Women in IP July coffee dates

Our July “virtual” coffee dates were on
Thursday 16 July 2020
12.30 – 1.30 pm

Our Women in IP community held their next series of virtual coffee dates over lunch-time on Thursday 16 July 2020. As usual, there were a number of hosts around the country so that people could join the get-together that worked best for them.

Our July theme

Our theme this time was “Putting yourself forward”. This comes easily to some and less easily to others, so we will discuss tips and experiences, as well as the importance of putting oneself forward and whether there are any systemic barriers in the IP professions. This is an issue that can affect women disproportionately, but not solely. As ever, people of all genders were very welcome to attend the discussions.

The questions that we asked people to think about were:

1. What is your experience of putting yourself forward? Do you find it easy or difficult? Does it depend on the situation?
2. What tips do you have to help others put themselves forward?
3. Do you think there are any systemic barriers to putting yourself forward in the IP profession?

You can read the key outcomes from the discussions, compiled from all the regional centres, here.

Locations & timings

Starting at 12.30 pm, each coffee date involved an informal, roundtable-style discussion, and our hosts made sure that everyone got a chance to be heard.

Our hosts were:

Bath: [email protected]

Belfast: [email protected]

Glasgow: [email protected]

London: [email protected]

Midlands: claire.o’[email protected]

Southampton: [email protected]

York: [email protected]

Special guests – Dublin: Marie Walsh at [email protected]

If you’d like to host a similar meeting in your area, we’d love to hear from you: please email Emily Teesdale or Isobel Barry.