Women at Cambridge: ̽��ֱ��Meaning of Success book launch

pbh25 — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:40:56 +0000

A major book launch held this week will highlight the lives and work of women at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��event will feature BBC newsreader Jane Hill interviewing women featured in the book as part of a panel discussion.

̽��ֱ��Meaning of Success profiles 26 women at Cambridge – from world-leading academics, to key administrative staff – and features contributions from another 100.

Professor Dame Athene Donald, Gender Equality Champion at ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, says in the preface to the book: “As I read the stories these women reveal, I was moved and I was excited. Within an academic environment, too often the individual stories and voices are lost. Here we can reclaim a few of these and profit from what we hear.”

Women featured are from across the spectrum of staff within the ̽��ֱ�� and include masters of Colleges, senior scientists, office managers, an educational outreach officer and administrative staff.

Interviews with leading female figures within the ̽��ֱ�� include a section on Professor Mary Beard, famous for her popular TV programmes on Roman history.

Famed for her stance against Twitter trolls, the academic is equally strident in ideas of what defines success: “I find that people who are most talented in helping me to rethink my ideas often don’t measure up to the more usual marks of success.”

Working at the Judge Business School as a Research and Teaching Fellow, Dr Shima Barakat started her career as a construction engineer. Her approach to situations is revealed in the book: “My starting point is that I have the power to change something and I go from there.”

Her attitude helped her deal with many situations, including being the only women in a Cairo construction workforce of 400, but she details how there is still a need to do more than expect the individual to change to fit a situation: “Our systems are inconsistent and based on a masculine world view. We need to question them because they determine who gets recognised as successful.”

Each in-depth interview is accompanied by portrait photographs by Pari Naderi – images that will feature in a special Success: Women at Cambridge exhibition to be held next week at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��book will be launched at a special event on Wednesday, 5 March – at the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge.

Image: Dr Shima Barakat. Credit: ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

Book launch highlights the lives and work of women at the ̽��ֱ��

Within an academic environment, too often the individual stories and voices are lost. Here we can reclaim a few of these and profit from what we hear.

Professor Dame Athene Donald, Gender Equality Champion at ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Additional information

More information about the book, including excerpts and profiles, can be found at the Women at Cambridge website: www.cam.ac.uk/womenatcambridge. ̽��ֱ��book will be made available view online and to purchase through Amazon.

̽��ֱ��book launch will be held on Wednesday, 5 March, 5.30pm – 7pm at West Road Concert Hall, 11 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP. ̽��ֱ��event will be hosted by ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz.

To register go to: http://www.cam.ac.uk/women-at-cambridge/events/international-womens-day-... or email equality@admin.cam.ac.uk.

̽��ֱ��Fitzwilliam Museum’s exhibition of Pari Naderi’s photography will run from Tuesday, 11 March to Sunday, 16 March. Museum opening hours are: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 5.00pm / Sunday: 12noon - 5.00pm.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.

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̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Shima Barakat

Women at Cambridge: ̽��ֱ��Meaning of Success book launch