The School of Public Policy blog sat down with Caroline English, Chair of the new School of Public Policy Women’s Network to talk about the new network and its goals ahead of its launch this week.

Why did you set up the LSE SPP Women’s Network?

Last year, I ran a small event for International Women’s Day which was a great success. Dr Eleanor Knott from LSE’s Department of Methodology spoke to us about her experiences as a young female academic, and Dr Berkay Ozcan from LSE’s Department of Social Policy presented empirical research on interventions supporting gender equity. LSE MPA students were really interested in the topics covered and reported they wanted to engage more with these themes. I thought it would be really exciting to run a Women’s Network in the School of Public Policy that engaged more explicitly with the empirical side of gender equality, something that other similar networks might not prioritize as much. The academic angle is really important to us in the School of Public Policy and it has inspired us to focus on answers, rather than just problems.

The MPA office told me they were interested in having a greater focus on issues relating to women in public policy as they launched the new School of Public Policy, so I made a proposal for a student-led women’s network, put a call out for interest from the rest of the MPA cohort and seized the moment to set it up. Everyone agreed that a student-led network would be welcome and valuable addition to the MPA programme and the School.

What are the goals of the Network, and what do you hope to achieve in your first year? 

The Network has two objectives. First, we want to support women to become leaders in the field of public policy. We’re motivated by the fact that across the world, women are hugely under-represented. Only about 6% of world leaders are female, so increasing representation is a crucial first step.

Second, we think it’s important for public policy leaders to have a deep understanding of what works when it comes to addressing gender equality. We want graduates of the School of Public Policy’s programmes to come away with an understanding of the challenges faced by women around the world, in terms of their education and their safety, and a sense of how to start addressing these issues.

In terms of what we hope to achieve in our first year, we want to connect women in the School to each other, run a small number of events focused on answers to key issues affecting women, and establish ourselves such that the Network can continue to run next year and into the future (although if we’re successful in our goals, then hopefully it won’t be necessary for too far into the future!).

What would achieving the goals of the Network actually look like?

The answer might be different in different countries. In the UK, it’s probably greater representation and better safety outcomes for women. Without women leading key institutions, we don’t necessarily get decisions made that have been made with the best interests of women in mind. This is a point that can be made more globally as well. There is evidence from a study by Esther Duflo and Raghabendra Chattopadhyay in India that found having women in leadership positions on village councils increased the likelihood that a village would take policy positions that supported issues women considered important. People who understand the context of those they represent make better decisions for them. So this is one important measure of success.

Further, while everyone in the MPA will have experiences and motivations that determine their priorities and what matters to them, I think for me, one of the most alarming and frightening issues is the constant threats women face to their safety in the UK and abroad. If I were to paint a picture of what gender equality would look like in 20 years on this issue, it would be drastic changes to the rates of gender-based and sexual violence.

Is the Network just for women? 

No. It’s not just for women. Our first goal is to support women to become public policy leaders as it will lead us to focus on supporting women in the MPA programme to develop professionally. Our second goal is to educate future leaders on what works to achieve gender equality and this directly involves men. In fact it may even be more relevant to men in some ways, who may not have had the same exposure to discussions about what works on gender equality as some women. So we hope for a good mix of men and women at our events.

Tell us a bit about your launch event with Dr Connson Locke

We will launch the Women’s Network on Thursday 25th October at 6pm in the New Academic Building. Students and faculty will be joined by Dean of the School of Public Policy, Professor Andrés Velasco, and our guest speaker Dr Connson Locke, senior lecturer in LSE’s Department of Management.

Dr Connson Locke will speak about her research on gender issues in the workplace. She will specifically address different gender stereotypes and how these play a role in reinforcing gender biases that both men and women face in employment. She will discuss how to address these within a workplace, as well how policy makers can play a crucial role in creating change.

Phoebe McClements and the rest of the Women’s Network team have done an amazing job behind the scenes to prepare for the launch and set up the Network.

Find out more about LSE’s School of Public Policy Women’s Network and their events.