Women’s History Month
At Oxford, the first women’s colleges were founded in the nineteenth century, and women became full members of the University in 1920.
To mark Women’s History Month 2017, we take a look back at the history of women at Oxford.
The History of Women at Oxford
It was thanks to individual initiatives, and the pioneering work of the Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women (AEW), that women’s colleges came to be established in Oxford.
Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville opened in 1879, followed by St Hugh’s in 1886 and St Hilda’s in 1893. St Anne’s, which in 1952 was the last of the women’s colleges to be incorporated by Royal Charter, originated as the Society of Oxford Home Students, catering for women students who lived with private families in Oxford while attending courses organised by the AEW. The five women’s societies were granted full collegiate status in 1959.
Five all-male colleges — Brasenose, Jesus College, Wadham, Hertford and St Catherine’s — first admitted women in 1974. St Hilda’s College, which was originally for women only, was the last of Oxford’s single sex colleges. All colleges have admitted both men and women since 2008.
Dorothy Hodgkin helped to pave the way for women at Oxford.
She’s the only British woman to have won a Nobel Prize, and she discovered the structures of penicillin, insulin and vitamin B12. She studied and developed her research while at Somerville College in the 1940s.
Meet some of the Women at Oxford today
“The most important thing for me about Oxford was not what I learnt there in terms of set texts and set books we had to read, but in terms of respect for the best in human civilisation.”
This incredibly moving video is taken from Aung San Suu Kyi’s address, when she received her honorary doctorate from Oxford in 2012.
“A research degree has allowed me opportunities to be creative beyond conventional boundaries in tackling unanswered questions. It comes with a great freedom in furthering my knowledge, research and teaching skills, alongside doing interactive outreach to engage the general public with science.” — Minh Tran
Martha Lane Fox, several times entrepreneur, CBE and philanthropist and known as one of the founders of Lastminute.com. Martha originally studied Ancient and Modern History here at Magdalen College.
“As a child, I thought ‘do fish ever sleep?’. Now, I study the epigenetic control of stem cell differentiation in regenerative flatworms.
I have always wanted to pursue a career in research. All you have to do is believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.” — Divya Sridhar
“Oxford is one of the world’s great universities. I feel enormously privileged to be given the opportunity to lead this remarkable institution during an exciting time for higher education.” — Professor Louise Richardson, our first female Vice Chancellor.
Dr Namburete graduated from Simon Fraser University with a First Class Honours degree in Biomedical Engineering. As a holder of the Commonwealth Scholarship, she joined the Biomedical Image Analysis Lab at Oxford in 2011 where she completed a DPhil in Engineering Science.
Hilary Mantel accepts honorary degree from Oxford in 2015.
The talented Rosamund Pike, an Oscar nominee in February 2015, originally studied English at Wadham College.
Take a look at the achievements of #WomenAndOxford in our celebration of the diverse achievements of our alumnae, staff and students from around the world.
What next?
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Want to read more? Try our articles on International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Women at the University of Oxford: Revolutionaries in a Male-Dominated World and St Hilda’s Writers’ Day, Oxford Literary Festival 2017.
Produced by Jessica Turner, Digital Communications Office, University of Oxford.
