News

To mark International Women’s Day, we gathered a panel of Nuffield women on Thursday 18 April to discuss an issue that concerns many early career academics, and still disproportionately affects women: balancing the challenges of a research career with the experience of building a family and parenting.

At the event (titled Motherhood, Multivariate Models and Moët & Chandon) a panel of Nuffield Governing Body Fellows – all Oxford professors and also mothers – took questions from an audience of students, early-career researchers and professional staff, as well as discussing their own experiences.

The conversation didn’t shy away from difficult issues such as hiring discrimination and the impact of harmful and outdated attitudes. However, the panel also encouraged early career researchers to know their worth, shared examples of the support they had received and how they made things work, and highlighted the role of fathers in supporting female partners.

The discussion was followed by a sumptuous afternoon tea in Hall, where attendees talked and reflected further on the issues raised.

Many thanks are due to our panel: Professors Lucie Cluver, Cécile Laborde and Barbara Petrongolo, and to moderator Dr Sopuruchukwu Obiesie, for generously giving their time and being so willing to speak candidly about both challenging experiences and reasons to be optimistic.

Meanwhile, in the Nuffield Library, International Women’s Day was celebrated with a display of books on women’s labour history (pictured). Together with Nuffield student Rachel Darby - whose DPhil thesis examines the history of British women’s organising, including groups such as the Night Cleaners - the team highlighted a selection of books on women and work, especially texts published by the socialist feminists amongst whom International Women's Day originated.

Pictured below: The Nuffield Library's display of books on women's labour for International Women's Day 2024.