Archaeology is steadily becoming a more female profession.  In 2012-13, 46% of archaeologists in the UK were women; fifteen years before, only 35% were. The majority of archaeologists aged under 40 are now women, most students studying archaeology are female and it is expected that in the next ten years women will make up the majority of the archaeological workforce.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Councillor Julie Gunnell the Lord Mayor of York is inviting participants to “Women In Archaeology 2014”, a one-day conference in York on Saturday 15 March 2014 to discuss the role of women in archaeology.

The conference will begin with an evening reception on Friday 14 March at the JORVIK Viking Centre. On Saturday 15 March, a full day international conference will be held with a banquet at the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor.

York Archaeological Trust is currently running a major international project, Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe 2014 with the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union. This project brings together archaeologists from 21 European countries who are researching the profile of the archaeological workforce, this includes skills and training needs. One of the key issues raised by this project has been the role of women in professional archaeology in each of those participating countries.

Participants in the Discovering the Archaeologists of Europe 2014 project will be presenting papers at the conference.  Further papers are invited that address, review and debate the challenges and opportunities that women face in archaeology today, in the UK and internationally.

If you would like to speak, please contact Anna Stewart to discuss conference details.

If you would like to attend as a delegate please email your details to iwc@yorkat.co.uk. Please let us know if you would like York Archaeological Trust to book hotel accommodation for you.

Anticipated costs:  £10 for the conference (which includes refreshments and buffet lunch), and £60 for the banquet.

A more detailed list of speakers will follow shortly.

This conference will be supported by The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of York, The University of York, The Life Long Learning Programme, European Union and York Archaeological Trust.