Where are all the Women? A British Academy panel discussion

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• published: 25 Oct 2012
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This British Academy-organised event took place on Wednesday 24 October 2012 at The Royal Society 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG. This debate is a collaboration between British Academy and TCCE's Inside Out Festival. Festival details can be found at: www.insideoutfestival.org.uk Is women's equality already a thing of the past? Did it ever exist at all? There are now fewer women in government than in recent years, very few female university Vice Chancellors and publicly funded bodies established to promote innovation are overwhelmingly male-dominated. Only 6.5% of FTSE 350 company executive directors are women, and in sectors such as film and theatre, women directors are still poorly represented. This discussion will ask why women in a range of sectors are still not getting the top jobs. During economic downturns, are women less likely to get those jobs, or are they just less visible when there? If so, what signals are being sent about our most powerful and influential institutions? Are women are eschewing top jobs for a multitude of reasons -- and perhaps deriving empowerment and satisfaction in doing so? This punchy and polemical debate will bring together a range of key female opinions drawn from the academic, cultural and business sectors. CHAIR: Bidisha is a writer, critic and broadcaster specialising in the arts and culture, social issues and international affairs. Her most recent book is Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine. SPEAKERS: Professor Vicki Bruce OBE FBA is Head of the School of Psychology at Newcastle University. She is currently Vice-President Communications and External Relations at the British Academy and is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Psychological Society (BPS). Professor Morag Shiach is Vice-Principal and Executive Dean (Humanities and Social Sciences) at Queen Mary University of London, where she is also a Professor of Cultural History in the School of English and Drama. Her research interests are in the cultural history of modernism. Rachel Milward is the founding director of the Birds Eye View Film Festival which celebrates and supports international women filmmakers. The 2013 festival focuses on Arab women filmmakers. She is also a Fellow of the Clore leadership programme and was Arts Council 'Woman to Watch 2010-11'. Deborah Mattinson is a founding Director of BritainThinks and WorldThinks. She advises clients in the corporate, public and voluntary sectors on strategic communications in the UK and rest of the world. She regularly writes and broadcasts widely on the mood of the nation and public opinion. Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, QPM is a senior officer in London's Metropolitan Police. In July 2009, Cressida was promoted to be the first female Assistant Commissioner in the Met when she took over Specialist Crime Directorate. Her current responsibilities include Protection, Security and Counter Terrorism/Domestic Extremism for London. Her role includes being Chair of the national Terrorism and Allied Matters portfolio, as well as being the National Director for Counter Terrorism Policing during the Olympic and Paralympic games. Cressida has been a long standing member of BAWP (British Association of Women in Policing) and was appointed President in October 2010. Professor Anne Marie Rafferty, CBE, FRCN, is a British nurse, administrator, academic and researcher. She was Head of the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, in 2004 until 2011. She was previously Professor of Nursing Policy. She won a Harkness Fellowship to study at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked with Dr. Linda Aiken on the role of nursing in the Clinton Administration's health care reform agenda. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing. Her research interests combine history, health policy and health services research. She was appointed Director, Centre for Policy in Nursing Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1994, and subsequently Head, Health Services Research Unit. To find out more visit: http://www.britac.ac.uk/events/2012/Where_are_all_the_women.cfm