Prof Rachel Oliver

You're going to have a busy day! I saw a lot of them!

I was originally going to post mocking the companies who have decided to use the bland slogan from the corporate entity, rather the challenging one from the UN, but then I clicked the hashtag and realised that this IWD company are fooling some really good folks doing the real work of feminism. 🤬 2/2

Folks, on #IWD2026, please be aware that the #GiveToGain slogan and hashtag arise from a private limited company who may have been set up to profit from International Women's Day. The UN set the real theme for IWD, the more ambitious and challenging #RightsJusticeAction. 1/2

This appalling fat cat wants to shut the door on all my mature students, many of whom left school after GCSE and give up a lot to go to university. I can tell him that they’re the hungriest for education and far from being unable to graduate, they regularly get the highest grades. Hateful man.

Except it's not: that would require the spend to be complete by the end of the month. We've already had the poorly constructed calls with short deadlines for that.

Compare and contrast the funding call in Kristy's post below with the EPSRC EDI action plan: "2.15. Ensure no short deadlines to funding opportunities. Thoughtful deadlines to enable a greater diversity of people to apply."

www.ukri.org/publications...

I have completed both my ResearchFish submission and also the final destruction of my soul.

Female MPs bear brunt as crimes against politicians surge More than 1,000 offences were reported to the police, including harassment and threats to kill

Attacks on MPs have increased, especially on women and black people. This is because a part of the population has been assured over & over that its misogyny and racism should never have been suppressed by “woke”, anti-“free speech” militants.

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

A painting of a bird beside the text "i'd like to be reimbursed for the time i spent listening to your bullshit"

Oh dear! I can understand your mum's desire for brie though!

Yeuch

😭

Oh, I'm not advocating for the terminology. Just the attitude.

You have to just accept it isn't cheese. It's something else. And that something else may be ok. But it doesn't scratch the cheese itch.

That works too!

I'm in no way vegan, not even vegetarian. I just... don't eat very much meat. Which from an environmental point of view is better than eating lots of meat, and is also achievable for me. I'm all for this kind of approach across much of life: don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

Or somehow both?

The thing about developing a narrative, is that it helps you present facts and arguments on a logical order so that everything makes sense. Writing without it may not just be dry but actually incomprehensible!

Oh dear: the talk I wrote and delivered to my group last week about how to craft a narrative and write a clear and engaging paper was apparently evil and wrong. Oh well, I think they enjoyed it anyway. Just consider me entertainment.

The boys’ club: How Epstein’s influence shaped the exclusion of women in STEM In one email, an AI researcher suggested it’s “hard to be brilliant if you are worrying if you look fat or why another woman hates you.”

The trove of files released by the Department of Justice, illuminates Epstein’s deep interest and entrenchment in the scientific community.

But the files also underscore how he used his power and money in ways that kept women out of places where they might succeed. https://bit.ly/4qWgPLz

Great to have some sunshine and to be back in the woods on the mountain bike: youtube.com/shorts/tcOqP...

JOSH AWARD 2026 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

The winner of this national award in science communication and engagement will develop and deliver a new project to run at Science Festivals, Science Discovery Centres, or other outreach events. Full details at big.uk.com/josh/

Deadline 10 April 2026.

A few years ago, a talented colleague made a sketch for me for a #WomenInSTEM campaign of a woman in a lab coat with a suffragette sash that said "Grants for women". It was cool and clever and we can't use it anymore.

Oh that's brilliant! Such good news! And well deserved! Congratulations!!

Given the general British obsession with meals served on toast, I wonder whether the trencher actually has a lingering influence on our "cuisine"?

I’m not religious but I think for Lent I’m giving up.

UN distances itself from International Women’s Day website winning corporate partnerships Sainsbury’s, Barclays and University College London have all drawn on themes created by IWD site run by London business with no link to UN

Just discovered this

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

The thing is, there was no real point the Universities sending round these preachy emails about how to work from home - people's homes were just not set up for it and no practical or financial help was available to change that.

Yeah - I can see lots of reasons it wasn't a good idea, but at the time there weren't a lot of other options giving that the place that I would usually have worked - at the dining room table - was occupied with homeschooling. I sorted out a better arrangement for the 2nd lockdown.

The Constance Tipper Lecture Theatre is named after this pioneering engineer. In 1939 Constance (nee Elam) was one of the first female lecturers at the Department of Engineering. Her major contribution during the Second World War was investigating the causes of brittle fracture in Liberty Ships.