Claudia Parsons Memorial Lecture

EDI Services are delighted to announce this year’s Claudia Parson’s Memorial Lecture speaker, Professor Pragya Agarwal, a visiting professor at Loughborough University and a leading academic in the fields of behavioural and data science.

Professor Pragya Agarwal will speak on the topic 'The "trouble" with Women in STEM: from barriers to breakthroughs'. Staff and students are invited to attend this event where Prof Agarwal will offer data driven insight into the importance and value of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and Medicine (STEMM) through case studies with proven successful outcomes. She will also reflect on her own experiences in the field and how she has used them to address social injustice and gender inequalities.

About the speaker

Professor Agarwal is the founder of research think-tank ‘The 50 Percent Project,’ which investigates gender and racial inequities around the world. She has authored several widely acclaimed and award-winning non-fiction books, including Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias, Hysterical: Exploding the myth of gendered emotions and Wish We Knew What to Say: Talking with Children about Race and has served as a consultant and speaker for various global organisations, including the United Nations and UNESCO.

About Claudia Parsons

Claudia Parsons studied Automobile Engineering at Loughborough College from 1919-22 and was the first woman to circumnavigate the world by car. The lecture series in her name celebrates and platforms the achievements of women in STEMM. The Claudia Parsons Memorial Lecture is now part of the institution’s Athena Swan activities, which contribute to the progression of gender equity at Loughborough University.