Grand Challenges lecture series Grand Challenges 2018-2019 | Page 7

Melissa Benn
CAN WOMEN EVER WIN IN
POLITICS? REFLECTIONS
ON THE CENTENARY OF
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
05 DECEMBER 2018 5.30PM-6.30PM
KEELE HALL, THE BALLROOM
A hundred years ago, women won the qualified right
to vote. In the ensuing hundred years, we have seen
the rise of many women in politics, much legislation
that benefits women’s lives and, more recently, the
resurgence of a powerful and intersectional global
feminism. But something is still very wrong in our body
politic and in civic society, particularly for women without
power, influence or ‘voice.’ In this talk, Melissa Benn
will reflect on enduring achievements, new dangers
and disputes, and how we might craft a more inclusive
and effective politics for the 21st century.
Melissa Benn is a writer and campaigner. She has
published numerous articles and essays for publications
as diverse as Public Finance and the London Review
of Books, and is currently a regular contributor to the
Guardian and New Statesman. She has published
eight books including two novels and her non-fiction
includes the highly acclaimed School Wars: The Battle
for Britain’s Education (2011) and What Should We Tell
Our Daughters? The Pleasures and Perils of Growing Up
Female (2013). She is on the board of the Oxford Women
in Humanities group and chair of the national campaign
group Comprehensive Future.
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