Following a unanimous vote at the 2025 AGM, the Women’s Classical Committee UK wishes to reiterate its unwavering support for trans and non-binary people. We are deeply concerned at the harmful implications of the Supreme Court Ruling of 16 April 2025, the subsequent EHRC guidance, and the unfolding implementation of this guidance across educational and government institutions during the past six months.
Since its inception in 2015, the WCC has been a trans-inclusive organisation, which welcomes people of all genders as members and participants in our events and initiatives. Two of our key stated aims as an organisation are:
to support those who identify as women, non-binary people, and people of other marginalised genders in classics;
and to raise the profile of the study of women, non-binary people, and people of other marginalised genders in antiquity and classical reception.
By ‘women’ we include, and have always included, all those who self-define as women, including (if they wish) those with complex gender identities which include ‘woman’, and those who experience oppression as women.
We reject the reduction of womanhood to a narrow definition of biology, and find this policing of gender identity and sexuality antithetical to our aims, both in our scholarship and in our activism.
We are shocked and saddened that trans and non-binary people in our field are facing ever more hostility and difficulty in going about their daily lives. We find the current direction of travel in our national institutions unacceptable, and we recognise the ever-growing barriers that many of our colleagues face as a result of living in a country which is increasingly hostile to their gender identity and expression.
We wish to restate our conviction that people of any gender expression or identity who support our aims are welcome to attend events, become members and to put themselves forward for office. We prioritise holding our events in spaces that are inclusive and do not police public spaces such as toilets and changing rooms.
We also encourage cis women to sign the ‘Not in Our Name’ petition, supported by the Good Law Project, which rejects the premise that trans women are a threat and calls on the women of the UK to stand together against discrimination (https://notinourname.org.uk).
As ever, we will continue to raise up the voices of our members, and all women, non-binary people and people of other marginalised genders in classics.
Signed,
WCC Steering Committee 2025
We thank Cheryl Morgan for her advice and guidance on this statement. “Nothing about us, without us.”
Nominations are being solicited for joining the Steering Committee of the Women’s Classical Committee UK. The Steering Committee runs the WCC UK, including organizing events, workshops, and future development of the WCC UK. Committee members will serve for four years, with the option to renew for a further four year term. The Steering Committee wishes to encourage a diverse organization comprised of representatives from any background, location, or career level.
You may nominate someone or nominate yourself. Nominees must be members of the WCC UK in good standing (please check with Carol Atack, carolatack AT gmail DOT com, if you are unsure of your membership status). Names of nominees should be submitted to Virginia Campbell, the Elections Officer, by the 30th of November 2017.
The Elections Officer will contact nominees for permission to place their candidacy on the ticket. The Elections Officer will require a short CV (1 page) and an election statement from each nominee. These will be put on the WCC UK website for members to review prior to voting.
Voting will open on the 15th of December and run until the 15th of February. The elected members will be announced in late February, and will assume office at the AGM in April 2018.
If you have any questions about the Steering Committee or the process of elections, please e-mail us at womensclassicalcommittee AT gmail DOT com.
The WCC UK Steering Committee met on 8th September 2017 to discuss our events programming and other activity for the coming year. This blog post reports a few highlights of what we discussed and what’s coming up.
Membership: We now have 96 members at a range of HE institutions, outside universities, across disciplines, and at a wide range of career stages. We always welcome new members – can we make it to 100 before the end of the year? Find out more about how to join us here.
Steering Committee elections: nominations for elections to the steering committee open later this month. The WCC UK aims to represent classicists with a wide range of backgrounds, career experiences and disciplines, and we very much want our committee membership to reflect the diversity of experience and perspective within UK classics (broadly defined). We warmly invite self-nominations and nominations of others. More information about the elections process will be sent to members soon.
REF 2020: we are delighted that the WCC UK has been made an official nominating body for the upcoming REF. We have invited people applying to CUDC for nomination to speak to us about letters of support for their nominations.
Mentoring scheme: a subgroup are working on the best way for the WCC UK to provide mentoring to its members, as this is a very popular and often requested support service. We will be consulting the membership about possible models shortly.
Guidance on all-male panels and other events: we will be making our ‘how to’ guide available on the website in the next week or two, and will let you know when it is available. It is designed to be a resource for those organising events and also for those participating in events to use as a springboard to conversations about the issue.
Dates for your diary:
12th February 2018 – LBGT+ Classics: Teaching, Research and Activism, University of Reading – a day dealing with practical and legal issues, pedagogy, research and activism, to coincide with LBGT+ month.
Monday 26th March 2018 – midcareer event, University of Durham – we will be making our midcareer days an annual fixture of our calendar following our first successful one in December 2016, and will make sure that it moves around the country. Mark your diaries for this opportunity to catch up with other mid-career classicists and talk about the challenges that face those of us at this career stage.
Wednesday 18th April 2018 – AGM, Senate House, London – our theme this year will be ‘activism’.
Following last week’s AGM, we have some changes to the steering committee and liaisons.
Thank you
Helen Lovatt has come to the end of her term on the steering committee, and now cycles off; Lisa Eberle has taken up a permanent post in Tübingen. Of our liaisons, Efi Spentzou has decided to step down as one of our part-time and alt-ac liaisons. We thank them all for their support and help in the WCC UK’s first year!
We also thank Katherine Harloe, our out-going co-chair, for all her hard work in steering us through the first year. Katherine has kindly agreed to stay on the steering committee to fill the vacancy left by Lisa’s move, so we will have the benefit of her input until the 2020 AGM.
Welcome
Claire Millington (co-chair elect) and Susan Deacy now formally join the steering committee, and will serve a four year term until the 2021 AGM.
Susan’s election to the steering committee left the Disability Liaison for staff and post-PhD position vacant; Ellie Mackin volunteered to fill this role. Vicky Donnellan will also be joining the liaisons as the new part-time and alt-ac liaison, working with Emma Bridges.
We are delighted to have you all on board and look forward to the coming year!
After a hugely successful launch event, we are very pleased to say that you can now join the WCC. Membership is open to all. Membership for the 2016 calendar year will be £20, or £5 for students, unemployed, retired and underemployed members. Subscriptions will help to support the WCC’s future activities and events.
Check out the “Join Us” page of this website for further details.
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