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Staff members posing for International Women's Day event

#EachforEqual was the theme for this year's International Women's Day. What better way to stress the collective importance of race, gender and age in the workplace? This theme has shown me that equality has many facets and it's a complex but important task to bring them together. On 10 March, NDORMS hosted an event with five inspirational women who discussed diversity in all its forms.  

The panellists included; 

  • Salma Chaudhury, Clinical lecturer and orthopaedic fellow in trauma & orthopaedics
  • Paula Croal, Postdoctoral Research Scientist 
  • Danielle Robinson, Postdoctoral research associate in pharmacoepidemiology
  • Tanesha Allen, 4th year DPhil student 
  • Fiona Watt, Clinical academic and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow

All the panellists shared their perspective on the topic of diversity in their respective fields, and the different ways in which the increasing global spotlight on diversity has presented both challenges and opportunities. A key theme which emerged from our discussion was the importance of resilience in the face of the challenges which emerge where there is an absence or misunderstanding of diversity in the workplace:  

" Know what you want, then go and get it"

- Fiona Watt 

Close up of Fiona Watt presentingI particularly liked this quote from Fiona about knowing your strengths then going out to get what you want! She made me understand that sometimes things will get tough and life will get in the way of plans but it's important to have a good network of people around you to support you. 

I also related to a lot of what Tanesha said about people making implicit assumptions about her work ethic because 

Tanesha Allen presenting at the International Women's Day eventof her race. But she knew what her strengths were and ultimately didn't allow the negative assumptions to stand in her way. She also stressed the importance of giving yourself praise and confidence because it can be easy to rely on others to do this for you when ultimately, it should come from you. 

I really enjoyed how candid and honest all the panellists were. It was incredibly refreshing to listen to insightful advice that felt real and relevant. I came out of it feeling empowered and motivated.  

A big thank you to Maria Granell Moreno for chairing and organising such an amazing and insightful event.