Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog, today I would like to share with you how we celebrate International Women’s Day at the University of Surrey. Each year all the university’s schools and departments prepare some exciting events in order to celebrate and empower women. As I’m a student of Surrey Business School, I was invited to join “Creating your own stories; Lessons from inspirational women. ” event at the Lakeside Restaurant. I love how our university and each department prepared such an inspirational events where young women like me and my colleagues get to listen to successful women in the industry.
Creating your own stories; Lessons from inspirational women.
Perhaps I’m bias… but I honestly think that Surrey Business School has the best event! First of all the location of this event was perfect, we were welcomed at the Lakeside Restaurant (our own restaurant at the Business school) and the speakers were absolutely exceptional we had a panel discussion with 5 different women with their own unique career paths. The speakers shared their personal experience and encouraged how we as a new generation can change the industry.
Panellists include:
- Jan Sawkins, Director, Clare House Limited and Member of Council, University of Surrey
- Helen Griffiths, Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Executive Dean, University of Surrey
- Margaret Sherer, Founder and CEO, Cittadina Marketing
- Fiona Macaulay, Global Senior Director IT Delivery, Mars
- Sam Farrow, Creative and Managing Director, Farrow Creative Limited.
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/fass-celebrates-international-womens-day-2020 – more information about the event can be found on this website.
The outcome of this event
I truly enjoyed the feminine energy at that event, I think that it is really important for us as young women to learn and take notes on how we can change the industry and what should be done in order to reach a true equality at the workplace. The panellists shared their stories about how they challenged the stereotypes of being a women in the modern business industry. I was surprised how there are still only men clubs in the banking industry and how women are still perceived as a weaker, more submissive gender. We as a society have reached a lot, girls are able to get the same level education as boys and perceive the same careers, and I honestly do feel privileged that I can work alongside men and perform the same tasks. However we are not done, there are still a lot of stereotypes that need to be broken in order to reach an equality in the workplace.
What is femininity?
Femininity is a set of qualities and attributes that are associated with women. Of course feminine qualities are differentiated from country to country, but there are global standards. Some individuals still perceive women as submissive and don’t think that working women can be feminine. However, what actually determines femininity? Can a working women still be feminine? I will leave that for you to discuss. But, I personally think that because our society has changed, those qualities of femininity have to also change. Women can be feminine in the workplace and can perform the same tasks as men. As one of the speakers said : ” We need to be brave and embrace the change that is coming”.
How’s University embracing women?
University is very supportive of their young and ambitious female students and teaching fellows. We organizes several events such as “Celebrating women in engineering” and international women’s day events that were organized by every department. https://www.surrey.ac.uk/events/20191113-celebrating-women-engineering-university-surrey
That’s it from me! Happy international women’s day to all the lovely ladies out there, lets celebrate our femininity and break all the old school stereotypes! This is our day and we can lead the change that is coming in the nearest future. I will see you all next week, enjoy your Friday!
Дорогие девушки! Я хочу вас поздравить с международным женским днем и пожелать вам успехов в профессиональной деятельности и в личной жизни! Ломайте все стереотипы и доказывайте, что девушки могут быть женственными в рабочей сфере.
Будучи студенткой бизнес- школы Суррея, я получила приглашение присоединиться к программе ” Создание собственных историй; уроки вдохновляющих женщин…” – мероприятие в ресторане Lakeside . Мне нравится, как наш университет и каждый факультет готовит такие вдохновляющие мероприятия, где молодые женщины, такие как я и мои коллеги, слушают успешных женщин в индустрии. Я желаю вам хорошо отпраздновать этот замечательный день! Всем пока и до скорых встреч!
-Margarita
