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International Women's Day

Updated Monday, 6th March 2023

International Women's Day celebrates the achievements of women to raise awareness about gender equality. This year the theme is #EmbraceEquity so we've put together some of our top FREE resources about women's history and gender equality.

International Women's Day celebrates the achievements of women to raise awareness about gender equality. 

International Women's Day is celebrated every year on 8th March, with thousands of events occurring around the world to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. 

Below are some of our top picks for this year. Each article, interactive or free course will teach you about the most influential women of our time and the struggle for equality.

Celebrate Women in STEM 

 Celebrating women in stem Creative commons image Icon

Explore some of the female trailblazers in science, technology, engineering and maths and honour them by taking on a career in these fields (or inspire a young woman or girl to do that instead!). 

  • Returning to STEM

    Returning to STEM

    This free badged course, Returning to STEM, offers useful skills and solutions to help you get back into a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).

    Learn more to access more details of Returning to STEM
  • Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model

    Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model

    Katherine Johnson, who in February 2020 died at the age of 101, was an amazing woman. But up until a few years ago, hardly anyone had heard of her or her achievements. Professor Monica Grady explores her amazing legacy.

    Read now to access more details of Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model
  • Emmy Noether: Bucking the historical trends

    Emmy Noether: Bucking the historical trends

    Mathematics isn't solely the pursuit of men. We should celebrate great thinkers like Emmy Noether and the superb work of women in mathematics today

    Read now to access more details of Emmy Noether: Bucking the historical trends

Applaud Equality for Women in Sport

Sporty Muslim woman

Empower female athletes and take a look at some of the challenges for women in sport and recognise their contribution.

  • Supporting female performance in sport and fitness

    Supporting female performance in sport and fitness

    Do you support women’s performance in sport or fitness as a coach or parent? Are you a female athlete who wants to optimise your performance using recent research insights? If so, then this free course is for you. It addresses the problem of sports science research traditionally being male dominated and the assumption that if it works for men ...

    Learn more to access more details of Supporting female performance in sport and fitness
  • Issues in women's health in relation to sport and fitness

    Issues in women's health in relation to sport and fitness

    Explore some themes in women's sport in the following animations.

    Read now to access more details of Issues in women's health in relation to sport and fitness
  • Women in sport

    Women in sport

    Ever thought about sports and wondered, but what about for a woman? These articles cover specific topics concerning women in sport, considering questions such as, what if Eliod Kipchoge was a woman? Are women leaders the key to growing women’s sport? What about motherhood, what are the challenges in returning to sport or starting up a new sport?

    Read now to access more details of Women in sport

Educate Women on Health Choice Decisions 

Educating women in health bannerCreative commons image Icon

From menopause to abortion, from suicide to the sexual revolution – dig deeper into some of the social factors that have influenced women’s health. 

  • Exploring issues in women's health

    Exploring issues in women's health

    This free course, Exploring issues in women's health, will introduce social model approaches to health and wellbeing, which take as their starting point not the scientific context of the body, but the social context in which women live. The focus is on women and the impact of social and cultural factors on women's health. The course touches...

    Learn more to access more details of Exploring issues in women's health
  • Why do women need abortions?

    Why do women need abortions?

    Roe Vs Wade has been overturned, meaning half of US women will be stripped of their right to choose. Explore our video collection on women's abortion experiences based on Open University research that shows how an unintended and unwanted pregnancy can easily happen, even when using contraception.

    Watch now to access more details of Why do women need abortions?
  • Four weird ideas people used to have about women’s periods

    Four weird ideas people used to have about women’s periods

    Professor of Classical Studies Helen King takes a look at historic beliefs around menstrual periods.

    Watch now to access more details of Four weird ideas people used to have about women’s periods

 Take Note of the Women Who Changed the World

  
Celebrating women in stemCreative commons image Icon

Be inspired by some extraordinary women from across the world who challenged inequality and broke patriarchal rules. 

  • The history of female protest and suffrage in the UK

    The history of female protest and suffrage in the UK

    This free course focuses on one example of democratic protest: the campaign to extend the vote to women in the UK. In the course you'll be introduced to two key figures in the campaign, Ada Nield Chew and May Billinghurst, and you'll look at the ways in which the Women's Social and Political Union, the National Union of Women's Suffrage ...

    Learn more to access more details of The history of female protest and suffrage in the UK
  • How women changed the world

    How women changed the world

    Who wrote the first novel over 1000 years ago? Who disguised herself as a man to explore the new world? Take this interactive world tour to discover the stories the history books left out. 

    Take part now to access more details of How women changed the world
  • The Extraordinary Rosa Parks

    The Extraordinary Rosa Parks

    In 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus and history was changed forever.

    Read now to access more details of The Extraordinary Rosa Parks
  

Build Inclusive Workplaces so Women can Thrive 

Workplaces for womenCreative commons image Icon

Make efforts to smash that glass ceiling and find out what can be done to make your workplace more inclusive.  

  • How can we stop science, engineering and technology losing talented women?

    How can we stop science, engineering and technology losing talented women?

    There's still a massive gender imbalance in university STEM subjects. What can be done to address this? Clem Herman has some ideas...

    Read now to access more details of How can we stop science, engineering and technology losing talented women?
  • Working in diverse teams

    Working in diverse teams

    This free badged course, Working in diverse teams, will help you consider your experience of working in teams and the different roles you play in them. It will increase your confidence in marketing this key skill to employers as well improve your ability to perform well in teams you are currently part of.

    Learn more to access more details of Working in diverse teams
  • Reboot Your STEM Career

    Reboot Your STEM Career

    Returning to a STEM career? Reboot Your STEM Career is a comprehensive interactive toolkit to help you relaunch your career and navigate your way back into the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Build on areas such as work-life balance, professional skills, entering the world of work, how to present yourself, searching for jobs...

    Take part now to access more details of Reboot Your STEM Career
  

Debunk the Myths Surrounding Women in Male-Dominated Careers 

 

Debunking some myths around women bannerCreative commons image Icon

Ever fancied a job in engineering, science or mathematics? Go for it – but before you might like to gain some inspiration from the resources below.  

  • Seven myths of being a female engineer

    Seven myths of being a female engineer

    There is a mountain of myths surrounding the engineering profession – particularly the role of women within the industry.

    Read now to access more details of Seven myths of being a female engineer
  • What do you know about the gender gap in maths?

    What do you know about the gender gap in maths?

    Mathematics can be hard enough without having to face any additional challenges. Discover what issues women have had to overcome to gain equality.

    Take part now to access more details of What do you know about the gender gap in maths?
  • Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment

    Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment

    Professor Wangari Maathai was an environmentalist and the first female African Nobel Peace Prize winner. Yoseph Araya explores her contribution to the environment and what that meant to be a woman in this field of work.

    Read now to access more details of Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment

 

Continue your learning with a free course

  • Exploring Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts

    Exploring Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts

    This free course introduces Virginia Woolf’s last novel, Between the Acts (1941), with the aim of understanding how she writes about time, memory, and ideas about identity. It also considers why Woolf’s fiction is often considered difficult. Selected extracts from her essays on writing help to clarify some of these perceived difficulties, ...

    Learn more to access more details of Exploring Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts
  • Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution

    Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution

    This free course, Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution, will introduce you to issues around the sexual revolution and how this, and other contemporary social revolutions of the 1960s, impacted upon American rock musician Janis Joplin (1943-1970). You will investigate the extent to which the contemporary sexual revolution brought about ...

    Learn more to access more details of Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution
  • Simone de Beauvoir and the feminist revolution

    Simone de Beauvoir and the feminist revolution

    In this free course you will study the ideas of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). In doing so you will also briefly study the philosophy of Beauvoir’s lifelong partner, philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The type of philosophy that links them is called ‘existentialism’. Beauvoir and Sartre are the foremost philosophers of French ...

    Learn more to access more details of Simone de Beauvoir and the feminist revolution
  

None of these take your fancy? Why not browse through our full selection here. With over 1000 free courses available, there is something for everyone. 


 

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