We warmly welcome you to a new monthly column initiative by Oxford Women in Chemistry (OxWiChem) aimed at highlighting, celebrating, and championing individuals who identify as women (including both cis and trans) as well as non-binary within the department and the larger chemistry community. This month, we would like to re-introduce you to OxWiChem and what we do.
OxWiChem was founded by a group of PhD students back in 2019 with the mission to:
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Provide a platform for all women in the department to come together and be given opportunities to develop professionally.
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Celebrate research and achievements of chemists who identify as women (including both cis and trans) within the community.
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Advocate for an inclusive and diverse community within the chemistry department.
We are now in our 5th year and have recently elected our new committee for 23-24, led by our two new co-chairs: Matilda (Tilly) Joyce (2nd Year PhD Student, Fletcher Group) and Shoba Laxmi (2nd Year PhD Student, Vincent Group). We look forward to having you at our events and watch out for this space monthly as we shine the light on individuals and important EDI related issues.
We are proud to announce that we will be holding two specially curated events in the month of February to celebrate UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11th Feb 2024) - https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day. First will be a seminar-styled series of talks by female PIs speaking about their personal experiences and what it is like to be a woman in research, and second is our annual IUPAC Global Women in Breakfast 2024. More details will follow soon, so keep an eye out for our emails.
Lastly, if you are interested in joining us or any other initiatives/collaborations, please get in touch with us at oxwichem@chem.ox.ac.uk and stay connected with us via our social media links above (top right corner).
Shoba & Tilly
Co-Chairs, OxWiChem
