Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome’s Post

I spent an hour online today with the CASE Graduate Trainees and the inspiring Alice Chilver FCIPD MBA,  founder of WHEN: Women's Higher Education Network who was talking about making change in your work and organisation.  Alice's focus was on gender equality in the HE sector and it was motivated by the untapped energy Alice saw across her institution at the time (professional services at UCL). In 2015 Alice and her colleague, Emma, founded a social enterprise, with support from colleagues at UCL and whilst holding down her day job, which has now grown into a national network of female-changemakers.  Fast forward 10 years and this has turned into WHEN, a national charity that is advancing opportunities for women in HE including a new Vice-Chancellor pipeline programme and is aiming to accelerate 1,000 careers for women in HE and creating career plans for women in education. There are 8,500 members who are now part of the network. Alice's story today started with her talking about a colleague who was a little stuck in her role and was going through IVF. This triggered a memory in me about a key moment in my life when I was Deputy Director of Development at Newcastle University and was also going through IVF. This was about 14 years ago and at the time that the opportunity to go for the role ( a promotion) of Director of Development at York came up. I told myself, and the recruiter, that there was No Way that I could possibly apply for the role as I was trying to get pregnant (and not succeeding) and couldn't take on a big new role at a new institution. The recruiter was the founder of Richmond Associates, the brilliant Moyra Doyle, and, thankfully for me, for my family and for my career, she spoke absolute sense when she told me to just go for it and to not put barriers in the way - I had no idea if I would get pregnant let alone get the job (she said it much more sympathetically than this). She told me to just take it one step at a time rather than placing barriers where they didn't exist. Thankfully, 6 months later it had all worked out - I was pregnant with twins and had just taken on a big and exciting new job at the University of York. The leadership team at the university couldn't have been more supportive of me ( and have never stopped being so). Alice's advice today was about how to open doors in HE, about making things happen and finding the energy within your organisations to make the change you want to see. Thank you for sharing your insights, Alice, and for all that you're doing to support women working in HE today. Thank you to everyone who has given me a leg up and inspired me to keep going for it. My key learning - if you can't remove the barrier yourself (whether real or imagined) find others who can help figure out how to. We don't work alone and one of the very wonderful things about universities is that they are home to huge and supportive networks - you just need to find and tap into their energy.

We are proud to partner with Technological University Dublin on the TrailblazHER™ at TU Dublin initiative. The TrailblazHER programme aims to inspire young women to pursue careers in STEM and maximise their potential. At ESB we understand that true innovation is driven by diversity and inclusion. We are delighted to support TrailblazHER’s mission to empower the next generation of female innovators and leaders. To learn more about our partnership visit https://lnkd.in/epAVN-mg. #TrailblazHER #STEM #ESBNetZeroFuture

DAWN Fellowship Programme 2025 for young women feminists from the Global South (USD 1,200 monthly stipend) Application Deadline: March 1st, 2025 https://lnkd.in/gsJgCRCb Eligibility Criteria Applicants must be women feminists under the age of 40. Applicants should be from the Global South. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to feminist principles and methodologies. Proposals can include research, advocacy, mobilisation, resistance, or creative expression. Proposals must align with the theme of The Political Economy of Gender-Based Violence and Conflict. Financial support A stipend of USD 1,200 per month for 10 months, which can be used to cover research or project expenses, including materials, travel, and living costs. The fellowship is not intended to cover all project related costs and applicants should declare other sources of funding that might cover additional expenses. 2. Mentorship and networking Access to a network of experienced feminist researchers, advocates, and activists for guidance and support. 3. Dissemination opportunities Ability to present and publish project findings via DAWN’s platforms.

To Advance Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment in and through education needs- 1. Transformative leadership, 2. Accountability, 3. Innovation, 4. Data and 5. Financing

Investing in girls' education is essential for building a sustainable and equal future. At Brif.app, we partner with businesses to provide language learning solutions from native speakers, empowering companies to foster inclusive work environments and enhance global communication. By supporting education and gender equality, we help organizations unlock new opportunities and drive meaningful change. Together, let's champion hashtag #GenderEquality and make education accessible for all. #HerEducationOurFuture #Education"

📰 News from this month´s Newsletter https://shorturl.at/bwVX9 📌More Women in Research Globally, less than 30% of all researchers are women. To address this challenge, 46 Danida supported women researchers and women researchers from MS TCDC network gathered in Arusha, Tanzania, to share experiences and explore pathways to gender equity. Read more and watch the videos: https://lnkd.in/gnDJddkz YouLead Africa

Action 8 of the now adopted UN Pact for the Future states "We will achieve gender equality & the empowerment of all women and girls as a crucial contribution to progress across all the SDGs and targets." So why there are still no formal negotiations with the Taliban about getting women and girls back into education? #SDG5 #womenineducation #thepactforthefuture #summitofthefuture #UNGA Nature Portfolio Springer Nature Group United Nations https://lnkd.in/emR8Dy5S

🏆 For the first time ever, the Dutch academic year began with half the country’s universities being led by a woman. How about that? 🙌 Last year, Nijmegen’s Radboud University appointed José Sanders, professor of communication, as its first rector magnificus – equivalent to chancellor – while Wageningen University & Research named climate scientist Carolien Kroeze as rector. 👩🎓 The two appointments bring the total number of women leading Dutch universities to seven out of 14 and reflect a drive in recent years to improve the gender balance of their teaching and research staff. Margot Weijnen, a board member of the NWO (Dutch Research Council), said “increasing awareness” of gender inequality had encouraged universities to bring about change. In 2022 women accounted for 28% of all full professors, up from 23% four years earlier. “University boards felt that the time was right when it came to dealing with nominations,” she said. “They have to give women the opportunities to fill positions that in the past were reserved for men.” But there is more work to do. Efforts to improve the ethnic diversity of university staff along similar lines have proven more controversial. “We want to stimulate diversity in ethnicity and sexual orientation,” said Erasmus University Rotterdam Chancellor Annelien Bredenoord. “We know that the higher you go in our organisation, the less diverse it becomes.” Let's take a moment to celebrate these victories. And then let's roll up our sleeves and continue to improve gender equality, diversity and inclusion in all organizations. 💪 Read the full article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/efp6YAFJ Read about FTH role model Evangelia Demerouti, who helped spearhead the 2019 policy to hire ONLY female professors at Eindhoven University of Technology 👉https://lnkd.in/eKJwQp2B) #diversityequityinclusion #rectormagnificus #chancellor #university Hilde Ingelou Cheryl Helen Letícia Lale Vivian Karina Toam

It never rains it pours... Three articles published in as many weeks. Hot off the press is Shadow of a doubt: a network analysis of mentoring as a screen industry equity intervention: https://lnkd.in/gJnCQm_f This article - written with Pete Jones and Aresh Dadlani describes a key finding from our three year project exploring gender equity challenges in the elite social networks of international film industries. We found a curious effect when we used data models to try and understand the effect of different gender equity policy interventions. "Shadowing" - in which a newer entrant to the industry is assigned to work with an already-established figure - seems to have a notable positive effect for women and gender minorities. On further exploration however we found that this improved access to the industry's social capital could be achieved simply by getting more women and gender minorities (WGM) a second opportunity to make movies (noting that more than 70% of industry participants are "one and done" - i.e. finished after a single project). This insight is important for EDI policies more generally: leveling structurally uneven network advantages can be achieved through the development of programs (including but not limited to shadowing) to ensure that WGM and other under-represented groups consolidate their professional collaborations quickly.

As I prepare to accompany my daughter for the final semester of her Bachelor's in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, I find myself reflecting on the many achievements of women in science and healthcare. From the well-known and celebrated figures to those working tirelessly behind the scenes every day, it's encouraging to see their contributions growing and being increasingly recognised. More women are taking on leadership roles within scientific and healthcare organisations, inspiring young girls to pursue careers in STEM. Many also play a crucial role in shaping policies and helping create a more inclusive and innovative environment. According to the latest Eurostat figures, women represent about 41% of researchers in the EU, with notable differences across countries and disciplines. Approximately 24% of women hold top academic positions, a number that is steadily rising as more institutions adopt gender equality plans. Women also make up about 70% of the healthcare workforce in Europe, particularly in nursing and midwifery, and their presence is increasing in medical and surgical specialties.    Despite these positive developments, significant challenges remain. Diversity improves outcomes, and to remain competitive and innovative Europe must continue to support women in science. Educational programmes, mentorship initiatives, and celebrating the achievements of other women can inspire young girls to pursue careers in these fields, fostering a diverse pipeline of future scientists and healthcare professionals across various disciplines. These are a few books on this topic that have inspired me this year: • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (read with our Brunswick Group Brussels DEI Book Club) • Lessons in Chemistry • Lab Girl • Ten Women Who Changed Science and the World • The Only Woman in the Room • Inferior And here's to another year of innovation and to doing our part to create an even more inclusive environment in science and healthcare. #WomenInScience #WomenInHealthcare #Innovation #WomenInSTEM #InclusiveInnovation