Events

Marriage, Women, and Careers. 20^th March

In our March Cafe, two of our alumni, Mashiyath Qurashy and Alishba Zaman, led a session on the experiences of South Asian women in relation to marriage and relationships, and the impact of them on how women experience and think about careers. This was an open and supportive discussion about an area of life that we rarely are given time and space to explore.

Meet the recruiters! 27^th February

Our February session offered attendees the chance to meet recruiters from organisations that pride themselves on their inclusive approach to hiring new talent. Past Queen Mary alumni gave advice on the support that inclusion networks provide for people of colour in the corporate world, as well as CV and application advice. This session provided a supportive environment for Women’s Café attendees to ask alumni questions and to tell the recruiters what makes them feel supported in the workplace.

New Beacon Books and Education Through Culture. 30^th January

In our first session of the new year the Café was honoured to meet the amazing women who volunteer at this well-known and much-loved Black-owned bookstore! Established in 1966, New Beacon Books is the only remaining independent Black publishing and bookselling entity in the UK.   Nadia Joseph and Nicole-Rachelle Moore spoke about their collaborative work as co-facilitators of ETC, team members of New Beacon Books and their independent roles; Nicole-Rachelle as Curator of the Caribbean Collections at the British Library and Nadia as Research and Content Lead for the Anti-Apartheid Legacy. They also very touchingly spoke about books which have had a great impact on their lives and how books can be a tool for activism. The session covered themes of community-building, sustaining values-led organisations, finding your voice, and networking.

And importantly our attendees got FREE BOOKS from the store at the session!

For more information on New Beacon Books, take a look at their website here.

Nijjor Manush and Save Brick Lane coalition - Turning Vision into Action 12^th December

How can we connect to local campaigns and nourish our networks with communities of colour? As our university expands and has a knock-on effect on the local economy, we reflected on our role in local campaigning, especially how we understand the rapid gentrification of Brick Lane and what this means for communities of colour who have made this part of London their home. 

Nijjor Manush are one of the organisations that work as part of the vibrant and effective Save Brick Lane coalition. During this workshop two key activists described how Nijjor Manush built campaigning strength by nourishing coalitions with local organisers, what they did on the ground to challenge plans that are threatening local communities, and offered valuable insights about how to sustain a campaign.

This session offered all participants a remarkable insight into how communities of colour can build successful campaigns and sustain a strong vision for justice.

Breakthrough! Finding Your Voice 28^th November

Delivered, in conjunction with Careers and Enterprise, this workshop supported students to confidently answer the top 4 most popular interview questions. We reflected on how you can incorporate your personal skills and experience into your answers and respond with confidence. In this session, we discussed how being a woman of colour can affect our world/life balance and how we navigate interviews and the workplace. This workshop includes discussion in small groups with feedback and support and was highly attended.

January Energiser. January 2021

Poetry itself is a powerful combination of words, metaphor and meter that helps to better express ourselves and make sense of the world and our place in it. A poetry workshop led by established non-page poet, Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan. The session encouraged participants to imagine existing on their own terms and rooted in work of Assata Shakur and other revolutionary poets.

Winter Warmer- December 2020

The pandemic had a huge impact on people around the world, whether that be grief or loss. The Woman’s Café had hosted a free session for attendees to express the challenges and losses associated with the pandemic, allowing them to express feelings. This has helped the attendees mentally.

Unlocking the Workplace for Muslim Women: The Women’s Cafe in conversation with Dr Suriyah Bi November 2020

We invited the scholar and parliamentary researcher, Dr Suriyah Bi (SOAS), to share her findings from her recent report and dialogue with one of our alum, Sultana Azmi.

Female Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-Employment and the possibilities. October 2020

The Café invited Black entrepreneurs to share their experiences of being a woman in business. Panellists included: Khalia Ismain Founder of Jamii, Maria D'Amico Illustrator and Artist, Chanelle Joseph Owner of Studio Nelle.

Writing Feminism our way and writing statements about what Feminism means to us! March 2020

Our café moved online to accommodate changes to the way we can organise and support one another during the covid pandemic. The session was an empowering time for our attendees to write messages of solidarity and care to each other. 

Outreach to girls of Colour, diverse backgrounds and girls in school. Messages to inspire and support. February 2020

We wrote letters of hope and empowerment to our younger selves and committed to apply for funding to support outreach activities with local schools (project interrupted by covid). Empowerment is vital in order to help others and in this time of need, it helps to lift one up which was the mission.

Principled spaces, expectations, and women of colour taking up space in university contexts. January 2020

Deeping our understanding about safe spaces we conducted a workshop on the BARC principled space guidelines and discussed how safety matters to women of colour. We identified a need for better institutional support for mental health issues. Women of colour lack such support and it is deemed important to help them.

What do we need as women of colour, what should we demand from our university? December 2019

We asked what we must do better next year and how we should structure upcoming sessions. This was an opportunity for students and alumni to organize around specific statements of our needs, of our truths, of our demands for a radically inclusive university.

Women of Colour in Careers – How do we navigate barriers to gaining professional employment? November 2019

Women of colour are least likely to find graduate work and when they do, they are often underpaid and battle to get a promotion. We explored these issues together and identified specific strategies for surviving often hostile and violent spaces.

Building the Anti-Racist Classroom: Reflecting on women of colour’s safety and inclusion in universities and beyond. October 2019

This session reflected on the BARC conference that took place earlier in the month. We reflected on QMUL’s definition of safety and asked, are women of colour safe on campus and how does safety during conferences and workshops present women of colour with barriers to inclusion? What does safety mean to women of colour?  

Welcome Back! Reconnecting and making new connections with women of colour on campus.  September 2019

This opening session provided a space for collective reflection on what we need from this space.

Panel discussion and discussion: Women of Colour narratives of surviving and thriving as entrepreneurs. April 2019

We hosted a panel discussion with women of colour entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses outside of white privileged structures. We invited Dr Angela Martinez Dy (Loughborough) to give a keynote.

Women of Colour in Careers – How do we navigate barriers to gaining professional employment? March 2019

Women of colour are least likely to find graduate work and when they do, they are often underpaid and battle to get a promotion. These issues were discussed in detail and alternative strategies for success were outlined.

Who do Women of Colour look up to? February 2019

We asked who makes a good role model for women of colour and why are role models so difficult to find at universities? We identified a number of key attributes including expert knowledge, someone who shares your history and experiences, someone who is willing to learn from you as well. 

Are Women of Colour being listened to? January 2019

We discussed the barriers and challenges women of colour face at university. In particular, we discussed the problems with current provisions for dealing with complaints, anxieties and discrimination women of colour face on campus and in the curriculum.