International Women's Day with the School of Food Science and Nutrition
On the 8th of March, the School of Food Science and Nutrition organized a "Women, Leadership and Power" event to commemorate International Women's Day. This was attended by a number of different departments at the University of Leeds and included a speech entitled 'Women in Leadership' by the CEO of the Nutrition Society, Mark Hollings. He emphasised the these basic skills for those wishing to enter into a leadership role regardless of gender:
- Relevance of your vision
- Communication
- Planning and time management
- Control and self-discipline
However, the importance of training women on leadership skills with feminist role models and mentors in a suitable environment and goal at the end of the movement are also essential actions to be taken.
The programme was followed by a discussion panel where Prof Lisa Collins (Faculty of Biological Sciences), Dr Niamh Forde (Faculty of Medicine and Health), and Dr Yun Yun Gong (Food Science and Nutrition) exchanged their experiences as successful researchers. Dr Bernadette Moore’s role as moderator, enabled the deliberation on topics such as: the importance of having women at top positions, the perception of women on current issues, coping with a balance between professional and personal life, and adding/acting towards equality in a challenging work situation.
Some of the key points shared by the panellist were the mistaken belief of considering male/female ways of thinking, the importance of having diverse ways of leading, the existence of sexism from both men and women even at early educational levels, and the notorious inequality of the system, which is acquiring more attention by our society. For many leading women, there is a feeling of a shifted balance, surrounded by lack of support; however, it also represents an opportunity for taking little actions with meaningful messages and evidencing the importance of role models in a woman’s career.
At the end of the event, everybody participated on a picture showing the #balanceforbetter, remembering that Women can hold up half the sky 女性能顶半边天