From ‘girlboss’ culture to protecting the countryside on dog walks: free Surrey festival explores the pressures of everyday life

The University of Surrey’s ESRC Festival of Social Science programme will explore these questions through free talks, workshops and creative experiences this autumn. Events run from the 17 October to the 7 November, inviting people to meet researchers, share their experiences and discover ideas that could change how they think about work, health and their local environment.

At Young Women, Work and Social Media: Navigating the Cost of Living Crisis, an online event on 4 November, 6pm–7.30pm, Dr Nathalie Weidhase will explore the gap between social media’s competing messages about career success and young women’s working lives. Drawing on new research, the discussion will examine workplace discrimination, financial pressures and balancing employment with family life, alongside practical advice on workplace rights and support. Attendees can share experiences and question a panel of researchers and professionals.

Leading Through Motherhood, at Surrey Business School on the 5 November, 9am–1.30pm, challenges familiar but flawed ways of looking at motherhood and careers. Professor Emily Ma will share findings from her research with working mothers and women leaders exploring how caring responsibilities can develop skills employers value, including resilience, empathy, conflict management and decision-making under pressure. Through discussions and activities, participants can reflect on their own experiences and explore how organisations could better recognise these capabilities. 

Dog owners can help shape ideas for protecting the countryside at Love Dogs, Love Nature, at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking on the 3 November, 6.30pm–8.30pm. Dr Thomas Roberts and representatives from Surrey Hills National Landscape will explore how dog-walking choices affect wildlife, habitats and other visitors. Participants will work through real-life scenarios and contribute to a shared map of the Surrey Hills, with their experiences feeding into ongoing research and practical solutions.

The wider programme includes Bodies in Time, creative workshops exploring women’s health experiences online on the 21 October and in Guildford on the 24 October, followed by an exhibition at Woking Library from the 2–7 November. The Value of Birdsong at RHS Wisley on the 22 October explores biodiversity, wellbeing and decisions about nature.

Visitors can join a live podcast and creative workshop with trans historian Susan Stryker on the 25 October, learn to grow flowers sustainably on the 27 October and help reimagine how young people travel around Guildford at Youth Moves on the 28 October.

Further events explore why feedback hurts at the Guildford Institute on the 4 November, grief while caring for someone who is still alive online on the 5 November and employment in later life at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre that afternoon.

Explore the programme and book free tickets

END

Notes to editors

• For interviews with participating researchers or media enquiries, please contact: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk.
• Events form part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science. Booking details and individual access information are available through the University’s programme page.
• Dogs cannot be accommodated inside the building at the Love Dogs, Love Nature event.