Women and the Value of Work: Past and Present
Following on from the success of last year’s event celebrating the 35th anniversary of Scottish Women’s Aid ‘Learning from the past, looking to the future’, the Centre for Gender History is pleased to announce its second workshop taking place at the University of Glasgow on Wednesday 08 May 2013. This year the theme will be Women and the Value of Work: Past and Present.
The value of women’s work is an historical problem that persists today. Despite legislation, women in Scotland still earn 14% less than men, prompting questions about the wider ways in which value is measured and recognised (Dec 2011 Annual Survey of Hours and Earning). Value can be assigned to work in several, overlapping ways. One of these is through monetary or material goods exchanged for labour. Another is in terms of its perceived importance and usefulness to the wider economy, culture and society. Sometimes it is ascribed value through the extent of training and skills required to fulfill a role. It also has a personal and emotional value, reckoned by individuals based on their wants and needs. Understanding how value has been appraised, and paying attention to the gendered ways in which work has been valued in Scotland historically will be the core focus of this event.
Spanning several centuries from the early modern period to the present day, the workshop will include themed sessions concentrating on women and enforced labour in Scotland, Scottish women in enterprise, and aspects of financial inequality. The event will also include a showcase of current postgraduate research, from a variety of disciplines, providing a platform for students to present their own research. The full programme will be made available shortly.
As with previous workshops, there will be an emphasis on public engagement, with the specific object of bringing together academic research and the work of campaign groups, and other non-academic organisations, that deal with issues of gender equality and work. We are pleased to be able to welcome Women’s Enterprise Scotland, the STUC and Close the Gap to the Centre for Gender History for this workshop.
The day will finish with an open panel discussion with the intention of stimulating dialogue on the ways in which academic research might help to inform practical campaigning and policy, and, inversely, how the latter can help to inform research agendas and methodological approaches. This will also be an opportunity to make links across disciplines, as well as promoting closer understandings between academic researchers and public organisations.
Tea and coffee will be served at morning and afternoon breaks and a light lunch will be provided courtesy of Athena SWAN.
The event will take place in the Alwyn Williams Building at the University of Glasgow and is free to all participants, however places are limited so pre- registration is essential. Please register by Monday 15 April 2013 at Eventbrite.
Contacts: Catriona MacLeod, Jonathan Moss or Roslyn Chapman
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Draft Schedule: Women and the Value of Work: Past and Present, Workshop – 8th May
09.00-09.15 Registration
09.15-09.30 Welcome & introduction: Alex Shepard, Director of the Centre for Gender History
09.30-10.10 PhD lightening talks – Jonny Moss; Laura Paterson; Roslyn Chapman
10.10-11.10 Women, Work and Financial equality
- Frankie McCarthy, School of Law - The value of home v. paid work in Scottish divorce courts
- Emma Ritch, Project Manager, Close the Gap, “Gender, value, and the problem of “women’s work” “
11.10-11.30 COFFEE
11.30-12.30 Women and Enforced Labour
- Stephen Mullen – title t.b.c. Scottish women and slavery.
- Eileen Dinning, Equalities Officer for UNISON Scotland and Chair STUC Women's Committee
12.30-13.30 LUNCH Courtesy of Athena SWAN
13.30-14.10 PhD lightning talks – Catriona Macleod; Brianna Robertson; Simone Hutcheson
14.10-15.40 Women and Enterprise
- Elizabeth Ewan – University Research Chair and Professor, University of Guelph.: 'Minding Her Own Business: Women, Enterprise, and Authorities in Sixteenth-Century Scotland'
- Cathryn Spence – title t.b.c. Women and business in 17thc. Scotland
- Jackie Brierton, MBE, MD/Policy Director, Women’s Enterprise Scotland - Developments in policy towards women's enterprise in the last 20-30 years and the effect of current government policies.
15.40-16.00 COFFEE
16.00-17.00 Panel Discussion: Open discussion between Centre for Gender History staff and invited speakers on topics raised during workshop and opportunity to highlight themes which merit further investigation. Stimulating dialogue on the ways in which academic research might help to inform practical campaigning and policy, and, inversely, how the latter can help to inform research agendas and methodological approaches.
17.00-18.00 WINE RECEPTION AND NETWORKING
The event will take place in the Alwyn Williams Building at the University of Glasgow and is free to all participants, however places are limited so pre- registration is essential.
Please register by Monday 15 April 2013 at Eventbrite.
Conference venue
The conference will take place in the Alwyn Williams Building (Computing Science) - building D20 on map.
Accommodation
Several other hotels in Glasgow offer good value for money - please check those recommended by the University of Glasgow' s Conference and Visitor Services Office.
Maps and travel
Maps and travel information are available on the University's web pages
Travel Directions:
- From Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow city centre
Take the airport bus to Edinburgh Waverley (main train station). Take a train from here to either Glasgow Queen Street Station or Glasgow Central Station. Both are in Glasgow city centre. (For the remainder of the journey see 4 for the conference venue). - From Glasgow Airport to Glasgow city centre
An airport bus runs to Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow city centre (right next to Queen Street Station) every 10 minutes. However, if you are going to either the conference venue, it makes more sense to take the 747 bus that runs every 20 minutes, see 3. - From Glasgow Airport to the conference venue
Bus 747 runs every 20 minutes and takes the long way round to the city centre, passing close by the conference venue. Get off at the Western Infirmary, right after Kelvingrove Park. - From Glasgow city centre to the conference venue
Take the subway from Buchanan subway station. From Queen Street Station, follow the subway signs through the underground passage. From central station, see map here. Get off at Hillhead.
For more information about how to get to Glasgow or how to get around town, please visit the University of Glasgow website.