Women’s Liberation 2020 Conference #WomensLib2020

By UCL Women's Liberation, on 10 January 2020

UCL Women’s Liberation is organising a large one-day conference in February 2020, bringing together academics, policymakers, practitioners, journalists and activists for a day of feminist plenaries, panel discussions and practical campaigning workshops. We are delighted to be working with our third sector partners WPUK, Southall Black Sisters, FiLiA, The National Assembly of Women and the Centre for Women’s Justice.

2020 marks the 50 year anniversary of the first UK Women’s Liberation conference in the UK. We anticipate a national moment of reflection and evaluation of progress in the women’s movement. UCL was the first university in the UK to admit women on an equal basis to men, UCL is a fitting venue for this landmark event.

The conference will address themes of: the economic status of women, ending violence, harassment and abuse of women and girls, improved access to healthcare, education and training, justice for women in the legal system, representation and participation in democracy, culture, sports and all areas of public life.

Keynote speakers include Joanna Cherry QC MP, Pragna Patel, Joan McAlpine MSP, Julie Bindel and Maya Forstater. In addition to hearing leading feminist writers, researchers and activists, there will be a practical focus on empowerment of participants to return to their communities, workplaces and families with campaigning skills.

The Conference will take place on Saturday 1st February at University College London, Institute of Education 10.00-17.00.

Please purchase tickets via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/womens-liberation-2020-tickets-86046570609.

There are a limited number of tickets reserved for UCL staff at the regular rate. In ‘Select promo code’ box enter ‘UCLWLSIG’ and click Apply. The message ‘New Tickets unlocked below’ will appear and the option to purchase at the Standard ticket price of £25. You will also need to provide a UCL staff email address in Eventbrite.

The gender wars, academic freedom and education

By UCL Women's Liberation, on 21 September 2019

Academics who do not adhere to a particular line on gender and transgender issues have suffered intimidation by trans activists. The people under attack are not mavericks or extremists. They are feminists who question the trans-orthodox view that biological sex is a social construct while gendered identities are fixed and innate. They also seek to defend women’s sex-based rights. In this article, with Judith Suissa, we explain what is happening and consider what steps the higher education community needs to take to ensure that academic freedom is not curtailed.