SWIP Ireland!

The newly founded SWIP Ireland is co-hosting a fantastic sounding conference with SWIP UK. Check it out!

Happy Ada Lovelace Day

Today is Ada Lovelace Day, which aims to “[encourage] people around the world to talk about the women whose work they admire”.

The inspiration for Ada Lovelace Day came from psychologist Penelope Lockwood, who carried out a study which found that women need to see female role models more than men need to see male role models. “Outstanding women can function as inspirational examples of success,” she said, “illustrating the kinds of achievements that are possible for women around them. They demonstrate that it is possible to overcome traditional gender barriers, indicating to other women that high levels of success are indeed attainable.” (http://findingada.com/about/)

While Ada Lovelace Day is primarily aimed at women in STEM fields, many of the issues and barriers faced by young female philosophers are similar. And it’s always nice to have an excuse to talk about women whose work inspires us. So in honor of Ada Lovelace Day, I’m inviting readers – male or female – to post comments about women whose work has been particularly influential or valuable to them, or women who have served as mentors in their careers. Extra points if you say a little about why you find the work interesting and important.

Comments are open, people! Have fun, and happy Ada Lovelace Day.

Academic Men Explain Things to Me

Great new tumblr, here.

“Are you a female academic, researcher, or graduate student? Has a man tried to explain your field or topic to you, on the assumption that he must inevitably know more about it than you do? Share your experiences as a mansplainee here.”

Thanks to Inside Higher Ed for Calling Out Academic ‘Mansplaining’.