International Women’s Day 2021 #ChooseToChallenge

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

"On International Women’s Day, I am proud to reflect on the achievements of the talented women from our staff and student community. In this extraordinary year, they have risen to the challenge and demonstrated admirable resilience, embracing new ways of working and learning. My thanks go to our inspiring academics, trailblazing researchers, outstanding professional staff, as well as everyone providing essential support and services for our students – the next generation of change-makers.

At the University of Brighton, we continue our commitment to the Athena SWAN charter and I am grateful to everyone involved for advancing gender equality through their actions.

We all have a part to play in creating a more balanced, fair society. Together, we are having a positive impact. But we know that there is always more to do. Today, we salute our women and thank every ally.”

Vice-Chancellor Professor Debra Humphris

Angela Saini

A Conversation with Angela Saini, the headline event for International Women’s Day, will take place online on Wednesday 10 March 2021 at midday and is open to all staff and students at both the universities of Brighton and Sussex. Angela Saini will give a talk highlighting the persisting inequalities in science, particularly around gender and race, as covered in her critically acclaimed books.

Professor Tara Dean, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and Chair of the Athena SWAN Steering Group at the University of Brighton said: “I am very proud that our university annually recognises International Women’s Day and really pleased that this year we will be celebrating it with colleagues from the University of Sussex.

“International Women’s Day started in the early 1900s, but still to this day, it continues to be a powerful platform globally that unifies tenacity and drives action for gender parity, while celebrating the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women. I am delighted to welcome renowned author Angela Saini to talk about her critical work on women and race. The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is, Choose to Challenge, and I can't think of a better author to share the day with us.”

Angela Saini authored ‘Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong’ and ‘Superior: the Return of Race Science’. These books powerfully depict science inaccuracies about women and race respectively, and have captured the imaginations of many – with ‘Inferior’ now being available in every state school library in the UK thanks to a grassroots crowdfunding campaign.

Professor Miguel Maravall, Academic Lead for Gender Equality and chair of the Athena SWAN self-assessment team at the University of Sussex, said: “Angela is a powerful contributor to debates about gender, race and science – her books are justly recognised for their ability to bring together historical and scientific arguments and debunk pseudoscientific essentialism.

“After this momentous pandemic year in which structural inequality and discrimination have so cruelly been reflected in life and health outcomes, we wanted to invite a prominent voice to reflect on the social, as opposed to biological, origin of these disparities. This year Angela was named by Prospect magazine as one of the world’s top 50 thinkers, was asked to sit on the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, and contributed to multiple discussions on scientific and structural racism. She is the ideal speaker to bring us together to commemorate International Women’s Day and I very much look forward to her talk.”

Angela Saini has presented radio and television programmes on the BBC and has written as a freelance journalist for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, New Scientist and many more, winning a number of national and international awards for her work. In addition, she has spoken at literary festivals, science events and conferences across the world, and has given distinguished and keynote lectures at Yale, Princeton, Oxford, and other institutions.