Triumphs:  Story 1

She’s just won a prestigious prize (at a prestigious conference): praise was rightfully delivered and she basked it the glory, in the surprise that seemed to say she’d arrived in academia (early career no more). But she was worried. Did this really signal a safety in arriving, a recognition of value, labour, contributions? Or did it signal more labour, maybe this time without recognition or value? When the stakes are set so high do we have no choice but to keep apace, to endlessly indicate, effect and fear our own (in)capacities? When we compete with colleagues in a competitive university-marketplace – and when competition is so close it is generated by-ourselves-for-ourselves (as ‘keeping up’, ‘what next?’) – what cares, connections, capacities are rendered near and far? I tell her to add her award to her email signature, a neat summary quickly conveying who she is as a hyperlinked bio. But I pause. There’s a borderline between the achieving academic, the celebrity star and the pretentious, (self)promotional subject. I pause. These are laboured cares. Read the full story

Reports from across the world last week were claiming that we are no longer facing a gender gap but rather a gender chasm. Drawing on a new ‘gender gap’report these articles claim that even though a number of countries see more young women going to university than young men, it is men who tend to end up faring better in employment (rising to higher levels of seniority and earning more than their female counterparts). Read the full story

Whilst working in youth projects over the past decade or so, I have often noticed the predominance of highly gendered career guidance for young people. Too often, when discussing what career options girls were considering, the ‘holy trinity’ of beauty, hair and child care cropped up repeatedly in young women’s visions for their future and their Year 10 work placements. Such options were further cemented in areas such as ‘alternative’ education provision, or vocationally orientated training aimed at ‘NEETS’ (Not in Education, Employment and Training), that seemed to guide working class, young women into courses and apprenticeships in beauty or child care, and their brothers into motor mechanics and bricklaying. Read the full story

After 155 years The YWCA in England & Wales has recently re-launched itself as Platform 51. The 51 is intended to indicate that women and girls make up 51% of the UK population. Read the full story

On 2nd December we will be launching the report:

Monitoring the Presence and Representation of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Occupations in UK Based Online Media Read the full story

The Scottish School Leavers’ Surveys (SSLS) were a rich source of information about the experiences of young people between the ages 16 and 23., and provided longitudinal data on their secondary schooling, and their transitions through further and higher education, training, employment etc. Funded by the Scottish government from the 1970s to 2005, the SSLS is now discontinued Read the full story

Here’s the trailer of Ulrike Kubatta’s film She Should Have Gone to the Moon.

She Should Have Gone To The Moon is a documentary from film-maker Ulrike Kubatta. This 2008 film presents a uniquely personal chapter in the history of the space race. It tells the astonishing story of the pilot and pioneer, Jerri Truhill, who was trained in 1961, as part of NASA’s top secret Mercury 13 programme, to become one of the First Lady Astronauts. The documentary is a lyrical journey propelled by childhood aspirations, shattered dreams and a lifelong battle against stereotypes and male prejudice. In this post Ulrike gives a unique insight into her experiences of  making the film. Read the full story