Past Event
Black women getting older in Britain: the experiences of Windrush Women
This paper explores the health experiences, health motivations, health achievements and health activism of Black Caribbean women of the Windrush generations in the UK.
It documents the migration of African-Caribbean women to the UK in the 1950s (the Windrush generation) and their employment in the newly established NHS. Employed in public health work as nurses, health visitors, midwives and community health workers, the majority of these women experienced racism and discrimination which impacted on their ability to progress into senior managers roles in the NHS. This paper explores the contribution of black women nurses in the UK to public health, both as activists for change and as organisers of change. Academic literature on these health workers has focused on their experiences of discrimination rather than the substantial contribution they have made to service development. The paper looks at organisations to advance the public’s health, in particular those developed by black women in areas such as mental health, reproductive health, sickle cell and thalassaemia disorders.
The paper then examines the experience of Black Caribbean women ageing in the UK. It examines increasing co-morbidities, and the social, economic and historical factors shaping the experiences of older Black women in Britain.
About the Speaker
Dr Jenny Douglas, The Open University
Jenny Douglas is a Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies at the Open University. She has a PhD in Women’s Studies from the University of York, an MA in Sociological Research in Health Care from the University of Warwick, an MSc in Environmental Pollution Control from the University of Leeds and a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and Virology from the University of Warwick. She is module lead of the K311 – ‘Promoting Public Health’, is an honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health and is a director of the UK Public Health Register.
This event is part of a seminar series:
Michaelmas 2019 Seminar Series: Older Women’s Health
The Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and The George Institute for Global Health, at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health are hosting a joint seminar series on Older Women’s Health, linked to two new initiatives at the University of Oxford – the Ageing Research Collaborative Hub @ Oxford and the Women’s Health @ Oxford Conveners: Professor S...
Event Details
30 October 2019 17:00 - 18:30
Location
Oxford Martin School
34 Broad Street (corner of Holywell and Catte Streets) Oxford OX1 3BD