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WIWIP had the honour to co-host the launch of Dr Amanda Chisholm’s new book, The Gendered and Colonial Lives of Gurkhas in Private Security, with Professor Cynthia Enloe joining the panel for an insightful feminist discussion on framings of private security, warfare, and global militarism, and more than 30 people joining.

We had the honour and pleasure to host our first book launch for ‘The Loss: The Story of a Dead Soldier Told By his Sister’ with Dr. Olesya Khromeychuk on November 30th 2021 in the War Studies Dockrill room at King’s College London. Organised in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute London, the event attracted more than 80 guests who joined the discussion of the book and its timely context of war and gender online and in-person.

 We held our well-received and highly attended first ever hybrid event, and first in-person event for over a year on November 16th 2021 in the Dockrill Room at the War Studes Department. Senior Lecturers Dr. Amanda Chisholm and Dr. Nicola Leveringhaus, doctoral researcher and former Research Coordinator Ribka Metaferia, and Communications Manager Lizzie Ellen shared invaluable advice for your women and all young persons who aspire a career in academia, be it in research or administration.

Dr Nicola Leveringhaus reviews:

“WIWIP pulled off another fantastic event this term, this time speaking to personal challenges and opportunities that women face over the course of their respective journeys within academia. Together with Ribka Metaferia, Lizzie Ellen, and Amanda Chisholm, we shared our personal stories and what struck me was that while we all had a different backstory, we came to surprisingly similar conclusions.

These included the importance of developing and nurturing a supportive community from which to pull strength, whether this community be family or friends; and the importance of projecting confidence, even if one does not feel ‘confident’! Principally, this meant believing in yourself, as well as being kind to yourself in a profession that can be overly judgemental. The panel shared that working in academia need not be the outcome of a deliberate plan, with many on the panel having worked outside academia previously. We all agreed that ‘success’ will mean different things at different times in our careers. Crucially, it need not be a big event or accomplishment. It is not merely about passing your viva, getting a promotion, research grant or publication. Success can be small and everyday – moving us and/or others forward in the field. It can be simply about having a ‘good day’: speaking up at a conference or seminar and engaging in the discussion, or the fulfilling experience of recording a podcast with others in the field.

The panel also turned introspectively to the field: while academia offers professional opportunities, many deep inequalities and discriminatory practices remain. We also discussed endemic problems of discrimination and inequalities within the sector, from job insecurity, low pay and the pressures of being mobile, to the difficulties of maintaining a healthy balance between family/social life and work. Many of these challenges are structural and have been left for years unspoken and unaddressed. Sharing and bringing to light our own experiences plays a part in overcoming these systemic challenges.

The panel concluded on a positive note, inspired by each other’s experiences, noting the importance of building each other up, and a nurturing community of support.”