• Home
• News and Events
• News
• QMU to host gender equality conference

QMU to host international conference on gender equality and women’s rights

The second International Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender Studies and the Status of Women will be held at Queen Margaret University (QMU) next year.

The brainchild of ‘WomenBeing’ - a women-led international research network for the promotion, and dissemination of contemporary and interdisciplinary women’s and gender studies – the conference offers a platform for discussion relating to the current status of women, with a special focus on the following categories that constitute potential challenges to gender equality and women’s rights:

• the UK’s decision to leave the EU;
• the refugee crisis;
• rising levels of (and political legitimisation of) sexual violence and misogyny;
• cuts in child-care and services for disabled people;
• lack of access to paid parental leave;
• tax and welfare reforms;
• the gender pay gap;
• sexual harassment;
• and the rise of zero-contract hours.

International researchers and scientists from academia, industry and government will present their studies to a multi-disciplinary audience, exchange experiences, discuss proposals, and disseminate results on women’s and gender studies.

The conference will also provide opportunities to raise awareness and encourage dialogue on the proposed topics, with the aim of creating lasting productive partnerships between the participants.

Claire Seaman, Professor in Enterprise and Family Business in the Queen Margaret Business School, said: “We are delighted to welcome this conference to Queen Margaret University and indeed to be working with ‘WomenBeing’. Equality, social enterprise and the development of impactful research are key values at Queen Margaret University and this conference crosses academic disciplines to focus on those social values that underpin our research, learning and teaching and community engagement.”