International Women's Day: Catching up with Jane Hanna

We have caught up with some of our fantastic female Allanians in celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March and found out what inspired them to pursue their different careers.

Today we catch up with Jane Hanna, who attended Dame Allan’s Schools between 1974 - 1981. She was the first woman fellow at Keble College and founder of the charity SUDEP Action, which supports suddenly bereaved families of those with epilepsy.

Tell us about your career and what inspired you to follow this path?

My family and Dame Allan’s gave me a strong sense of choosing a career which suited where I could most contribute to life. To begin with I was attracted by the drama of justice programmes on the TV and was inspired by a female barrister character in the 1970’s which was quite unusual then!  I studied Law at Cambridge and did a post grad at Oxford and qualified as a barrister. I discovered justice was a wider concept than the law and enjoyed being the first woman fellow at Keble College researching and teaching human rights. 

The partner who was a young barrister developed epilepsy out of the blue and although he was well he died suddenly one night. I discovered there was a global myth that epilepsy was benign and that meant 21 young people were dying every week and no one was doing anything about it. So I founded a charity SUDEP Action with four other women after raising £1000 in funds to be alongside and involve suddenly bereaved families. That was over 30 years ago. 

Today the World Health Organisations recognises epilepsy as an urgent public health priority and we have successfully tackled disinformation with research and digital technologies that help young people and doctors understand and manage risk.  

 What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

That rights of women need to be constantly striven for. It is so important now that women and men stand up for women’s rights internationally and in the UK. We can all contribute something to this cause.  I am currently leading a national campaign to stop new plans to stop women with epilepsy accessing the most effective medicine to protect them from SUDEP (sudden death in epilepsy) and to let them get on with their lives.

The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 is ‘Embrace Equity.’ How do you embrace equity in your daily life?

I think mainly by being aware of diversity and challenging my own prejudices as we all have them. It is mostly important to listen first. Sometimes one person’s human rights come into tension with another person’s human rights. In this space there may not be a right answer and that is the space for communication.  I try to avoid spaces which are dominated by one voice.

Which women inspire you the most? Did any particular female teachers inspire you?

The ordinary extraordinary women, the unsung heroines of the every day who make good things happen, the women who survive and rise above the most difficult situations and are role models for empathy and resilience.  So many of my female teachers were ordinary extraordinary women. I remember Miss Crossfield and Miss Watson in Geography and Mrs Worrall in English and Mrs Charlton in History.

 How has your schooling at Dame Allan’s influenced your career choices?

I loved the humanities and that has always underpinned my career choices.

Have you experienced any barriers in the workplace due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

In the 1970s and 1980s I did experience a fair amount of patriarchy.  For example I was the first woman to be on the governing body of an Oxford College and I have several notes still that were left for me which explained why my card was marked and why women should not have been admitted. It all really helped me in the end because if I hadn’t learnt resilience I would not have been able to successfully take on global misinformation in the medical community in the 1990s. I was helped hugely by other women in the university – we used to meet regularly to laugh and to plot our strategies.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Trust your own instincts. When you meet a barrier in life, always find someone else who understands to be alongside and go from there.    

If you could invite three inspirational women (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would they be?

Michelle Obama, Elizabeth 1 and my mum’s mother who I never met but who worked as a midwife during the second world war.

What advice do you have for women starting out in their careers?

Believe in yourself, work hard and make sure you do something that you enjoy.