Dr Emma Bolger

The number of women turning out to vote in Britain is decreasing  despite increases in female parliamentary candidates . In the past twelve months attempts to engage women voters include two heavily criticised examples: the ‘Better Together woman’ with her reminder  to the women-folk of Scotland to vote No in the Independence Referendum and Labour’s Pink Bus tour  encouraging women to vote in the forthcoming General Election. There has obviously been some research that says non-voting women might be engaged (rather than just  enraged ) by this. This type of marketing doesn't appeal to me but I've voted in every election I could since I turned 18; in the UK we can vote in a secret ballot, a basic right that is denied to so many women of the world.  As a researcher into career choice, I'm keen to understand why women don't go into male dominated occupations. Positive role models are repeatedly cited as an example of good practice in balancing gender in segregated o

Yesterday I a ttended the official launch and first networking event of The Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences (SGSSS) Collaborative PhD Programme in Glasgow. As a recipient of one of the ESRC co-funded studentships my research into Gender and Modern Apprenticeships will contribute to this knowledge exchange programme between the academic community, policy makers and practitioners, that seeks to understand skills issues from a Scottish perspective. More details on the event and the attendees can be found here . Here I am with my supervisor,  Prof. Mike Danson, demonstrating how much fun doing a PhD can be!

I am six months into doctoral study, so it is time to make a start on expanding my research away from me, my desk and my supervisors by taking it to an academic and professional audience. I have two events over the next fortnight where I will be presenting the topics of my PhD to peers and practitioners. SGSSS-SDS PhD Event The first of these two events is the inaugural networking event for the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) Collaborative PhD Programme  to be held on Thursday 12th March .  I will meet the doctoral researchers who are funded under the same scheme as I am for the first time and in a poster presentation, we will be showcasing our research topics. There will also be a number of speakers to network with, including SDS Chief Executive Damien Yeates , Professor Simon Burnett of the SGSSS, Professor Tara Fenwick (ESRC) and Professor Ewart Keep (ESRC/Skope).  SDS Annual Career Guidance Research Symposium 2015