Carol Cairney

Yesterday was International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8 every year.

There is much to celebrate about women’s achievements, and yet there is still more we can all do, women and allies alike, to #EmbraceEquity and ensure that we build a world for those that come after us that is evermore diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

We’ve compiled a list of successful women in various fields who’ve graduated from each of our partner universities below.

Marion Gilchrist, University of Glasgow

Marion Gilchrist was the first woman to graduate from the University of Glasgow in 1894, and the first woman in Scotland to graduate with a medical degree, despite medicine being considered an ‘unfeminine’ subject at the time. She worked as a GP in Glasgow, specialising in eye diseases, and was also an early motoring enthusiast, having a garage on Ashton Lane. She was also a leading figure in the UK suffragette movement, but change took time: it would be 34 years after Marion graduate that women were finally granted full voting rights.

You can read more about her and other inspiring women who graduated from the University of Glasgow here

Dolores Delgado García, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 

Dolores Delgado García is a Spanish prosecutor who served as Attorney General of Spain from 2020 to 2022. Previously, she served as Minister of Justice and First Notary of the Kingdom from 2018 to 2020, in the first Pedro Sánchez administration. She joined the Public Prosecution Service in 1989, being assigned to the High Court of Justice of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. In 1993 she was promoted to prosecutor at the Audiencia Nacional, where she stands out for being responsible for important cases against drug trafficking and terrorism. She has also worked at the International Criminal Court.

Graça Machel, Universidade de Lisboa

An alumna of the University of Lisbon, Dame Graça Machel is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. Machel is an international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, including on ending child marriage, and was made an honorary British Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for her humanitarian work. She is the only woman in modern history to have served as First Lady of two countries, South Africa and Mozambique, being the widow of former President of Mozambique, Samora Machel, and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Alongside Mandela and Desmond Tutu, she convened The Elders, a group working on various humanitarian subjects. 

Elisabetta Belloni, LUISS Guido Carli

Elisabetta Belloni is an Italian diplomat and civil servant, and has served as Director of the Department of Information for Security since 2021. . She has held positions in Italian embassies offices in Vienna and Bratislava, as well as in the Directorates General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2001 she was appointed Head of the Office for Central and Eastern European Countries, and from 2004 to 2008, directed the Crisis Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Anna Vissi, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Anna Vissi is a Greek Cypriot singer, songwriter, actress, television presenter, radio personality, and businesswoman. She studied music and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens in 1973, signing a record deal, releasing singles, and collaborating with other artists whilst still studying at NKUA. She has performed in the Eurovision Song Contest three times, representing Greece in 1980 and 2006, and Cyprus in 1982.

Ariane Labed, Aix-Marseille Université

Ariane Labed is a Greek-French actress and film director. She is known for her feature film debut in Attenberg, for which she won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and for appearing in Helen Edmundson’s film Mary Magdalene in 2018. Labed studied theatre at Aix-Marseille University.