Gender equality and representation within and beyond the University of the Highlands and Islands

Observed annually every 8th of March, International Women’s Day is held as a worldwide day of celebration, protest and, in some countries, as a national holiday.  The annual University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) event to mark International Women’s Day, which first took place in 2018, sets out to explore and champion gender equality and representation in education, raise awareness and influence initiatives to support women working and studying in education, and champion gender equality and diversity in learning and teaching, curriculum design and other key aspects of academic work, practice and research.  This book brings together a substantial collection of chapters based on or inspired by the themes, issues and challenges that were explored at the University of the Highlands and Islands celebration of International Women’s Day 2021. Drawing upon contributions from colleagues across the university, and with a foreword from external keynote speaker Dr Natalie Jester, the chapters put forth in this volume explore and reflect on gender representation and equality within dimensions that include: discipline related practice, teaching and research; in curriculum design and development; in supporting or leading the development of learning and teaching; and in relation to institutional gender equality policy, initiatives and interventions. The book and the chapters therein are organised into three thematic parts. Section 1 explores ‘Gender equality in education: the wider context and UHI initiatives to champion equality for women’. Section 2 shares ‘Personal experiences and professional outlooks’, while Section 3 is focused on ‘Addressing gender balance and representation at UHI’. Although authored by colleagues at UHI, and drawing on examples and initiatives within a shared institutional context, the chapters and the book overall have a much broader focus and draw upon examples, literature, research and initiatives from across the wider education sector and from the fields of women’s studies and gender equality and representation. While UHI provides a contextual lens for many although not all of the chapters presented, the book sets out to contend with a range of relevant issues that will resonate in other higher education institutions and within academia and academic research more widely.