About this Event
keeping women in teaching 2026 conference
Join us for the debut conference on Saturday the 16th May 2026 at Avanti Grange Secondary School.
Research shows that women in their 30s are now the largest demographic leaving teaching every year.
This isn't just a crisis of retention.
It is a crisis of justice.
Across education, women’s bodies are too often treated as interruptions; something to manage quietly, endure privately, or apologise for.
Misogyny, Maternity, Menopause, Menstruation, Infertility. These are not separate issues. They are connected realities shaped by power, silence, and systemic inequality. And the cost is not abstract.
This one-day conference brings together teachers, researchers, campaigners, leaders, and advocates to confront the gendered experiences too often ignored in schools and workplaces.
Through keynote speakers, panel conversations, and collective discussion, we will explore four urgent strands:
Misogyny in education
Infertility and reproductive injustice
Menopause and menstrual health at work
Maternity, motherhood, and professional exclusion
This is not just a conference about policy. It is a conference about lived experience. You will leave with new perspectives, practical insight, and renewed collective power, because these conversations are no longer optional.Join us to name what has been normalised, challenge what has been accepted, and imagine what becomes possible when women are fully supported, believed, and heard.
Agenda
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM
arrival & registration
Info: tea/coffee on arrival
name badges + programme pick-up
settle, browse stalls, informal networking
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
welcome address (main hall)
Info: opening remarks
🕑: 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
why women leave teaching: gender, health, and re
Info: panel discussion (main hall) - speakers tbc
🕑: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
infertility and reproductive injustice at work
Info: panel discussion (main hall) - speakers tbc
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
lunch & networking
🕑: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PM
misogyny in schools: normalised, excused, weaponised
Info: panel discussion (main hall) - speakers tbc
🕑: 12:45 PM - 01:45 PM
choice of workshops/seminars - rotation a
Info: workshop a: menstruation and dignity in schools / workshop b: menopause at work / workshop c: maternity and the motherhood penalty in teaching
🕑: 01:55 PM - 02:25 PM
keynote speaker
Info: speaker to be confirmed (main hall)
🕑: 02:25 PM - 02:55 PM
keynote speaker
Info: speaker to be confirmed (main hall)
🕑: 01:55 PM - 02:55 PM
choice of workshops / seminars - rotation b
Info: workshop a: line managers supporting fertility treatment / workshop b: facilitating female friendly policies in schools / workshop c: coming back after maternity: supporting yourself and colleagues
🕑: 03:00 PM - 03:10 PM
closing remarks and thanks (main hall)
🕑: 03:10 PM - 03:30 PM
drinks & departure
Info: final networking opportunities and drinks reception
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Avanti Grange Secondary School, Newland Avenue, Bishop's Stortford, United Kingdom
GBP 35.00 to GBP 55.00
