On Wednesday 15 March we held a very successful 'Women in the Workplace' event, attended by girls in years 9-13, parents and a number of staff. The event was part of the Girls' School Association's Dads4Daughters Day, itself inspired by the UN's HeForShe campaign. The aim was to encourage thought and discussion about gender equality in the workplace and how we can encourage men - as well as women - to work to improve gender equality.

The evening included two talks. The first by Mrs Louise Taylor (Housemistress of House 2), who is also completing a PHD in Gender Studies, spoke about 'The Modern Feminist'. The second talk was by Kate Jillings, a co-founder of three tech start-up companies. Kate spoke on the subject of perceptions of gender equality. After each talk, a panel of parents representing law, medicine and veterinary surgery were invited to comment on their experiences. This was followed by round table discussions, which inspired many of the girls to voice their views - so much so that the lively debate meant that the evening over-ran by half an hour!

After the discussions, the evening took a more competitive edge with a team quiz, presented by Mr Blond (Headmaster) and Mark Taylor (Director of Alumnae Relations and Development). One of our 6.1 girls helped present the answers, a task she performed admirably, especially considering the five seconds of notice she was given before being handed the microphone! Table 2 were victorious with an impressive 26/29. The team included a number of 6.1 girls alongside Mr Poffley (Director of Administration and Finance) and Miss Keller (Senior Deputy Head). The winning table were awarded a bag full of Lindt chocolate bunnies - which the girls were very excited about.

The evening concluded with the company being encouraged to fill in a pledge card, stating how they will 'be bold for change' in terms of gender equality in the workplace. Some of the pledges were read out before Mr Blond closed the evening with thanks to the panel, speakers and all who made the evening such a success.