Management School showcases research on gender equity for International Women's Day

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Image of a woman hugging herself with the words International Women's Day 8 March

The Management School is celebrating International Women's Day 2023, by showcasing studies by our inspiring researchers, that explore gender equity from different angles and perspectives.

International Women’s Day, celebrated each year on 8 March, is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, with this year’s theme being #EmbraceEquity.

Following last year’s ‘Break the tie’ campaign, in 2023 we take a step forward, moving from identifying and calling out bias against women, to reflecting on what equitable action is needed to achieve equality between genders.

Commenting on this year's theme and the Management School's involvement Professor Julia Balogun, Dean of the Management School, said:

“Today, as well as celebrating women's achievements, is time to reflect on the efforts we are making to forge equity among staff and students.

“As people start from different places, simply providing equal opportunities is not enough to help drive successful lives and careers for all.

“Here at the Management School we will continue to work on creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all staff and students. We are committed to listening to our students and colleagues, to build an equitable environment that promotes truly fair opportunities for everybody.”

In order to better understand why equal opportunities aren't enough, we have asked our School’s researchers to provide an insight into different barriers hindering females’ inclusion, and what can be done to combat them.

Dr Daniela Pirani, alongside colleagues Dr Vera Beckley-Hoelscher (Royal Holloway University of London) and Dr Ratna Khanijou (Goldsmiths University of London) take a critical look at how, while more women are pushing the boundaries, proposing to men reinforces the perception that marriage is the socially accepted way to move forward with relationships.

Read: Women proposing: Gender equality in wedding rituals?

With a staggering number of yearly victims of domestic abuse in the UK, Dr Noemi Mantovan explores how partner violence impacts women’s life choices with respect to partnership status, labour supply and fertility.

Read: The impact of domestic violence on female labour supply

Professor Ian Burn's research responds to some of the key questions regarding age discrimination in recruitment and explains how this specifically affects women looking for jobs from as early as 40 years of age.

Read: Job age discrimination for women starts at least 10 years earlier than for men

Dr Rachel Ashman, Dr Laura Radcliffe and Professor Caroline Gatrell delve into the experiences of working mothers during COVID19 and reflect on how national lockdowns caused a reversal to traditional gender roles.

Read: Juggling childcare and work during COVID19: A mothers’ job

Dr Jannine Poletti-Hughes explores the impact of independent female board directors on organisational performance, within the cultural context and family traditions of Latin America.

Read: Gender diversity reforms have helped UK company boards, but they are failing in other countries - new research explains why

As black and minority ethnic women remain dramatically underrepresented in the corporate world, Professor Lilian Otaye-Ebede and Dr Samah Shaffakat look into the experiences of ethnic minority female leaders to understand how they have overcome the ‘concrete ceiling’.

Read: BME Women: Breaking through the ‘concrete ceiling’ to achieve career success

As part of the School’s IWD celebrations Professor Jo Meehan, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Business and Professor of Responsible Procurement, has shared career experiences and the obstacles she has faced and overcome, to inspire other women and future role models. You can catch up and watch her talk below: