'Lonely Pioneers': 100 Years of Women in Politics

100 years ago in 1919, Nancy Astor became the first female MP to take a seat in Parliament. A century on, it is appropriate to reflect on progress in terms of equal representation and how political power is shared between men and women.

In some respects, the role of female politicians is well known to us. The UK has seen two female Prime Ministers, a female First Minister for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and women hold influential positions as Ministers and Chairs of Parliamentary Committees. Join us on International Women's Day for a discussion which will explore whether there has been improvements in the visibility of women in power or do such ‘improvements’ simply mask the ongoing challenges that women face in the UK?

This discussion will be livestreamed on the University of Birmingham Facebook page.

The speakers for the discussion include:

Professor Scott Lucas (Chair)

Scott works within the Department of Political Science and International Studies as a Professor of American Studies. He has been a professional journalist since 1979, and is the founder and editor of EA WorldView.

Catherine Mangan

Catherine is the Director of the Public Services Academy and leads the consultancy work for INLOGOV at the University of Birmingham. She has a particular research interest in delivering change within the public sector and her areas of interest include the integration of health and social care and developing the future workforce and leadership.

Professor Kiran Trehan

Kiran currently holds the post Professor of Enterprise and Leadership Development and is Academic Director for the Centre for Women’s Enterprise and Leadership, and co-director of the Enterprise and Diversity Alliance (WE-LEAD). Kiran’s key interests are in engaging policy makers on issues relating to diversity, enterprise and leadership development.

Professor Jane Martin

Professor of Social History of Education, Jane teaches and researches on gender and history and education policy and social justice. Currently she is completing a manuscript for Gender and History and her publications include a winner of the History of Education Society Book Prize 2002.

Rumali Rampathirana

Rumali is a student at the University, studying Political Science and International Relations. She regularly features on the University’s social media channels as part of the student team and creates blogs and social media content to share to current and prospective students.