-tickets-94849482355

Queen Mary is one of 33 universities working with the Institute of Coding to bring together industry, government, higher education and outreach partners to create new courses and provide support that attracts fresh talent into digital careers. Together we are working to break down the barriers that discourage people from digital and are providing different, flexible ways to access digital courses and events.

On 24 and 25 Feburary 2020, the Institute of Coding will be hosting its 2nd annual conference. Named ‘Thinking differently about lifelong learning’, this year’s conference will focus on how lifelong learning initiatives could revolutionise the nation’s digital sector, making it a space that promotes diversity and inclusion.

As the ET reports, ‘the agenda will be delivered by representatives of digital giants such as Google, Amazon Web Services, BT, IBM, and some of the country’s most respected universities, setting the conference up to be a standout event of 2020.

New research on the factors that inspire people to pursue digital careers will be shared by the IoC and Deloitte. Keynote speakers (photo) include Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder and CEO of the Stemettes; and Timandra Harkness, presenter, comedian and author of Big Data: Does Size Matter?”

You can find the full conference programme here.

From https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day:

Science and gender equality are both vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Over the past 15 years, the global community has made a lot of effort in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science. Yet women and girls continue to be excluded from participating fully in science.

At present, less than 30 per cent of researchers worldwide are women. According to UNESCO data (2014 – 2016), only around 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education. Globally, female students’ enrolment is particularly low in ICT (3 per cent), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5 per cent) and in engineering, manufacturing and construction (8 per cent).

Long-standing biases and gender stereotypes are steering girls and women away from science related fields. As in the real world, the world on screen reflects similar biases—the 2015 Gender Bias Without Borders study by the Geena Davis Institute showed that of the onscreen characters with an identifiable STEM job, only 12 per cent were women.

In order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/212 declaring 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Full article at UN website.

A call for applications for Springboard Women’s Development Programme has opened with a deadline for submission of midday 26^th February 2020.

Springboard is a four month personal and professional development programme for those identifying as women. It offers participants the opportunity to undertake a substantial review of their work and personal life and shape the change they want in practical and realistic ways by helping them to reflect on their goals, develop their strengths and learn and practice skills such as assertiveness and goal setting. More information on how to apply can be found here.

A briefing session for potential participants, will be held on Thursday, 13th February 2020, Queens E303, Mile End Campus, between 12 – 1 pm.

If you have any further questions about the programme please do get in contact with contact Lauren Hall  on 0207 882 5702 or Carol Malcolm on 0207 882 5519.

Queen Mary is proud of its diverse staff and student body and recognises the significant contribution LGBTQ+ people have made to the University and the wider community. The University is proud to be part of the annual celebration of LGBT+ History Month, joining universities, schools, local authorities, voluntary organisations and employers, with a programme of events and activities to highlight the history and achievements of LGBTQ+ communities.

LGBT+ History Month takes place annually and aims to promote equality and diversity by:

• increasing the visibility of LBGTQ+ people, their history, lives and their experiences,
• raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBTQ+ community and,
• working to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBTQ+ communities.

The theme this year is Poetry, Prose and Plays in memory of Lyra Mckee 1990-2019. Get involved and mark the start of LGBT+ History Month at Queen Mary by coming along to the Flag Raising Ceremony at 11.30am on Monday 3 February outside the Queens Building on the Mile End Campus. Colleagues and students from across the University have worked hard to put together an incredible programme of events to celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ people in society.

This LGBT+ History Month we are making our commitment to support and champion trans and bi staff and students that are often underrepresented and discriminated against both inside and outside the LGBTQ+ community.

So please do get involved wherever you can, by coming along to a film screening, a talk or LGBT+ History Month stall. The full programme of events can be found here.

We look forward to seeing you there, and happy LGBT+ History Month to all.
Shamima Akter
Students’ Union Vice-President Welfare

Sheila Gupta
VP People, Culture & Inclusion

Philippa Lloyd
Vice-Principal, Policy and Strategic Partnerships