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Women in Higher Education Conference: Catch-up now

18 Jul 2025

Sessions on tackling gendered career pathways, effective networking, being bold at work and more

Conference audience

On Thursday 26th June, we welcomed 250 women who work in Higher Education to the first Women in Higher Education Network (WHEN) Conference in the North of England. 

You can catch up with the morning sessions here that include:

  • A welcome from Professor Duncan Ivison.
  • ‘Women in Higher Education: What we know now’ keynote speech from Professor Rachel Cowen recognising the contribution of women in Higher Education and representation of women in academic and PS roles.
  • Reflections from Professor Dawn Edge on hypervisibility, silencing and the importance of community.
  • ‘Career Trajectories Unpacked’ panel discussion chaired by Sarah Fox where leaders from across the sector share examples of what ‘being bold’ has meant to them during their career.

In the afternoon, attendees chose from a range of workshops including ‘The art of saying No’ and ‘Addressing Microaggressions with confidence’. Through a fascinating PechaKucha session chaired by Professor Jackie Carter, inspirational women shared their personal experiences and attendees were challenged to ‘be bold’.  There were networking opportunities throughout the whole day and time set aside to celebrate the achievements of women from across the sector.

We were also privileged to be joined by Prof Olive Mugenda, the first female Vice Chancellor in East Africa, and 30 talented Kenya and Manchester women taking part in our joint senior women leader's retreat. This is part of our British Council and University funded work to address the under-representation of women at executive level across the sector. It was an incredible week sharing global perspectives on strategic leadership in research and teaching and learning and forging friendships and collaborations.

Get involved!

·       To join the 830+ members of the Women@Manchester staff network, and to hear more about their monthly programme of social events, career development, and awareness talks, sign-up here and become part of the community.

·       For future WHEN events,subscribe here to stay in the loop