International Women’s Day (March 8 2020) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality in the workplace.
The theme this year is #EachforEqual, where a gender equal world is an enabled world.
Equality is not just a women’s issue, it’s a global issue. Gender equality is essential for economies, businesses and communities to thrive.
UCL has a long-standing commitment to gender equality in academia. UCL was one of the first universities in England to admit women on equal terms with men, and this commitment to women’s equality has only continued to grow. UCL School of Management has a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives to support women in the workplace and higher education and is proud to have a Senior Management Team made up of 34% women, and with ambitions to increase that further.
We are extremely fortunate to have so many successful and talented and accomplished women and men working and studying with us, and on this international day, we want to celebrate their achievements.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a fundamental part of The School of Management ethos and we are committed to building a positive, inclusive environment for all. We recognise that collective action and shared responsibility for driving a gender equal world is key. And thanks to the support and passion of the School’s senior leadership team as well as talented staff, students and alumni UCL School of Management is striving to diversify academia and higher education.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at The School of Management
As a school we are continually working to create an inclusive and positive environment for all. Under the direction of our Director Berk De Reyck we have set up our own Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team and run regular workshops addressing how to end harassment and bullying in the workplace, all ensuring the School is managed in a fair and transparent way.
On International Women’s Day, School of Management’s Director Bert De Reyck shares some of the ways the school is working to improve gender equality and make diversity a fundamental part of the school’s ethos and culture.
Read Berk De Reyck’s the full blog
Women in management book club
Last year, Deputy Director and Principal Teaching Fellow Nina Seppala launched a Women in Management book club for School of Management students, staff and alumni.
The Women in Management Book Club brings our networks together to discuss books that relate to female careers and gender equality issues at work. The meetings focus on the key ideas expressed in the chosen books and provide a space for members to share related experiences. Discussion leads to tangible outcomes that can be taken into the workplace to help women make the most of their knowledge and skills in order to progress further in their careers.
Find out more and sign up today
Dr Sunny Lee featured in The Times Higher Education
Associate Professor Dr Sunny Lee, recently featured in The Times Higher Education for her contribution to research on gender imbalance in academia. It is well known that women are under-represented in senior academic positions in most if not all countries. In UK business and management fields, for instance, only 20 per cent of senior academics are women, and this proportion is far from an outlier. But removing biases in the system may not be enough to achieve a truly equal gender balance, says Dr Sun Young (Sunny) Lee. It’s time for female academics to embrace competition.
Read the full Times Higher Education Article
Double Dutch Mentorship Scheme
UCL School of Management Alumnae and Double Dutch founders Joyce and Raissa De Haas are launching a female mentoring programme for female mixologists to support women looking to build a career in the industry.
The premium drinks founders are hoping this will help tackle the under-representation of women in the UK in the drinks industry.
Raissa has commented “Unfortunately, women are still very under-represented in the drinks and bar trade, and there are very few female role models and mentors. We are committed to supporting other women in the industry, and we hope through the establishment of this scholarship and mentoring programme we can help support and inspire the next generation of female talent.”
Learn more about this exciting initiative
Gender Equality in Sports – Why gender equal pay is so hard to achieve in most sports?
Assistant Professor Laura Claus has been conducting innovative research on gender equality in sports, from pay and investment to the lack of overall appreciation and fanbase in female sports.
The market argument is often used to defend paying women less than men - there simply is less market and public interest for female sports. In other words, they generate much less money. That’s a statistical fact in most sports. The argument that follows is: because they generate less money, female athletes should be paid less as well.
But Laura argues that the market follows with the money that athletes are being paid. More salary for athletes makes them more interesting to the public, evident from professional football players. So, one could argue that we need to pay women more first and then the market will equalise.
Learn more about Laura’s research
my experience as a professional woman in finance and academia
Women remain underrepresented in Academia and Finance, but for PhD student Poornika her experience as a woman in these fields has been inclusive and positive. She has secured challenging roles and has been fortunate to have mentors and managers who have been inclusive and fair, encouraging her to experiment and had the same high expectations of her as they would have had with any other employee, male or female.
Poornika will soon be embarking on a new adventure in the Netherlands where she will be joining the Rotterdam School of Management as an Assistant Professor.
Good Fit, Bad Fit: Identifying Antecedents to Gender-Based Differences in Industry Choice of Entrepreneurs
Founder of India’s first fully women-owned environmental biotech start-up and UCL School of Management MRes Student Aardra Chandra Mouli shares the beginnings of her exciting research looking into female entrepreneurship: ‘Why do female entrepreneurs make the industry choices that they do?’.
Throughout her career Aardra worked to make science and entrepreneurship accessible to everyone interested in those fields, specifically women. Her areas of research are; gender and entrepreneurship, specifically female entrepreneurship.
Learn more about Aardra’s research and experience as a female founder
Management Consultant, Founder and Director and School of Management Alumna Zarina Naqvi shares what she has learnt about leadership
Chartered Management Consultant, and Founder and Director of her own consultancy firm, Zarina Naqvi shares her advice for women looking to get into management consultancy.
“Be authentic. Trust is exceptionally important whilst working as a management consultant because without is you have little value. Be open & honest, don’t pretend, try to relax so that people in turn feel more comfortable around you. Authenticity is essential to be trusted to work ethically and solve your client’s problems. It’s also needed when working as a director and managing those who work for you.”