The Women’s History Network is offering Fellowships of £1,500 to support Early Career Researchers of women’s or gender history in the coming academic year.

Each Fellowship is designed to provide financial support to those who have completed their doctorate but are yet to secure their first academic post. We anticipate that the scholar will work on a clearly defined research project during the Fellowship and produce, or work towards producing, at least one tangible output by its end. This award is specifically designed to assist scholars in building their CV towards academic employment. As a result, we anticipate that any output(s) would be primarily ‘academic’ (e.g. a journal article or work towards a monograph) though we welcome proposals which also include additional outputs which may be public facing (e.g. a podcast).

The Fellowship includes a bursary of £1500 (paid in two instalments of £750) which can be used in any way that enables the Fellow to sustain their role as a writer and researcher while working on a clearly defined project.

The deadline for applications is 1 August 2023 and the result will be communicated to the successful applicants by 1 September 2023. Fellowships will last from 1 October 2023 – 30 September 2024.

Enquiries about the Fellowship and completed application forms should be sent to WHNprizesandgrants@gmail.com. Applications will be assessed by members of the Women’s History Network’s Steering Committee, with whom the completed application forms and CVs will be shared.

Guidelines for applicants:

• We welcome proposals on any aspect of women’s history or gender history (though strongly focused on women), and particularly encourage applications on topics outside the Anglophone world and/or modern period.
• The fellowships are open to anyone within ten years of completing their PhD (this does not include career breaks). Applicants must have had their viva examination by 1 August 2023 but those with corrections still to complete are eligible to apply. If you are more than ten years from award of your PhD but feel you meet the criteria in other ways, please be in touch to discuss your suitability for an application.
• The applications are open to those with and without a current academic affiliation.
• They are only open to those who are not in full time academic employment, and those who do not currently hold a postdoctoral funding award (e.g. a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship).
• Applications are open to those working in higher education but not in an academic post (e.g. a Registry position) and/or those in hourly-paid teaching roles. If you have any questions about eligibility, please do be in touch.
• Those awarded Fellowships will be expected to: write a WHN blog post by February 2023; present a paper at, and, separately, chair a session for, the 2023—24 online seminar series. Fellows will also be encouraged to contribute in some way (e.g. present a paper) to the September 2024 WHN Conference. We welcome suggestions of further ideas for engagement with the WHN during the Fellowship, but this is not obligatory.
• Any publications or outputs that result from the Fellowship must include acknowledgement of funding received from the Women’s History Network.
• Applicants should be based in the UK.
• In making decisions, the WHN will primarily assess the quality of the proposal. However, we will also take into account an applicant’s circumstances and reserve the right to prioritise the most precarious applicants.
• Applicants must be members of the Women’s History Network at the time of application. Student/unwaged membership is available from £15. Members of the current Women’s History Network Steering Committee are ineligible to apply. To join the Women’s History Network UK please go to womenshistorynetwork.org

Please download the ECR Fellowship form and send this, and a one page CV, to WHNprizesandgrants@gmail.com

We will acknowledge receipt of your application; if you have not heard from us within seven working days of sending the application, please resend it.