Unbound
6 December 2013

On December 6th 2013, speakers from a variety of backgrounds presented ideas worth spreading in UCL’s Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, which you may recognise from Christopher Nolan’s 2010 motion picture Inception. But that’s not the most exciting part: this was the first ever TEDxWomen Conference held at UCL.
Our TEDxWomen conference was part of the international TED Women event, which took place in over 150 locations around the globe. We were part of this inspiring event that informs our listeners on how gender should no longer define or bind us; a movement which allows women everywhere to become unbound. Women who’ve been integral to the breaking down of antiquated gender stereotypes are so often ignored or not paid ample respect – and we want to put those women in the limelight.
Not too long ago, the only thing that would define a woman’s identity was exactly that: she was a woman, and therefore her options were limited to motherhood and domesticity. Gender stereotyping has no place in a decent, respectful world – and that’s exactly why we want to show how a woman’s gender is just one aspect of a multifaceted, multitasking human identity.
The battle is far from being won. Unfortunately, women all across the world still face thousands of limitations which are caused by gender stereotypes which bind them to specific roles. This conference was a showcase where people of all genders tell their inspiring tales of how they became unbound.
Talks
Making a small difference
Dr. Ang Swee Chai
Orthopaedic surgeon, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
Bridging the Familiarity Gap
Catherine Purkiss
Neuroscientist
Men, women and language —
a story of human speechSophie Scott
Neuroscientist
Treating disease in babies before birth
Dr. Anna David
Obstetrics Consultant, Senior Lecturer at UCL
Debunking the myth that intelligence is gender-based
Adrian Furnham
Professor of Psychology
Help I need a man
Jude Kelly, OBE
Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre
Cutting the rose:
Female genital mutilationEfua Dorkenoo
Mama Efua,
Advocacy Director for Equality NowTech shouldn’t be a boys club
Alice Bentinck
Co-founder of Entrepreneur First, Founder of Code First:Girls
Why are ‘women’s issues’ a taboo subject?
Iman Mujahed
Hand in Hand for Syria
The xx factor: How working women are creating a new society
Prof. Alison Wolf
Hand in Hand for Syria