Professor Sally Hines is announced as a speaker at the renowned Ilkley Literature Festival

The Ilkley Literature Festival has announced its stellar line-up for this year’s event, which runs from 28 September until 14 October and comprises 240 events across 15 venues.

The University is Higher Education Partner for the festival, as well as principal partner for the Words in the City spoken word festival that took part in Leeds for the first time last May.

Professor Sally Hines, Professor of Sociology and Gender Identities, will be speaking on the topic of “Can Gender Equality Change the World?” Alongside Italian women’s rights expert Paola Diana, Professor Hines will throw open some of the crucial questions around gender and equality.

They’ll be asking: do we need more women at the top of politics and economics? Are traditional binary male and female gender roles still relevant in an increasingly fluid and flexible world? How is it that countries where women have achieved political and social rights seem indifferent to nations where women’s status is in question? 

Professor Frank Finlay, Director of the University’s Cultural Institute, said: Our collaboration is a wonderful way to give our students and staff exciting opportunities to interact with large and diverse audiences, to engage with the wider world of ideas and to share new knowledge.

Rachel Feldberg, Festival Director, saidː “The carefully curated line-up for 2018 includes some of the biggest names in literature as well as some of the most well-respected experts in history, poetry, non-fiction and science. This year, we’re lucky to have leading voices and specialists in their subject to contribute to our strands.”

Find out more about Ilkley Literature Festival