Dear  

Welcome to this special edition of Open Outlook which marks International Women’s Day. We are delighted to showcase a number of recent projects by The Open University in Scotland highlighting equality issues for women in society and the workplace.

The OU helps people from all parts of society, to open up new opportunities in life and work. That spirit of equal opportunity very much chimes with the themes explored in the new OU/BBC Scotland co-production The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland and in our new free OpenLearn resources on women’s workplace history and the role of women in the railway industry.

Much of this work is based on first-hand accounts and personal experiences. We hope you enjoy exploring this new content - these are voices and stories that should be heard.

Best wishes
Susan Stewart, Director, The Open University in Scotland

International Women's Day highlights

New OU/BBC series showcases remarkable Scottish women

A new three-part series The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland tells the story of women who had a role in shaping Scotland over the last 50 years.

Presented by OU honorary graduate Kirsty Wark, the OU/BBC co-production highlights the women who throughout the decades have challenged the status quo, defied sexism to seize new opportunities and in more recent years, have stepped up to lead in politics, in their communities and in the workplace.

Well-known names such as First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and actress and OU honorary graduate Elaine C Smith, are profiled alongside an extraordinary range of women who may not be household names, but their passion and commitment have changed the lives of everyone in Scotland.

The entire series is available to view on BBC iPlayer.

Women and equality: where do we go from here?

To accompany the series The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland there is a range of supporting content on our OU/BBC co-production website, OU Connect.

This includes two short films exploring the barriers to and the benefits of women in politics. Those featured include cross-party MSPs, members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and representatives of the Women 50:50 campaign. A clip from one of the films is above.

The content also contains articles by the OU academic consultants for the programme Dr Kim Barker and Dr Helen O’Shea, as well as journalist Catriona Stewart.

Women and Workplace Struggles

The stories of women’s often hidden struggles in the workplace across 120 years are being given fresh prominence in a new free online social history resource launched by the OU in Scotland.

The Women and Workplace Struggles: Scotland 1900-2022 collection casts a new light on struggles women have faced in the past, as well as highlighting new issues that women face in the workplace today. The collection was developed with Scottish Union Learning.

Women and Scottish Railway History

The role of women in Scottish railway history can be explored through a collection of free online learning materials available now.  

The resources celebrate the achievements and struggles of women members working within the rail industry in Scotland, from around 1900 until the present day. They were developed by the OU in partnership with The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Scotland, and Scottish Union Learning.

Other news

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