Audrey Jones Awards for Research by Women
Audrey was an inspiring woman with boundless energy. She was one of the founder members of the Wales Assembly of Women in 1984 and a past chair and secretary until 2014.
Winners of the 2021 Audrey Jones Memorial Awards with Jane Hutt MS and Robert Jones
These prestigious awards are held in memory of Audrey Jones. The awards highlight research that help to shape policy and provide a focus for campaigning and lobbying in Wales.
All universities in Wales are circulated with the details of the award scheme and award recipients present their findings at the annual conference of Wales Assembly of Women.
It was always the wish of Audrey Jones to involve more young women in WAW - sixth formers, undergraduates and postgraduates. Audrey was always keen to hear about the latest research evidence. To this end WAW wished to honour her memory by setting up a specific annual opportunity for this at the annual WAW conference. The underpinning concept is to help young women, and mature women students, of course, to disseminate their research findings and to have a platform for sharing important ideas which may shape and inform lobbying and campaigning decisions. Audrey was aware that far too many research findings remain in dissertations and theses where only a privileged few had access to them!
On retiring as deputy headteacher at St Cyres comprehensive school, Penarth, in 1990 (where she had taught since 1960), Audrey worked tirelessly for the cause of women's rights, safety and equality in pay and opportunities. She campaigned both nationally and internationally, being responsible for the representation of Wales on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and contributed to UN consultations and debates on women’s rights across the world. Audrey died in 2015 aged 84.
Thus WAW, courtesy of financial arrangements and the generosity of Audrey's son Robert Jones, introduced for the first time in 2016, the Audrey Jones memorial awards. Following the success of the first six competition cycles, it is hoped that the award will continue for 2022.
Information for the 2022 awards, co-ordinated by Dr Jane Salisbury, will be announced in due course.
Wales assembly of women organise an annual conference each year. Previous conference titles have included:
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2011: Do women in Wales matter? Does government care?
2013: Visible women: empowering girls and women in Wales 2015: Women's rights matter: past, present and future 2016: The women of Wales care about Europe 2017: Brexit really is a women's issue 2018: The great leap forward: embracing the Istanbul convention in Wales to end violence against women and girls 2019: Women's rights are human rights: enhancing women's rights in Wales 2020: Women breaking barriers 2021: The Politics of Change: Women making a difference |
Welsh Government Minister for Equalities Jane Hutt MS said it was great to have been involved with the Audrey Jones Memorial Awards for Research by Women, co-ordinated by Wales Assembly of Women, an independent campaigning NGO, since their introduction in 2016.
She said:
‘I say this every year, but Audrey fought tirelessly for women’s rights and equality. She would be so heartened by the work of the latest Award recipients and the platform that Wales Assembly of Women has provided to give these awards in her memory.
‘The different perspectives we hear through the presentation of the awardees, demonstrate that gender inequality remains a stubborn and persistent issue around the globe. I hope the awardees will continue their important work in research, it is crucial in building an evidence-based approach to government in Wales.
‘It is in learning about the lived experience of women that we can share good practice, shine a light on areas where inequality persists and needs to be challenged and contribute to making a difference in the lives of women and girls.’
Jane Hutt MS, who congratulated the awardees at this year's Wales Assembly of Women hybrid conference and AGM on November 13th 2021, said she was determined to bring evidence-based research to the forefront of Welsh Government’s work.
Co-ordinator of the Audrey Jones Memorial Awards Dr Jane Salisbury said:
'Audrey was always very concerned that too much academic work remained on a library shelf or was only disseminated within a faculty or research group. All three of the presentations we received from our awardees were excellent and were something I know Audrey would have enjoyed listening to.'
The 2021 Audrey Jones Memorial Awards were presented to Dr Edith England of Cardiff University’s School of Geography & Planning who focused on how victims of domestic violence are stigmatized within the homelessness system in Wales; Samantha Garay of Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences tackled the paucity of pregnancy research in Wales; Alicia Stringfellow of Cardiff University’s School of Healthcare Sciences looked at the experience of mothers who live with and care for an adult child with schizophrenia; and Laura Olufemi Shobiye of Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences explored the role of education and learning for mothers seeking sanctuary in Wales.
Wales Assembly of Women is an independent campaigning NGO accredited to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Its representatives have attended every major UN world conference for women since 1985.
It campaigns for women's rights in Wales and the World. Membership is open to all women in Wales and to women with connections to Wales. It is funded by the membership and charity grants and receives no public money.