9th March 2022
Tuesday 8th March was International Women’s Day (IWD) which was again supported by students and staff at Girton.
Deputy Head, Dr Emma O’Rielly, along with Inclusion and Diversity Prefect, Tara Anderson, delivered a thought-provoking speech based on this year’s IWD theme #BreakTheBias. 
The speech was based on a well-known riddle developed by researchers at Boston University and goes as follows;
One day, a father and his ten-year-old son decide to go on a leisurely drive to their favourite fishing spot.
They pack a nice lunch, load their fishing rods into the car, put on their favourite music and head into the glorious sunshine for a fun-filled day.
But tragedy strikes.
A deer runs onto the road and to avoid killing the animal, the father swerves the car but hits a tree on the side of the road, killing himself in what is a horrible car crash. His son is rushed to hospital with horrific injuries.
Just as the young boy is about to go under the knife at the hospital, the surgeon says, “I can’t operate – that boy is my son”.
The question is, who is the surgeon?
To find out how most people answer this riddle and more about gender bias, watch the video of the speech that was delivered in assembly:
Students and staff also helped support IWD by striking the #BreakTheBias pose, pictured below:
