International Women's Day - Inspiring Alumni From Each Of Our Partners
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8 every year.
There is much to celebrate about women’s achievements, and yet there is still more we can all do, women and allies alike, to #EmbraceEquity and ensure that we build a world for those that come after us that is evermore diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
We’ve compiled a list of successful women in various fields who’ve graduated from each of our partner universities below.
Marion Gilchrist, University of Glasgow
Marion Gilchrist was the first woman to graduate from the University of Glasgow in 1894, and the first woman in Scotland to graduate with a medical degree, despite medicine being considered an ‘unfeminine’ subject at the time.
She worked as a GP in Glasgow, specialising in eye diseases, and was also an early motoring enthusiast, having a garage on Ashton Lane. She was also a leading figure in the UK suffragette movement, but change took time: it would be 34 years after Marion graduate that women were finally granted full voting rights.
Angela Nagle, Dublin City University
An alumna of Dublin City University, Angela Nagle is an American-born Irish academic and non-fiction writer who was written for numerous publications including The Baffler and Jacobin. She authored the book “Kill All Normies”, published in 2017, which discusses the role of the internet in the rise of the alt-right and incel movements. Nagle describes the alt-right as a dangerous movement, but she also criticizes aspects of the left that have, she says, contributed to the alt-right’s rise. She completed her PhD at DCU with a thesis titled ‘An investigation into contemporary online anti-feminist movements’
Rosy Bindi, University of Trento
Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi, is an Italian politician and the former President of the Antimafia Commission. From 1984 to 1989, she was Vice-President of Azione Cattolica, the most popular Catholic lay association Italy, before joining the Christian Democracy Party. After that part’s dissolution, she joined the Italian People’s Party and became a leading figure in Romano Prodi’s left-to-centre ‘Olive Tree’ coalition. Following that coalition’s election victory, she served as Minister of Health for four years in successive governments.
Eliška Krásnohorská, Charles University
An alumna of Charles University, Eliška Krásnohorská was a Czech feminist author and the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Charles University in 1922. She wrote works of literary criticism, children’s literature and translations, and numerous libretti (texts written for opera performances). She wrote for four operas by Bedřich Smetana: The Kiss, The Secret, The Devil’s Wall and Viola. In 1873, she founded the women’s magazine ‘Ženské listy’, which she led until 1912. She also established the first Czech grammar school for girls in 1890.
