Grand Challenges lecture series ILAS 2017-2018 | Page 6

GRAND CHALLENGES
LECTURE SERIES
CAN WOMEN EVER WIN
IN POLITICS? REFLECTIONS
ON THE CENTENARY OF
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE AFTER BREXIT, UKRI
IF YOU WANT TO: A
FIELD GUIDE TO THE NEW
RESEARCH LANDSCAPE
MELISSA BENN PROFESSOR JAMES WILSDON
6 MARCH 2018 | KEELE HALL | 5.30PM-6.30PM
FREE ADMISSION | REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
One hundred years ago, women won the qualified right
to vote. Since then we have seen many women MPs,
ministers, even two female Prime Ministers and numerous
laws passed that benefit all women’s lives. But something is
still very wrong in our body politic. In this talk, Melissa Benn
will reflect on what has been achieved b ut also the massive
difficulties women still face, here and abroad, in every
sphere of public activity: be it as politicians or campaigners,
would-be Presidents or feminist activists. Most importantly,
how can we fight back?
Melissa Benn is a writer and campaigner. She has
published numerous articles and essays for publications
as diverse as Cosmopolitan 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 serves on the board of the Oxford Women in
Humanities group and is Chair of the national campaign
group Comprehensive Future.
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7 MARCH 2018 | 6.00PM-7.00PM | KEELE HALL
THE SALVIN ROOM | FREE ADMISSION
REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
Much has been achieved
but women still face
difficulties in the sphere
of public activity
The research system is changing, but the need for robust
social science, novel methodologies and interdisciplinary
analysis of complex problems has never been greater.
We’re about to embark on the biggest shake-up in the
organisation of UK research for a generation. On 1
April 2018, implementation of the Higher Education and
Research Bill will see the seven Research Councils,
Innovate UK and the research arm of HEFCE drawn into
the warm embrace of Sir Mark Walport’s new mega-funder,
UKRI (UK Research and Innovation). Alongside this the
Research Excellence Framework has also been revamped.
All of these reforms are taking place against the backdrop
of the compound uncertainties of Brexit.
all of these reforms are
taking place against the
backdrop of the compound
uncertainties of Brexit
The external drivers are pressing; how can we prepare
for the road that lies ahead? What opportunities – as well
as bumps – may lie around the corner? Drawing on his
experience at the heart of UK research policy, James
Wilsdon will offer a field guide to the shifting contours
of the UK research landscape.
James Wilsdon is Professor of Research Policy
and Director of Impact and Engagement in the Faculty
of Social Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He is
an editor of the Guardian’s ‘Political Science’ blog on
science and research policy and also an elected Fellow
of the Academy of Social Sciences (2015). Previously,
he worked as Professor of Science and Democracy
at University of Sussex and Director of Science Policy
at the Royal Society and chaired the UK’s Campaign
for Social Science (2013-7) and the review of the role
of metrics in the UK’s research system.
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