The University of Aberdeen will mark International Women’s Day next week (Friday, March 6) by hosting an event designed to inspire and encourage women to harness their talents.
The annual event, which will take place at King's Conference Centre, will see teenagers from the city and shire, members of the public and representatives from the business community come together to attend ‘Inspiring Women - #EachForEqual.’
Each year International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women and the Aberdeen event will feature high-profile women from across a range of different sectors.
As ever, the University has secured a high calibre of keynote speakers.
Dr Linda Papadopoulos has built an outstanding reputation in both academia and broadcasting. A hugely successful psychologist, author, keynote speaker, columnist, host and broadcaster, Linda’s analysis on current affairs, trends and human behaviour is highly sought after and syndicated around the world.
Her work has informed government policy, most notably heading up a highly acclaimed independent review for the Home Office on the effects of sexualisation on young people. Her recent work on the impact of social media on mental and cognitive health has received widespread recognition and she is currently an ambassador for Internet Matters, a not for profit organisation advising parents on how to help children navigate the online world.
Professor Linley Lord is the pro vice-chancellor and president of Curtin Singapore with overall responsibility for the academic quality and integrity of the campus programs and for building the research profile of the University in Singapore.
Her research interests focus on gender and leadership and she has presented her research at major international conferences in North America, Europe, the UK and Australia. In 2015 the book she co-edited with Diana Bilimoria, Case Western Women in STEM Careers Increasing Workforce Participation through Organisational and Individual Strategies, won the Commonwealth Businesswomen Awards – Publication of the year.
Gail Kent is Global Policy Lead at Facebook. Prior to taking up her post at Facebook, Gail spent 17 years working for the National Crime Agency (the UK's equivalent of the FBI) where she saw every day how important international cooperation is for keeping us all safe. She served for four years at the UK embassy in Rome, tackling the mafia, money launderers and people traffickers, and now works for Facebook. After a few years focused on helping law enforcement around the world understand Facebook, she now focuses on talking to governments about how technology is changing privacy, safety and security.
Professor Marion Campbell, vice-principal Research at the University said: “We are looking forward to welcoming Linda, Gail and Linley to campus to help us celebrate International Women’s Day.
“They all have a wealth of knowledge and experience in their chosen fields and it is fantastic that they will be here to share this with our delegates.
“I am sure the day will also provide great inspiration to the next generation of women and it is great that so many young people have signed up to join us for the event.”
This year’s event is sponsored by TAQA.
HR Director at TAQA, Helen Stuart said: “We are proud to support this exciting event, working with the University of Aberdeen and local communities to celebrate the successes and promote the empowerment of women in the workplace and wider society.
“Women make up more than half of the world’s population, yet today inequality and discrimination continue to be global issues.
“We recognise the value a balanced workforce brings to our company's success and are committed to continually improving this, alongside supporting wider industry efforts.”
This is a free event, however attendees do need to register beforehand. Please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/events/conferences/iwd for more information.
