Friday 06-10-2023 - 11:00

 

As we start a new academic year and new Students' Union elections rapidly approach, we are offering an exciting and paid opportunity for students to contribute to our She Should Run campaign by helping to empower women+ in student leadership.

 

 

In the March 2023 Students’ Union (LUSU) elections, it became apparent that LUSU has a serious problem with gender equity in its student leadership. Only 1 out of 8 Full Time Officer (FTO) candidates were women+, a disappointing statistic considering almost 52% of the current student population identify as women.

However, nominations for FTO roles are only the tip of the iceberg. Gender disparities also exist across college JCRs, and we also know there are acute challenges for female and non-binary leaders in sports teams, societies, and academic representation.

 

To address this disparity, we are today relaunching our #SheShouldRun campaign to empower and upskill a network of women+ student leaders at Lancaster. Over the course of the year, we aspire to deliver ten informative workshops on subjects relating to women+ leadership and we need your help to make them happen. We are looking for student groups and individuals with something to contribute to this important campaign to submit workshop proposals now. Workshops should be approximately 2 hours in length and suitable for an audience of 30-40 people. They must be accessible, inclusive and include an element of interactivity. Workshop leaders will be paid £100 per workshop, funded by your Students' Union.

Workshop proposals will be considered by a panel of Women+ Forum Exec members and successful candidates will be contacted with a date for their workshop in Week 3 of Michaelmas term. If you are interested in leading a session, you can find more information and the proposal form at our She Should Run webpage. Workshop proposals should be submitted by Friday 20th October 2023.

 

LUSU Women+ Officer, Hana, said that "the She Should Run campaign, to me, is not only an opportunity to get students involved in student leader roles but it is an opportunity to build confidence in a whole group of women+ students; to empower them and make them know that they are capable of achieving whatever they set out to do".

If you don't wish to lead a session but are interested in attending or being involved in the campaign then make sure you are following @lusuwomenplusofficer and @luwomenplus for campaign updates.