Pembroke Week of Women
International Women's Day falls on the 8th March, and this year the JP and GP Women's Officers went all out with a Week of Women in celebration.
The 'week of women' included a pub quiz, a film screening, and a women's day formal to which College staff were also invited. The keynote event was a Women's Day symposium on the theme of 'Balance for Better'. Dr Bina Agarwal, Ms. Rebecca Ormond, and Ms Evie Aspinall (2015) spoke about the why and how of creating a more gender-balanced world; about what's worked and what hasn't; and about why creating balance shapes a better world any way you look at it.
Ms. Ormond specialises in culture change and organisational development with experience in change, leadership and executive coaching, with a current focus on driving inclusion and wellbeing across PwC. She spoke about her work at PwC, and the benefits to companies and employees alike of creating an inclusive workplace culture. She pointed to the importance of an authentic desire for change at executive levels, and the need for a thoroughly-researched, action-based plan for improving gender balance.
Ms. Aspinall is a Pembroke alumna and current President of CUSU. She discussed her work at CUSU, her experiences in both the election process and the work she's done since, and the importance of ensuring that all students have a voice in decision-making.
Professor Agarwal is a prize winning development economist with a distinguished career writing about land and property rights of women in South Asia. Her work has significantly impacted government, NGOs working in South Asia and beyond.She spoke about topics from her 2010 book 'Gender and green governance: the political economy of women's presence within and beyond community forestry'. Dr Agarwal discussed the economic, environmental, and social benefits of gender balance, and the deep importance of women owning property and land.
As part of the International Women's Day activities we also revisted part of the PemWomen@30 celebrations. Portraits of female Fellows were placed over the traditional portaits in Hall. The portaits include some of the longest-serving Fellows, and some of the Fellows who had recently been admitted at the time the exhibition was created. Read more about it here.
We also shared the stories of Pembroke Women in Science, and celebrated the Pembroke Girls' Choir with a new video for International Women's Day.
