BWA: Recent News
18/07/09
We’re updating the website at present. Watch this space!
For now, check out our blog for current news/events of interest to the BWA team.
08/07/09
We’re very pleased to welcome Mairi, our new Unions Rep, and Helen, our National Representative for Volunteers to the team. A big hello also from BWA HQ (in north-west England) to our new regional representatives: Becca in south-west England, Louise in the south, Sue in the south-east; and Mairi in southern Scotland.
01/05/09
Outline research proposal submitted to the Leverhulme Trust. Unfortunately, it didn’t get put through for funding. Lots of support for the proposal though amongst Liverpool staff so we will try other bodies.
28/04/09
BWA has been invited to present the situation of women in British archaeology to the EAA working party on Gender and Archaeology in Europe this September. Other countries to be represented will be Spain, Germany, Romania, Russia, and Norway.
07/04/09
Great news everyone - in our first year we've had over 4,000 hits! That's also a conservative estimate as our counting machine only counts servers rather than individual users (very useful..).
20/01/09
Robust e-mail discussion was had re. whether a women’s group was still necessary, sparked off by a male colleague (who had expressed an interest in hearing more about the group, and attended the TAG session, but chosen not to join), and copied to a number of his female friends. Comments by one suggested that a number of assumptions were being made about the group, namely that it was too academic (and thus anti-field) and also anti-male. Each of which made us quite angry! Lots of support from others and confirmation from one that she was one of those reluctantly leaving the field in her 30s. A useful exchange; helped us to re-orientate ourselves in our commitment to the group and ensure we represent both ourselves and all sectors of the profession better.
16/12/08
BWA Launch (TAG, University of Southampton)
At the plenary session (on the spirit of rebellion in 1968, where another panel of besuited middle-aged white men regaled the audience with tales of their success), a young man shouted out “Where are the women??” Then, after one speaker suggested politics in archaeology was a thing of the past, one of our members reminded the panel about the topic of gender politics, a comment which met with loud applause.
On the following day the BWA session attracted an audience of over 40 people (people were crammed along the back of the room at one point), including some top-end academics. The discussion saw a lively and very useful debate: largely focussed on why there were still so few women archaeologists in senior positions both in the field and within academia. A good number of men attended and showed support.
Later that day the Launch Party catered to c. 200 people (the beauty of free cake and wine..). Our Facts and Figures slideshow caused quite a stir. Lots of support from senior academics (many of them male) who believe such a group is seriously overdue.
08/11/08
Sponsorship mailing to heads of academic departments, from which we raised about £450 to help with the cost of the launch.
15/09/08
The inclement weather caused many difficulties for research excavations this year - and I'm sure all the others! However at the Stonehenge Riverside Project campsite we lived in rather challenging Glastonbury conditions for two weeks. At one point we had to move all the tents away from the river Avon as there were flood warnings higher upstream and some students seemed reluctant to sleep in puddles! Rachel's excavation was also delayed after the team were trapped in the forest for three days because the roads collapsed (!) and Sarah seems to have been in great demand, both working at Star Carr and travelling to Mongolia. We had to postpone this steering committee meeting but will be meeting early in October.
01/07/08
The steering group meet on 21/7/08 in Sheffield again - please feel free to email us with comments on the agenda I hope to post soon. Things have been rather quiet on here since the May meeting as Anne has been submitting her theisis (hooray!) but will pick up now that's over with and her paperwork is somewhat tidied away! In the background we have been making progress with mentoring schemes and we're awaiting feedback from Women in Heritage who had a meeting at the beginning of June.
30/05/08
Thanks to everyone who attended the first meeting. There is now a much clearer vision of who we are: largely that we are a pro-women group, but not in any way anti-male!
26/05/08
We're working through the responses and regular visitors will see a new 'Your Issues' page which has some quotes from the survey. Regarding the wish for a women's group and what to focus on, here are some more quotes:
"[A women’s group could be used for the] promotion of women in the workplace... Some sort of help service/forum for those who are suffering, it is always better to share worries than deal with them alone and with such a specific type of people (female archaeologists) help will be much more specific"
"More opportunities for part time work within commercial work. Pay scales between men and women to be the same, and based on merit"
"[A group could be used] to raise issues about gender in the work place and how these impact upon both male and female colleagues. To provide a forum for discussion and support for women archaeologists and information about rights"
"To ‘remind’ employers of equal opportunities and to provide support advice for women in archaeology"
"Open discussion of issues facing women in the discipline, and advocacy for women archaeologists but it is important that this is alongside other bodies campaigning for general pay and conditions etc, not a separatist agenda"
We are listening... keep talking!
15/05/08
Following a reissue of the national mailing we have received many more responses. Whilst web statistics are a bit difficult to provide with our current low-cost web package it appears we have had between 800 and 1000 visits in the last few days! In addition we have helped some women with work-related queries and provided support. BAJR have offered to host a closed discussion forum for us on their website, special thanks to David Connolly!
01/05/08
First Meeting of British Women Archaeologists
The first meeting of BWA will be held in the Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield on 30th May 2008 at 3pm for 3.30pm. An agenda is now available below. If you would like to attend please email with a subject heading of MEETING in order for us to cater the refreshments, or if you have anything you would like to add to the agenda please also email by 28th May. We look forward to seeing you there!
1. Review of latest surveys and figures
2. Conclusions and update from AT's meeting with the IFA, discussion
3. Discussion regarding national and international conferences: TAG; WAC and EAA.
4. Strategy regarding other women's groups: contact and affiliation issues
5. Prioritising short term and long term goals
6. Date of next meeting
19/04/08
