Mentoring Women in Archaeology and Heritage

Late last year, a woman working in archaeology became so disillusioned with the current state of archaeology that she sat down on a the sofa and poured herself a glass of wine. Did she sit and finish the bottle, probably. Happily, this is not all she did. She opened her laptop and created a Facebook group called “Mentoring Women in Archaeology and Heritage”. The name was based on the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ RESPECT campaign Facebook group but the group aims to create a safe space to support and mentor women through their archaeological and heritage careers. The movement has affectionately become known by its acronym “MWAH”.

The creator recruited friends to become Admins for the online group, this has developed into regularly meeting to plan the future of the movement. The role of online Admins is important in itself, an online community can not only flourish but become poisoned and therefore, in this case, obsolete with only a few negative comments. However, it is with so much pride that I can state I have only seen one case of a response that could have been considered less than positive, and the occurrence was dealt with swiftly and fairly. Having seen the comment myself, I would have thought that the person themselves could do with the support and advice freely available within the group.

If we already have the British Archaeological Jobs Resource, the Chartered Institute of Archaeologists, Federation of Archaeological Managers and Employers and Prospect, why do we need a grass roots organisation such as MWAH? The Facebook group description helps with this: A group set up to create a supportive mentoring “buddy” network for women in archaeology and heritage and to be able to meet other like minded individuals, for career advice and support in a non-company affiliated environment. The movement has no affiliation to companies, current organisations or even the UK so doesn’t take on present conventions, ideas or preconceptions. All women are welcome, not only CIS. The membership is for anyone who identifies as a woman or those that may fall through current conventions such as those who identify as non-binary. The membership is for any level of archaeological and heritage involvement, there are those that have left the profession, those just starting out to senior managers and CEOs. One of the rules of the group is that to keep the space safe, anything discussed stays private to the group.

In the ten months the Facebook group has been live, it has grown to almost 600 members, with women from Canada, USA, Australia and throughout Europe becoming involved in discussions. These are only identified from the posts I have read, I am not one of the founding members myself so am not privy to the stats, but this informal insight alone shows how global the movement is. MWAH was founded in the UK however, so much of the conversation does relate to the UK sector but it is far from limited to the UK. Requests for advice and support from non-UK residents are welcomed and very much present.

Topics that come up are broad, but often sensitive. Sexual harassment in the workplace and academia is one of the most troubling. A number of women who have left the sector have sought advice on how to get back into archaeology. The Admins run weekly posts on positive female influencers. General posts on advice on training courses remind me of how many specialisms there are within the sector and how these are represented within MWAH. I myself joined with the expectation of providing advice as a woman working in STEM and from a management perspective, what I did not expect was, in no small respect, due to the support of these amazing women I was able to overhaul my life and work towards a better one for myself and my son. The group has helped me to fall back in love with archaeology.

I have referred to MWAH as a movement, there is a reason for this. Although this was a group started on Facebook, it is gradually becoming much, much more. Although little can be said on public forums, the founding members have been growing the impact by starting Discord and Twitter accounts. One of the simplest and most effective impacts the movement has made is creating safe spaces at conferences. The mascot for the group is “Parker the Puffin” so if you see a puffin (members are able to request badges, and a toy puffin is taken to conferences) you know that you are with your allies. Currently, I am planning its first training workshop, following on from a clear concern raised through numerous posts. What started as a Facebook group to share our experiences has clearly become a movement.

So, what is next for MWAH? Honestly, I don’t know, but I am excited. The growth has been organic, coming not only from the committee but the membership. Therefore, if you want to know the future of MWAH I would urge you to get involved. Follow them on Twitter @mentoringwomen1 or join the Facebook group. Or, just keep an eye out for the puffin.