Queens' first female students:
40 years on

Among the 1980 matriculants of Queens', pictured above, were, for the first time, 42 women: 39 undergraduates and 3 postgraduates.

The College was delighted to host the 1980 female matriculants in a Zoom reunion on Monday evening. The call was jointly hosted by our new President, Dr Mohamed El-Erian, and the guest of honour was Queens' first female Fellow, Professor Naomi Segal (Hon Fellow), who joined the College in 1979.

The President said that, being at Queens’ today, it was hard to tell that the College had never not been mixed – and the 1980 cohort had been the pioneers of this transformation.

"I suspect that the environment that you arrived in at Queens' in 1980 was far from perfect. But through your determination, courage, persistence and effectiveness you spearheaded a process of change that is still going on today and that I personally intend to press further with. One that seeks greater diversity and equality of opportunity in all that we do."

Professor Segal talked of how the Fellowship was generally very welcoming at the College when she became the first female Fellow. She even encouraged a change in the Latin admission ceremony to reflect the fact that she was female: “socius” became “socia” for her ceremony. Now, one third of the Fellowship is female and 55% of the undergraduate fresher intake in 2020 is female.

The professions of those on the call ranged from writers and actresses to medical consultants and business leaders.