Author: Amy Edwards

Following a welcome and introduction from Professor Emma Rees, Director of IGS, Emma will be in conversation with Professor Ann Oakley, discussing: Housework: from sociology to science, and everything in between. Celebrating 50 years of pioneering sociologist Ann Oakley’s work

We then welcome Q&A to Ann from the audience

This will be followed by Troubling the ‘Waves’: What Shall We Do with Feminisms’ Favourite Metaphor? with Dr Dawn Llewellyn, Associate Professor of Religion and Gender, Department of Theology and Religious Studies

Gill Badrock, an IGS PhD student discusses ‘Same Only Different: Feminism’s Alternative Expression’, followed by Action for Change with Imarn Ayton, Black Lives Matter protest organiser

Q&A will be welcomed from the audience with Dawn, Gill, Imarn and Ann – facilitated by Prof Emma Rees

Ann Oakley is a writer and a sociologist. She has written both novels and many non-fiction books. Most of her life has been spent working in university research. She is best known for her work on sex and gender, housework, childbirth and social science.

She is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the UCL Social Research Institute, and until January 2005 was Director of the Social Science Research Unit (SSRU) at the Institute of Education, where she also headed the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre). She holds an honorary appointment as a Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford. In 2011 the British Sociological Association gave her one of their first Lifetime achievement Awards for her extraordinary contribution to the history of the development of sociology in Britain. She now works on research part-time, and spends the rest of it writing, swimming and spending time with her family and friends.

Her non-fiction publications include (among many more!): Forgotten Wives: How Women get Written Out of History (2021); The Ann Oakley Reader: Gender, Women and Social Science (2005); The Captured Womb: A History of the Medical Care of Pregnant Women; Taking it Like a Woman (1984); Women Confined: Towards a sociology of childbirth (1980); From Here to Maternity: Becoming a Mother (1979); Housewife (1974)and The Sociology of Housework (1974).

Dr Dawn Llewellyn is an Associate Professor in Religion and Gender at the University of Chester and has published on women’s religious reading practices, the relationship between religion and gender, feminist generations, research methodologies, and motherhood and voluntary childlessness. She is currently completing (contracted with Bloomsbury) Motherhood, Voluntary Childlessness, and Christianity: Narratives of Choice that explores Christian women’s reproductive choices to have children or to be childfree, and the impact this has on their religious, gendered identities.

Gill Badrock is a PhD student in the University’s Institute of Gender Studies. Gill is a mature student who is committed to making a difference. Her interdisciplinary project is the culmination of her experience as a feminist in navigating several careers, often working in male-dominated environments.

Imarn Ayton is a 30-year-old South Londoner who came to prominence during the Black Lives Matter protest on the 31st May 2020, further to organising several protests including Saturday 6th June with 20,000 people in attendance. Imarn has become motivational speaker and Racism ‘Thought Leader’ in the process and has been globally recognised due to extensive media coverage.

Emma Rees (she/her) is Professor, and Director of the Institute of Gender Studies, University of Chester. She is author of The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History (Bloomsbury); editor of Palgrave’s (Re)presenting Gender Series; and editor of the Routledge Companion to Gender, Sexuality, and Culture.

Open to staff, students and visitors of all genders.

This event is in-person only and will not be live streamed.

The aims of this great event are to

• To showcase diverse role models in STEM

• To discuss the limitations and barriers around Diversity in STEM

• To enable networking and collaboration

See below for details of our great speakers:

12noon Refreshments and networking

12.30pm Welcome to the event – Julieanna Powell-Turner, Associate Dean

12.45pm Dr Abel Adegoke, is a GP Principal and Executive Partner at Hamilton Medical Centre and a Primary Care Cardiovascular Physician. Dr Abel will give his views on “The roles men can play in supporting women in STEM”.

1.05pm Caroline Keep is a Doctoral researcher in digitalisation in education in the Department of Engineering at the University of Central Lancashire as well as an Award-winning teacher, EdTech specialist and data scientist. Caroline will discuss “Getting the best out of Neurodiversity.” Caroline will discuss the assumptions and stereotypes which often arse around neurodiversity and how these can be challenged by those working in STEM now and in the future.

1.25pm Elaine Cogan is former Headteacher and educator with an extensive career spanning. Elaine will talk about “Encouraging girls in STEM, and managing Diversity in STEM from a high school perspective.”

1.45pm BREAK

2.00pm Samantha Harrington, HR Manager, Abbie Morris, R&D Mechanical Design Engineer, and Angela Griffiths, Graduate Product Controls Engineer, Atlas Copco. Samantha, Abbie and Angela will deliver their session “Diversifying our Talent Pool at Atlas Copco” where they will discuss their experiences, career journeys, early career perspectives, as well as exciting opportunities available.

2.20pm Dr Hamied Haroon “Wanted: Inclusivity by design” Hamied is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Imaging at the University of Manchester. As a disabled person working in STEM, Hamied will talk about his childhood, how his love for science evolved, how opportunities to follow his dream career were affected by others’ views and how he found a way to forge his own path. Hamied will talk about the work he does now and his activism, with a simple message of how all those working in STEM now or in the future can be more inclusive.

2.40pm Alumni panel – Rebecca Meadows – Operations Manager at Motrac Research Engineering Ltd (Thornton Science Park)- University of Chester MEng Chemical Engineering. Rebecca will discuss her career journey since graduation and share her top tips for success.

3.00pm Breakout groups to discuss next steps and actions from the day

3.45pm Plenary/ wrap up

4.00pm Close

This session begins with an opportunity to watch Victory Parade (21mins) where soldiers from the far reaches of the British Empire arrive in London to take part in the official commemoration of the end of war in Europe, a lavish state ceremony that took place over a year after actual V.E Day, on 8 July 1946.

Filmed by the Colonial Film Unit (an offshoot of the Ministry of Information), the film follows the arrival of various international brigades as they gather at London’s Colonial Office for an audience with Prime Minister Celement Atlee. Extended footage of the ceremony itself shows marching columns from numerous nations parading down the Mall before assembled royalty and politicians, including King George VI, Winston Churchill and a young Queen Elizabeth II.

Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the event was mired in controversy after Polish forces were excluded, symptomatic of the cooling of relations between East and West following Churchill’s famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech earlier that year. The parade would also mark one of the last great jamborees of the greater British Empire, which was already enduring a slow process of disintegration following the end of the war. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.

The welcome they received is second to none. After watching this video, Horace Barnes Chairperson of the ‘Why Are West Indians in this Country?’ project will ask and discuss with the audience “what has changed?”

Highlighting the Nations who stood by Britain in her hours of need, attendees at this session can reflect on and acknowledge, with confidence, the Nations we should thank for our freedom and the free world.

Open to all staff, students and visitors. Come along even if you don’t feel you have an interest in history – will be learn something new!

Complimenting the “This Fascist Life: Radical Right Movements in Interwar Europe” exhibition currently available to view in Seaborne Library, Prof Tim Grady, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Chester will discuss his new book. This is an edited volume aimed at undergraduate students titled ‘European Fascist Movements: A Sourcebook’.

Open to all staff, students and visitors. Come along even if you don’t feel you have an interest in history – will be learn something new!

Complimenting the “This Fascist Life: Radical Right Movements in Interwar Europe” exhibition currently available to view in Seaborne Library, Prof Tim Grady, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Chester will discuss his new book. This is an edited volume aimed at undergraduate students titled ‘European Fascist Movements: A Sourcebook’.

Open to all staff, students and visitors. Come along even if you don’t feel you have an interest in history – will be learn something new!

What does it mean to say that most people in England and Wales identify as having ‘no-religion’? Is Christianity a ‘minority religion’ in Britain? Is religion still mainstream but more diverse? Is ‘Generation Z’ the least religious cohort, to date?

The UK is swiftly becoming less religious: data from the 2021 Census suggested a significant shift during the last two decades towards ‘no religion’, mostly at the expense of Christian identity and practice. While the statistics seem clear cut – 22.2 million claiming they are not religious – this panel explores what is going on behind those numbers and considers how we understand belief, non-belief, and the morals, values and ideas that can, for many, replace religion today.

Join Professor Abby Day, Professor of Race, Faith & Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London and Dr Jasjit Singh Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science at the University of Leeds in conversation with the University of Chester’s Dr Dawn Llewellyn, Associate Professor in Religion and Gender for a lively and interactive panel discussing what factors contribute to changing beliefs, where religion grows and declines, the difficulties in measuring belief, and what this means for understanding contemporary British society.

This event is aimed at everyone, you don’t need an interest in religion or belief to attend

To commemorate International Women’s Day and the theme for 2023 of #embraceequality, Dr Helen Southall from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chester will talk about some of the female inventors, scientists and mathematicians involved in key technologies used by our mobile phones; Bluetooth, GPS, and the programmable electronic computers that make it all possible.

It’s tempting to take all this for granted, but a huge amount of work and some inspired ideas went into the development of these technologies. Some of the people who did that work are famous, but many aren’t, often because they had to keep their work secret, or because of where or when they lived.

To commemorate International Women’s Day and the theme for 2023 of #embraceequality, Dr Helen Southall from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chester will talk about some of the female inventors, scientists and mathematicians involved in key technologies used by our mobile phones; Bluetooth, GPS, and the programmable electronic computers that make it all possible.

It’s tempting to take all this for granted, but a huge amount of work and some inspired ideas went into the development of these technologies. Some of the people who did that work are famous, but many aren’t, often because they had to keep their work secret, or because of where or when they lived.

Caroline Aldridge is a social worker, educator and author. In this session Caroline will use creative methods to explore using our personal and professional experiences to shape policy and practice.

Caroline will give an overview of her books – He Died Waiting: Learning the Lessons -A Bereaved Mother’s View of Mental Health Services (2020) and They Died Waiting: The Crisis in Mental Health -Stories of Loss and Stories of Hope, that she co-edited with Emma Corlett (2023). She will introduce Wolfensberger’s (2002) concept of ‘deathmaking’ and why practitioners need to be aware of their social position and attitudes before identifying different ways of agitating for change. The session will conclude by looking at the importance of hope and self-care.

An opportunity hear a truly inspiring author and practitioner speak and an opportunity to reflect on creative methods to shape policy and practice.

This session is open to all but will be particularly relevant to students and practitioners with an interest in social work, mental health, or values-based practice.

A workshop aimed at staff and students in the education space with interests in equality, diversity and inclusion in the teaching profession. This is an interactive session delivered by doctoral researcher, Chiedza Ikpeh (in Education and Children’s Services), graduate PGCE student of the University of Chester and founder of the RARA Education Project CIC. Chiedza will be sharing her career journey, from her teacher training experience to her progression in the teaching profession. More so, acknowledging the power of storytelling, Chiedza will be sharing some of her initial research findings having documented stories shared by over 20 Black women in teaching across the UK.

Chiedza will engage attendees in some scenario-based activities based on her findings, in order to encourage a deeper exploration of the social and systemic enablers and barriers facing teachers of colour today. This workshop will give room for attendees to re-think school practices, processes and procedures with a focus on promoting inclusivity within the profession.