This year’s Wollstonecraft Society Lecture tackles the online rise of misogyny and extremism (the ‘manosphere’) and its impact on human rights and equality.
The trailblazing writer Mary Wollstonecraft called for reason and education, but how does this resonate against the rise of digital spaces fostering hatred and division? Where are today’s human rights heroes, and how can we amplify them?
Laura Bates, author and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, is in conversation with Gemma Cairney, renowned broadcaster and women's rights advocate.
Drawing on Wollstonecraft’s trailblazing work, they explore ways forward and sources of courage, showing how even the darkest news headlines have a counter-narrative and that progressive work is still around us. This enlightening and dynamic conversation will inspire anyone interested in human rights, feminism, and the intersection of technology and social movements.
The speakers will be signing their books after the event.
Join us!
Laura Bates
Laura Bates is a feminist activist, New York Times best-selling author, and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. Her activism has helped to put consent on the national curriculum, seen extreme misogyny categorised as a form of terrorism by the UK government, changed Facebook’s policies on sexual violence content, and helped to transform the British Transport Police’s response to sexual harassment. Laura has been awarded a British Empire Medal and a British Press Award. She’s an Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Gemma Cairney
Gemma Cairney is an award-winning British broadcaster and published author who explores the intersections of creativity, travel, art, design and culture, all in her career's DNA since training in Theatre at the UK's only non-fee-paying school for the performing arts, the BRIT School. Decades later, her CV is expansive, from presenting live BBC radio where she hosted daily shows, to using her voice for global campaigns on ethics and sustainability. She's also founded a boutique production company and written books exploring humanity, arts and identity.
Natalie Campbell MBE
Natalie Campbell MBE is Chancellor of the University of Westminster, as well as an award-winning social entrepreneur, and broadcaster. She launched the 'Chancellor's Circle' to connect businesses with students, and is Co-CEO of Belu Water, which has donated over £5.8m to WaterAid for clean water, toilets, and hygiene. Previously, she led insight and innovation for The Royal Foundation, founded Kensington Creates, and co-founded A Very Good Company, working with brands like Virgin Media and Marks & Spencer on sustainability. Natalie advises FTSE businesses, including PwC and Stonehage Fleming.
Bee Rowlatt MBE
Bee Rowlatt MBE is chair of the Wollstonecraft Society, as well as a writer and cultural programmer at the British Library. She led the campaign to memorialise Mary Wollstonecraft and wrote the play An Amazon Stept Out for the West End gala event that launched the Wollstonecraft Society. One Woman Crime Wave is her first foray into fiction, following her award-winning travelogue In Search of Mary. She co-authored the bestseller, Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad, and contributed to Virago’s Fifty Shades of Feminism. Her MBE was awarded for services to women's rights.
The WS is a registered charity. This event is in partnership with the University of Westminster.
