Adam Smith Business School

This article features our colleagues, Emma Harrison (ASBS Alumni Officer), Selina Wu (International Alumni Officer) and Vivian Zhu (Alumni and Communications Assistant). If you have any news you would like to share with us, we'd be happy to share in our news site - get in touch with our team!

On March 8, we celebrate International Women’s Day, a global event dedicated to honouring the achievements of women and advocating for gender equality. This day is a powerful reminder of the strides made towards gender equality and the work that still needs to be done.  

We’re proud that in November 2024, the Adam Smith Business School received the Silver award from Athena Swan, showing our commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion. It is helping us improve our culture, environment for research and scholarship, promotion of female colleagues and much more. 

The theme for International Women's Day 2025 is ‘Accelerate Action’, encouraging everyone to take fast and effective steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the barriers and biases that women face. This year, we have taken the opportunity to sit down with our three exceptional female colleagues within the Adam Smith Business School Alumni team, Emma, Selina and Vivian, to share their personal experiences of facing barriers to gender equality, how they overcame them and what advice they would offer to those in similar positions now. 

 

Vivian

I was blissfully unaware of gender inequality until I entered the workforce. Growing up in the international, cosmopolitan environment of Shanghai as an only child, I had access to abundant educational resources and never felt limited by my gender. However, in my professional life, especially during interviews, I was asked about my marital status, whether I was pregnant or if I was planning to be. One company even disguised their surveillance under the guise of a complimentary annual health check before onboarding. I overcame these issues by speaking out and addressing them directly with my employers. I believe that standing up for oneself is the only way for you to truly feel empowered.  

Don’t underestimate the power of small but consistent actions. Don’t shy away from matters even when you think they are trivial, whether it is an offensive comment or one inappropriate gaze. Change starts with everyday fragmented moments.   

My line manager at University of Southern California was an incredible ally. Despite me being a fresh graduate at the time, he never underestimated my abilities. Instead, he trusted me with challenging projects, promoted me, and fully supported my career growth and shifts. His leadership showed me that true empowerment comes from belief in others, and that great leaders don’t necessarily need to act tough or authoritative to be effective. 

 

Selina

I truly appreciated my PhD journey at the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow, which holds an Athena Swan Gold award. Gender equality is a priority in my institute, and meaningful steps are taken to support it. For example, meetings are never scheduled before 10 am or after 4 pm, ensuring that staff with caregiving responsibilities are not excluded. 
 
In my work in international markets, I have encountered situations where I was underestimated because of my gender. Initially, I tried to gain recognition by presenting myself more professionally to seek validation. Gradually I learned that, if I felt disrespected, I would address it directly. I no longer try to adapt myself to the unfair world — it's the other party that needs to change. I encourage women to focus less on self-doubt and instead hold others accountable for their actions. 

 

Emma

I have had such a great experience since joining the University of Glasgow as it's great to come into a workplace with people from all different backgrounds. I particularly love that there are loads of mums with young children as being a working mum can be a real challenge. It's so empowering to work within an organisation where I can develop support networks who understand and are going through the same thing. For me, falling pregnant was probably the first time in my career that I felt a barrier because of my gender. Although I was lucky that I had a mostly positive experience there were still some challenges I faced when navigating motherhood and the world of work. The main issue for me was that I didn't really know what my rights were when I was pregnant and going on maternity leave. I had assumed that my workplace at the time would be prepared and know what was expected but this wasn't really the case. During my leave I also had to understand and decide what the options for me were when returning to work. Whilst having to understand all this you also have to deal with biases that some people have towards pregnant women in the workplace, so for most it can be a really joyous but also stressful time.  

Advice I would give to other women who are going through this are to find your allies, there will be some amazing people in your network who have gone through similar experiences and can offer advice and support. In terms of accelerating action and how you can make an impact, I'd say make sure you know your rights and be your own advocate. There are great tools for support, some I'd recommend would be; contacting ACAS if you feel your employer is discriminating against you due to your pregnancy. There are also some not-for-profit sites that are helpful such as ‘Pregnant then Screwed’. ‘Nugget Savings’ is another one that offers courses on financial stability during your child's early years and has lots of information on childcare funding. Following their social media channels helped me realise that I was entitled to the pay rise I was awarded when off on maternity, even though my employer didn't tell me this! And finally, ‘The Motherhood Penalty’, by Joeli Brearly is a great book to read. 

 

---

First published: 7 March 2025