The 40th Anniversary Weeekend

The College held two all-female formal dinners, inviting staff and students as well as alumnae.

The College held two all-female formal dinners, inviting staff and students as well as alumnae.

Director of Development and Alumni Relations Rachel Lawson and Bursar Jenny Raine welcome the attendees.

Director of Development and Alumni Relations Rachel Lawson and Bursar Jenny Raine welcome the attendees.

Fellow Professor Caroline Bassett hosted a panel on 'Women on tech by Women in Tech'.

Fellow Professor Caroline Bassett hosted a panel on 'Women on tech by Women in Tech'.

The panel discussing equality in finance and business featured several entrepreneurs and successful businesswomen.

The panel discussing equality in finance and business featured several entrepreneurs and successful businesswomen.

Alumna Katie Allen, journalist and author, discussing book-writing and the publishing industry.

Alumna Katie Allen, journalist and author, discussing book-writing and the publishing industry.

HSPS student Serika Siriwardhana discussed her experience working on the Oral History project, watched by Archivist Dr Genny Silvanus and ASNaC student Lottie Moss.

HSPS student Serika Siriwardhana discussed her experience working on the Oral History project, watched by Archivist Dr Genny Silvanus and ASNaC student Lottie Moss.

Baroness Kathy Willis gave the keynote speech.

Baroness Kathy Willis gave the keynote speech.

A networking session drew plenty of students to speak with alumnae offering academic and career advice.

A networking session drew plenty of students to speak with alumnae offering academic and career advice.

The Development Office created a full programme of events for the weekend of International Women’s Day in March which was attended by 160 alumnae along with students, Fellows and staff. Two women-only formal dinners were served, with Professor Philippa Hoskin pointing out that these were most likely the first and only occasions when the two-hundred year old Dining Hall was filled entirely with women. The events were also notable for mixing Alumnae, Fellows, students and staff, which provided a wonderful opportunity for sharing experiences across our community.

The programme begun with Director of Development Rachel Lawson and Bursar Jenny Raine welcoming arrivals to College, followed by a full schedule of panels, performances and presentations. These included:

‘Who said we weren’t there? Women in tech on women in tech’. Anchored by Fellow Professor Caroline Bassett [2020], and a panel consisting of Shazurawati Abd Karim (m.1993, Engineering), Jessica Figueras (m.1991, English) and Veronica Rogers (m.1995, Economics).

‘Shaping conversations: women’s voices in film, television and the media’. Anchored by Fellow Professor Sarah Fine [2009] with the panel Kenza Bryan (m.2013, History), Helen Veale (m.1989, History) and Claudia Yusef (m.2002, English).

Fellow Professor Nirupa Desai [2002] anchored a discussion about health and medicine with medical professionals, ‘Empowering women to make informed choices about their health’, with the panelists Judith Mohring (m.1992, Medical Sciences), Ravindhi Murphy (m.2002, Medicine) and Annabel Wood (m.1998, Medicine).

With a number of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists amongst our Members, a fascinating panel on ‘Improving equality for women in finance and business’ was anchored by Bursar Jenny Raine. The participants were Nina Bhatia (m.1984, Law), Hazel Moore (m.1987, Natural Sciences), Check Warner (m.2009, English) and Sophia Whitbread (m.2001), Classics).

Senior Tutor Marina Frasca-Spada [2007] anchored a literary discussion, ‘Celebrating the rich content of women authors’, with several Corpus authors: Katie Allen (m.1998, Modern & Medieval Languages, see page tk), Gytha Lodge (m.2002, English), Sarah Mitchell (m.1985, Law) and Fellow Professor Emma Wilson [1995].

Philanthropy, politics and policy were under discussion in ‘Women forging change across the worlds’ anchored by Fellow Professor Shruti Kapila [2007]. Participating were Cat Davison (m.2006, Philosophy), Nina Jeffs (m.2016, HSPS) and Despina Spandou (m.1995, Law).

College Archivist Dr Genny Silvanus anchored a panel on the Forty Years On Oral History Project which featured student participants Alex Bird (English), Serika Siriwardhana (HSPS) and Lottie Wells (ASNaC).

The Keynote Speech for the weekend was given by alumna Baroness (Kathy) Willis of Summertown (m.1986, Natural Sciences).

Baroness Willis’ career path has been both inspirational and diverse. Her presentation centred around challenges that she had experienced throughout her career and she described some of the successful solutions that she established. She indicated that some of the complications that she encountered were gender-based which is why the title of her presentation referred to the International Women’s Day 2024 campaign title, ‘Inspire Inclusion’.

For instance, upon arriving at Kew Gardens as the Director of Science, she identified several gender-based issues, including lack of career development for women, the organisation feeling ‘siloed’, and the existence of a glass ceiling in relation to pay. This was resolved through the Baroness’ meticulous and rigorous restructuring of personnel and pay bands within the company which offered up greater prospects for women in better paid positions. She finished by describing Eleanor Roosevelt’s approach to address gender inclusion. Starting small and tackling concerns piecemeal can prevent obstacles from looking initially overwhelming.

Speaker biographies and the full programme.

A weekend for female Corpuscles, celebrating female Corpuscles

A student’s view by Soraya Shakibi (Undergraduate MML)

“Our own view is that Corpus should go mixed. That, we believe, would be a change for the better”. This statement, written in a 1978 letter to the Master of Corpus Christi College, signed by five Fellows, laid the foundations for the acceptance of female students to Corpus and has led to the innumerable achievements made by each female student since the first matriculation in 1983.

Soraya at the event.

Soraya at the event.

It was exactly the intention of the Forty Years On - Women at Corpus Anniversary Weekend to celebrate these accomplishments and mark the occasion in all its ruby glory. However, there was also a solemn acknowledgement as to how much history could have been made had women been allowed to matriculate as early as their male counterparts. The road to female education at the University of Cambridge has undoubtedly been a long and tumultuous one, from Girton’s inception in 1869, to the (somewhat tardy) 1988 admission of women to Magdalene College, making it the last all-male college to admit women in the 20th century.

In the days leading up to the Anniversary Weekend, the buzz around Corpus was palpable. We students were eagerly anticipating the various events, including an invitation to dine with current female academics and alumnae. It was moving being seated in Hall with so many successful and thriving women sharing their experiences, dreams, and memories of being a Corpuscle. The sentiment in Professor Philippa Hoskin’s speech was profound, made even more touching when Rachel Lawson’s exhorted students, staff and alumnae to rise in groups, one after the other sharing a round of applause.

I attended four of the many events on offer, starting with a panel on the topic of women in film, TV and media which took place in the apposite location that is the Corpus Playroom. The panel members, chaired by Sarah Fine, ruminated to what extent there is a shortfall in the equality of gaze in media. For example, when women are interviewed for magazines or newspapers about their careers, the photos that complement the writing are often excessively sexualised, with women wearing ballgowns and six-inch heels, awkwardly perched on photoshoot stools. Other topics discussed were the business model of providing sensationalist content for ‘clicks’ and allocating women to smaller, cheaper productions.

The panel title ‘The rich content of female authors’ was fitting given the literary successes of the panellist. Interestingly, not all had been intent on pursuing careers as writers. Sarah Mitchell practiced as a barrister for 20 years before making the transition to writing. She acknowledged that having a familiarity with the manipulation of words in the field of law, helped her to transfer the skill of constructing arguments to constructing plots.

Panellist Katie Allen conceded that her modus operandi to prevent writer’s block was to set a daily word count to achieve each day, (which we students found to be quite intuitive in reference to our own essay deadlines!). The panel chair, Dr Marina Frasca Spada shifted the conversation to how women may manage their time between home commitments and career obligations. The panellists spoke of the importance of having a ‘Room of One’s Own’, to borrow Woolf’s turn of phrase, whilst instantaneously being inspired by the domestic life that unspools around them. Gytha Lodge and pointed out the value of women-only book prizes, to which Emma Wilson raised the question whether it is still suitable to prescribe awards in a binary fashion.

Senior Tutor Dr Marina Frasca-Spada

Senior Tutor Dr Marina Frasca-Spada

Playwright and actress Elisabeth Bouchaud introduced the Corpus Playroom performances of The Yellow Wallpaper and Saint Joan. She divulged that it had been 31 years since the first play was staged and was delighted to be in situ to watch the outstanding performances by Corpus’ very finest thesps: Maisie Johnson and Marie-Ange Camara.