Steering Group New Member Introduction: Frances Jago

I arrived in Oxford from Australia in October 2025, to begin my MPhil in International Relations - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and hopeful I was taking a productive step forward for my future. I grew up in Australia’s smallest capital city (Hobart, Tasmania), where the majority of my formative years were shaped by the Quaker ethos of my schooling. I then moved to Melbourne at the ripe age of 18 to pursue my Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, with every intention of majoring in Ancient Greek History, but to the surprise of my family and admittedly myself, I ended up with a double major in International Relations and Journalism.

For much of my formative years, I have been surrounded by incredibly high-powered women. Between my mother and grandmother alone, there was absolutely no question that a woman can do anything a man can (and as rather competitive individuals with siblings, could probably do it better). There’s a certain reality, however, that settled for me in the early stages of my research where, even in academia, women have been and continue to be sidelined by their communities.

Before I get into my motivations for joining the MCR committee as one of the Women’s and Gender Minorities Officers and the SJC Women’s Network this year, I thought I would let you in on some of my most recent musings.

Often the reaction I get when I say I study IR is, “wow, what a time to study the world.”

And they’re right, but also, we’ve seen this all happen before. From way back to the Athens-Sparta era and Thucydides’ trap, to the rise and fall of empires, and the World Wars, the world rarely experiences a prolonged period of peace. But what this all is, is the exertion of power and its distributional properties. And the study of power is central to the study of feminist theory and a woman’s place in the political world.

It was the writings of IR classicist scholar Mary Beard who first introduced to me how the exclusion of women from formal power is culturally embedded, and the consequential ripple-effects this has beyond politics. When we lock women out of leadership, the damage spreads far past the halls of government.

It would be remiss of me as an Australian not to mention one of my favourite politicians of the 21st Century - the powerhouse that is Julia Gillard, the first and currently only female Australian Prime Minister. A woman who inspired thousands, not just within Australia, but across the globe. Her misogyny speech still resonates to this day, not only because it was epic, but more so because very little has changed for women in politics.

I often find myself asking, what does it mean to be a woman in 2026? It is a not so simple answer I’m afraid. Its complex layers require sorting through political distortion, cultural debris, and centuries of assumptions about who and what women should be. For many, their answers have been shaped by systems that question our place through barely disguised misogyny and a plethora of interweaving cultural disfigurations. From the rise of the manosphere, the “trad-wife” TikTok phenomenon and the most recent harrowing unveiling of an Online Academy for sexual violence against women, the work done and progress made by women over time continues to be challenged and eroded.

This, in part, fuels my motivations to play my part in identifying and acknowledging the effects of sidelining women in positions of power, as a way to link and challenge the destructive nature these phenomena have on women as a collective.

My research centres on the strategic security of states in the Indo-Pacific region and while not wholly focused on the challenges faced by women within this realm of study, I hope to continue carving out a space for women’s scholarship which are impacted by the strategic decisions made by our states in a world ridden with war and conflict. The repercussions of contested security has major flow-on effects for women, children and minority groups, including heightened targeted violence and loss of access to essential services. Even the radicalisation we’ve recently witnessed in the 2026 UK Council Elections are a disconcerting visualisation of how women’s representation in leaders has fallen. But my research, perhaps more holistically, isn’t just about picking apart the current political landscape cluttered with ego-measuring and peacocking; dare I say notably by President Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping and other political leaders. It is also about separating security concerns from the dominant global voices and promoting the concept of “antifragility” where security frameworks in the region can gain from volatility. To hopefully translate into practice safeguards that stabilise communities from the ripple-effects of disorder and minimise harm right down the food chain to our most vulnerable.

All of this to say, my motivations for joining the MCR Committee and the Women’s Network is very much rooted in my desire to be a part of this wider movement by starting small – in the spaces that we experience on the day-to-day; creating opportunities for St John’s women to collaborate, share their stories and research, and celebrate what it means to be a woman in this day and age.

What I hope to support for women within St John’s community in 2026 is prioritising inclusivity, well-being, and meaningful connection.

Continuing the work of my predecessors, alongside the wonderful Orla Hogan in our positions as Women’s Officers, we aim to maintain the nurturing community of women we have here at St John’s College through inviting inspiring women who are leaders in their careers to share their stories, closer collaboration with the JCR, MCR and Alumni communities, and boosting women’s wellbeing like maintaining supply of menstrual health products, organised fitness spaces/activities and mental health awareness.

In March 2026, Orla and I organised an International Women’s Day Brunch for our MCR community where we chatted over pastries and coffee (a universal delight) and shared stories of inspiring women in our lives.

Something I hope to do in my role is to host a SJC MCR (+ beyond!) running club. As a keen runner and believer in an “active body, healthy mind”, I think it is so important to have a welcoming space for exercise, enjoying the nicer weather Oxford has to offer in the summer months, but it is particularly important in the darker winter months!

Another aim for our tenure is to open up the possibility to collaborate with women’s charities in Oxford to strengthen our ties to the broader Oxford locale. We hope to do this by inviting charity organisers to come speak to share their work with our MCR and organise fundraising events to do our part in giving back to the community.

In all the chaos dominating our news cycles, we are fortunate to have such a welcoming and supportive community of women here at St Johns and I look forward to playing my small part in preserving the community values.