Celebrating Women's History Month 2026
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The International Women's Day 2026 theme is 'Give To Gain', encouraging a mindset of generosity and collaboration.
Give To Gain emphasises the power of reciprocity and support. When people, organisations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase. Giving is not a subtraction, it's intentional multiplication. When women thrive, we all rise.
Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women's advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world.
What will you Give to Gain gender equality?
Events and opportunities
Women’s Health and Wellbeing at Work: Barriers to Progression
Wednesday 4 March 2026
12:00pm - 2:00pm
5G/6G Seminar Room and online
The Women's Network invite you to join a hybrid panel event. Join us as we aim to break down barriers to progression caused by systemic inequalities surrounding Women’s Health and Wellbeing at Work.
Together We Thrive: Surrey Business School’s Athena Swan Festival
Wednesday 4 March 2026
1:30pm - 5:15pm
33 & 34 MS 01
Join this engaging afternoon programme filled with a range of inspiring speakers and thought-provoking sessions. This event is open to all staff and students.
Toulson Law Lecture 2026
Wednesday 4 March 2026
4:45pm - 8:00pm
Rik Medlik lecture theatre
We are delighted to welcome The Lady Chief Justice, The Right Honourable Baroness Carr, the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales to give the Annual Toulson Law Lecture to discuss 'The Ever-Developing Common Law'.
Knibbs and Howard present “Ethel Smyth: The Stormy Petrel”
Wednesday 4 March 2026
1:10pm - 2:30pm
PATS Studio 1
‘Ethel Smyth: A Stormy Petrel’ is a concert presenting the premiere of a new work by Chloe Knibbs and Teresa Howard inspired by the life and music of pioneering composer Ethel Smyth. This event will be followed by a Q&A session with the composer and librettist.
University of Surrey Chamber Choir perform 'Her Songs of Spring'
Sunday 8 March 2026
3:00pm - 5:00pm
United Reformed Church, Guildford, GU2 4BS
Join this special event where a selection of pieces will be performed by the University of Surrey Chamber Choir. The pieces will be focused on female composers and include works by Lili Boulanger, Ethel Smyth, Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach.
Movie night: 'Barbie'
Friday 20 March 2026
6:30pm - 9:00pm
03 MS 01
Join Disney Soc and Film Soc for a screening of Barbie. Based on the fashion dolls by Mattel, it is the first live-action Barbie film and stars Margot Robbie as the title character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, the film follows them on a journey of self-discovery through Barbieland and the real world following an existential crisis.
Surrey's Women: Hands-on archives - session 1
Tuesday 24 March 2026
12:00pm - 12:45pm
Library
Join us for a unique hands-on session helping to care for historic student registration cards with the University's Archives team. Attendees will assist in gently cleaning and preparing the cards for rehousing, contributing directly to the preservation of Surrey’s archival collections. We’ll also explore the stories revealed in the records, including insights into the lives of women students who studied at Battersea during the 1920s–1940s.
Surrey's Women: Hands-on archives - session 2
Tuesday 24 March 2026
1:00pm - 1:45pm
Library
Join us for a unique hands-on session helping to care for historic student registration cards with the University's Archives team. Attendees will assist in gently cleaning and preparing the cards for rehousing, contributing directly to the preservation of Surrey’s archival collections. We’ll also explore the stories revealed in the records, including insights into the lives of women students who studied at Battersea during the 1920s–1940s.
Women in media: celebrating and reflecting
Tuesday 24 March 2026
6:30pm - 9:00pm
LTF
Join us to celebrate iconic women in film. We'll also have a talk about 'Reshaping femininity in Disney movies from 1998-2021' by Luana Vasconcelos based on her final year dissertation.
Movie night: 'Hidden Figures'
Thursday 26 March 2026
6:30pm - 9:00pm
LTF
Join Disney Soc for a screening of Hidden Figures, an American biographical drama. It follows three female African-American mathematicians, Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who worked at NASA during the Space Race in the 1950s and 1960s.
Networks & support
Join the Women's Network
The Surrey Women's Network advocates for women's interests, supports and develops the ambitions of women, and engages the University community in its agenda. Request to join Microsoft Teams' Women's Network team.
Menopause - guidance and support
Every woman's menopause journey is unique. Find out more about guidance and support at the University, including a toolkit, Menopause Advocates and free access to Adora - a personalised digital companion.
Surrey Women's Entrepreneurship Network
SWEN fosters innovation and investment-readiness through mentoring programmes, expert business support and links with the local ecosystem of funders, policy makers, investors and other stakeholders.
Carers Network Project
We recognise the vital role that unpaid carers play in our community. Whether you’re caring for a family member, a friend, or a neighbour, we understand the challenges you face and are committed to providing support to ensure that you can balance your caring responsibilities with your work and personal life. Explore our resources.
Parent Returner Project
We are committed to supporting colleagues throughout key life events including the time before, during and after parental leave. As part of this commitment, our Parental Leave Toolkit, has been created to outline the benefits and support available to you throughout parental leave and to answer some of the questions you may have in relation to your leave. Discover more.
Springboard
Springboard is the award-winning, globally-recognised personal development programme for staff who identify as women. The aim of the programme is to enable women to develop, both on a personal and professional level by learning more about their skills, values, environment, assertiveness, networking ability and how to put themselves across positively, build on personal image and set achievable goals.
If would like any further information, please email j.mccarthy-holland@surrey.ac.uk
Women of Surrey Research Park
This annual campaign celebrates the incredible women who are driving innovation, shaping industries, and creating impact within the thriving Surrey Research Park ecosystem.
These exceptional women were nominated by colleagues across all Park companies and subsequently selected by last year’s featured women.
This initiative showcases women at different stages of their careers, from ambitious early-career professionals to seasoned leaders and entrepreneurs from within the SETsquared Surrey incubator including spin out companies from the University. By spotlighting their achievements and contributions to the Research Park community the campaign aims to inspire and empower all women and girls to follow careers in STEM and to further encourage students at the University to consider a range of roles within STEM sectors.
If you are planning to run an event or activity in support of Women's History Month, please let us know via news@surrey.ac.uk so that we can build it into our promotional programme.
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