International Women’s Day logo
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March around the world, every year and is now in its 110th year. Events and activities are held worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements and rally for equality.
As an institution with founding principles built on social justice, The Open University’s research portfolio has a rich stream of women-led research and numerous projects that have an impact on women and society, both in the UK and internationally.
Working in collaboration, the Faculty of Business and Law (FBL), Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS), and Faculty of Science, Technology and Maths (STEM) are coming together for an online webinar; Women in Research: Making a Difference to the Wider World, and we invite you to attend.
Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of The Open University
Professor Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and event chair, said:
“As an education institution the OU changes the lives of our students, but together with our research, it is a powerful agent of change for shaping a more inclusive society. Women bring unique perspectives to research and academic conversation and we’re proud to celebrate International Women’s Day by recognising the contribution of women-led research at the OU.”
During this thought-provoking discussion around the role of women in research, we will find out more about the panel’s research, how women at the OU are making a difference and explore the importance of women-led research.
Professor Fraser will be joined by OU academics Dr Jenny Douglas (WELS), Dr Cinzia Priola (FBL), Dr Miriam Fernandez (STEM/KMi) and Kate Lister (WELS) at the online event on Monday 8 March, 12:30-13:30.
To book your free tickets visit the Eventbrite page.
Meet the panel
Panel Chair: Professor Josie Fraser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Professor Fraser started her academic career as a neurobiologist with interests in animal behaviour and treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Following research posts at the Medical Research Council, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Josie re-joined The Open University in 2017, having previously been a tutor for the OU in the early 2000s. Her career focus shifted towards teaching and making a difference to a wide range of students from varied backgrounds. In her role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, she provides significant support in developing and delivering the University’s academic strategy.
Dr Jenny Douglas, Senior Lecture in Health Promotion, Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies
Dr Douglas is passionate about the health and wellbeing of black women. Her research is both varied and wide-ranging, spanning 30 years, on issues of race, health, gender and ethnicity. The key theme unifying her research and activism is intersectionality – exploring how ‘race’, class and gender affect particular aspects of African-Caribbean women’s health.
Jenny’s interdisciplinary research approach brings together sociology, public health and women’s studies and she has published widely on public health, health promotion and black women’s health.
Dr Cinzia Priola, Senior Lecturer in Organisation Studies, Faculty of Business and Law
Dr Priola’s research interests and publications focus on the interconnections between work, organisation and society on issues concerning identities, inclusion, diversity, gender and sexuality. Her research also explores how the concepts of brand and branding affect employees’ identification processes within organisations. Recent projects have included studies on the experiences of sexual minorities in social enterprises, women entrepreneurs, employee branding in the service sector and feminism in the academy. She is an associate editor of the journal ‘Gender Work and Organization’ and regularly reviews for numerous journals. In addition, Cinzia is Faculty of Business and Law’s chair for the Athena Swan charter.
Dr Miriam Fernandez, Senior Research Fellow at The Open University Knowledge Management Institute (KMI), Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
Before joining KMi, Dr Fernandez was research associate at Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain and software engineer (internship) at Google Zurich in Switzerland. Her research is at the intersection of the Web Science and Semantic Web communities, where she has contributed with more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in various leading conferences and journals. She has extensive expertise in leading EU and national projects. Miriam is the Athena SWAN champion for KMi, leading key initiatives to increase equality and diversity in higher education. Her latest research, which targets online hate and extremism was awarded best paper at WebSci 2018 and covered by WIRED in 2019.
Kate Lister, PFHEA, Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies
Kate is a Lecturer in Education Studies at The Open University, specialising in accessibility and inclusive pedagogy. Her role involves leading on and championing accessibility and inclusive practice, training and supporting OU staff to be inclusive by design. She is a champion of disabled students’ needs at different echelons of the University.
With a background in educational technology, language learning and accessible and inclusive pedagogies in international contexts, Kate’s research interests include barriers to learning, mental health and wellbeing in learning, participatory research, student engagement and inclusive approaches in language. Kate is also an Associate for Advance HE, where she co-leads on the Mental Wellbeing in the Curriculum collaborative project.
Liz is the Communications Manager for the Faculty of Wellbeing, Language Studies at The Open University. With over 15 years’ marketing experience working across a range of sectors, from diamonds to shampoo, she has a BSc (Hons) in Management from UMIST. In her spare time, Liz is usually found on roller skates or off travelling, having adventures.
