This year’s International Women’s Day was themed “be bold”. At CiW, we felt this was a good occasion to start conversations about diversity in our department, in a meaningful and hopefully long-lasting way. We had a fantastic turn out on the day- with everyone dressed in purple (the official IWD colour). We heard from Andy Parker (Head of Dept.) and Rachael Padman (Athena Swan coordinator) about the values they think are important for the Cavendish to become a more welcoming and supportive place. With these values in mind, we gathered below our banner that proclaims “more diversity=better science”.
In the evening, Prof. Meena Upadhyaya gave an inspiring account of her career as a scientist and as an Indian woman and mother in Wales. Dr. Thekla Morgenroth talked about her fascinating research on affirmative action: what it means, the different way it can be enacted and which ones of those ways are more useful in changing the status quo.