International Women's Day Cake and Draw Workshop : 12.03.25

Combining Holly’s research on collaborative drawing with her role as Athena Swan Champion for the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment (ADBE), she led a ‘Cake & Draw’ session to celebrate International Women’s Day with a group of second-year architecture students. Through drawing and discussion, we explored gender equality and ways to drive meaningful change. The session sparked insightful conversations about women’s rights worldwide, enriched by the perspectives of international students and those with family abroad.

Students Ramita and Michelle were also a part of the session, and from their perspective, they were able to learn about the different situations in which a woman is deprived of her opportunities due to societal expectations. The topics involved were how education could be a stepping stone, breaking barriers and accelerating action, to which the students explained each of their drawings. One drew how education can make all the difference in one’s understanding, while others drew on making changes on earth before going to the moon. It was an inspiring experience of shared creativity made even sweeter by some well-earned cake at the end!

Through the data of this event, we were able to conclude some of the themes relating to gender equity and collaborative drawing. One being the influence of society, while the other was the atmosphere created by the activity, students felt easier to discuss in a smaller group.  These codes' themes further helped us research the topic ‘Group Mind: Exploring Gender Equity through Collaborative Drawing’.

Ramita Eswarappa, Student Researcher