International Women's Day 2021: Rector's Reflections

We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.

On IWD 2021, I have been reflecting on the prominent Women I studied at school and, also as a History Teacher, the women from History I have championed in the classroom.

Anne Frank is in there, as is Florence Nightingale. Mary Queen of Scots is an obvious inclusion. Looking back, I am far from convinced that I stepped away from the fatally flawed stereotypical view of her as a monarch who was brought down by the fact that, unlike her cousin, she married...more than once!

Rosa Parks and the famous Bus Boycott is a key element of the National 5 History 'Free At Last' course. Again, I have to confess to not delving deeper into the history of this remarkable woman, who made a stand, quietly, determinedly, and started a protest that led to a national movement.

Closer to home, my classes did study, more generally, the impact of Dundee's women; their amazing resilience and hard work, and the industrial, economic and cultural impact they had as the main breadwinners.

Beyond that, Eleanor of Aquitaine did make it into my Scottish Wars of Independence Certificate of Sixth Year Studies course. As  a medievalist, it was one of my (female) tutors who sparked an interest in this amazing woman.  Eleanor was Queen Consort of both France and England and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. As the heir of the House of Poitiers, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle  Ages. She led armies several times in her life and was a leader of the Second Crusade. She was the mother of Richard I and King John and living to the ripe old age of 82, she was central to the English Royal Court at a crucial point in its constitutional history. I have to confess to being a big fan!

Great as these women are, the list is simply not long enough. We have to do more to champion extraordinary women wherever we find them. In the pages of History, in every day public life, in our homes and families and in our peer groups. 

So what about the amazing girls and women of HSD? In 2019 we rededicated the First World War Memorial and crucially added the names of remarkable women who had attended HSD and gone on to have extraordinary lives. They smashed through all sorts of proverbial glass ceilings to make the world a better place. The world changed forever following the First World War and our girls found themselves at the forefront of a movement for the emancipation of women. I believe that we are at a similar moment in history, where we have the chance to challenge and change. Today, I want to highlight just one, of the many remarkable HSD Old Girls, who did just that.

I have shared her story before, in assemblies and in more general discussion but I don't think we have yet celebrated her (and others) as we should have done! It is time to change that. Her name is Agnes Forbes Blackadder. Born in 1875, she lived in Broughty Ferry and attended HSD where she was awarded Dux of School (Girls). She went on to become the first female graduate of the University of St Andrews. She studied  at University College, Dundee and then Medicine at Queen Margaret College for Women in the University of Glasgow.  A pioneering dermatologist, radiologist and suffragette, she also researched the therapeutic benefits of music in hospitals and wrote a book on Alexander the Great.  Her male colleagues did not always agree with her research or opinions but she seems to have had the inner strength to push forward regardless. She was practicing medicine in London until she was well into her 70s! It is clear that at a time when women in science were very rare, Agnes's talents were nurtured at HSD. The encouragement, confidence and work ethic that she discovered at our school ensured that her sex did not stand as a barrier. Her legacy remains within the pillars in each and every girl and woman who like Agnes is  priviledged enough to have the opportunity to follow in her footsteps and go out and enact change as she did.

I was the first girl in my family to go to University. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity of an excellent education at a school where girls studying Science, Mathematics and Computing was as 'normal' as those of us studying English, History and Art.  At School and at home, The very strong female role models in my family; my Grannies, my Mum and my Aunties have always encouraged and empowered me to believe in myself and my ability to do anything to which I set my mind. My intention is that HSD provides that context and culture for all our pupils.

More than once over the last year, I have been referred to as the 'first female Rector of HSD.' It is a fact; I am. However, the very fact that this is worth pointing out, is a sign that we are still some way from were we should be. I want to be sure that I use this 'first' to challenge and take a lead towards a future where qualities such as emotional intelligence and kindness matter more than whether leaders and changers are men or women.

Today we focus on the IWD theme of challenging ourselves to seek out and celebrate the achievement of others. It is a rallying cry to champion those around us and call out gender bias and inequality wherever we encounter it. Let the women of HSD inspire us to believe that we too can make a difference. Here are just a small selection...you are already on a journey to joining them!

• 1860 – 1945 Isabella ‘Marie’ Franziska Imandt: First woman to graduate with Honours as a “Lady Literate in Arts” from the University of St Andrews, and Pioneering Woman Journalist
• 1863 - 1913 Mary Lily Walker: Social Reformer
• 1873 – 1954 Hilda Lockhart Lorimer: Pioneering Classicist and Archaeologist, Somerville College and University Lecturer, Oxford
• 1874 – 1950 Dr Janet Lindsay Greig: Pioneering Scottish-Australian anesthetist, co-founder of Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and Children, Melbourne
• 1876 – 1957 Mary Pollock Grant Suffragette
• 1876 - 1959 Jessy Philip: One of the first recipients of the OBE for her work in the Ministry of Food in WW1, she became the Secretary of the London School of Economics; the first woman to hold a senior position at a British university. She later married Sir William Beveridge and assisted him in the production of his famous Report published in 1944.
• 1884 – 1983 Professor Dr Ruth Young CBE: Principal of Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi and first Captain of the HSD Hockey XI!
• 1956 Professor Dame Anne Glover: Former Chief Scientific Advisor for Scotland and former Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission
• 1965 AL Kennedy: Author
• 1975 KT Tunstall: Singer/songwriter
• 1977 Martel Maxwell: Journalist and Broadcaster
• 1990 Eilish McColgan: Double Olympic athlete and Scottish record holder 5000m.
• 1991 Joanna Van der Ham: Stage, TV and Film Actress

These are just a few HSD extraordinary women. Do you know others? Why don't you highlight their stories...….and be sure to live your own story today, on IWD, and every day.