Welcome to Steppe Sisters
Steppe Sisters (founded 2017) is an international networking group dedicated to connecting women and underrepresented groups in academia, who conduct research in Central Asia (specifically CIS countries) and neighboring regions. We bridge boundaries and encourage cross-cultural exchange of ideas, resources, and support to encourage the professional advancement of women researchers.
Our remit is focused upon human science researchers, specifically, those who work in fields which investigate humans and their environment both today and in the past. This includes the disciplines of history, archaeology, anthropology, palaeoecology, archaeogenetics, and other related fields of human sciences. However, researchers from all other disciplines are also welcome.
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Your contribution directly supports our mission to bridge cultural divides, support early-career women researchers, promote research by women, and advance equality, diversity, and inclusion in academia. Every gift strengthens our ability to sustain and expand our network.
News
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2026 Annual General Meeting & Workshop
Please join us at our next Annual General Meeting & Workshop!
Saturday 14th November 2026, Dept of Archaeology, Durham University, D210, Dawson Building
9 am – Annual General Meeting
10 am – 1pm – Workshop: Surveying the field: ECR women in human sciences in Central Asia and neighbouring regions.
This year we aim to launch a survey of Early Career Researcher women and underrepresented groups in academic and research positions across Central Asia and neighbouring regions. This workshop will allow our members to contribute to the design of that survey. Our goal is to identify areas in which we, as a networking group, can best contribute to reducing barriers to progression. We aim to use the results of the survey to direct our long-term programs and strategies.
We encourage all members of the Steppe Sisters forums to attend and contribute!
If you are planning to attend in-person please email k.a.hopper@durham.ac.uk.
Register here for online attendance.
Steppe Sisters Speaker Series: Tamarakhonum Davlat
Please join us for our new Speaker Series on 28 October 2026 at 2pm UK!
Producing Authority: Women’s Experiences of Fieldwork in Uzbekistani Geology
This talk examines how institutional, social, and gendered dynamics shape women’s participation and scientific authority in Uzbekistani geology nowadays.
Despite formal educational access, women remain underrepresented in senior leadership, where authority is heavily tied to fieldwork. Drawing on feminist geography and standpoint theory, Tamarakhonum Davlat's study analyzes how physical mobility, remote expeditions, and institutional norms influence credibility and career progression. Using a qualitative multi-method approach—oral history interviews, participant observation, and policy document analysis—her research addresses key literature gaps in Central Asian geosciences, illuminating how scientific legitimacy is socially constructed and negotiated.
Tamarakhonum Davlat is a PhD researcher in Human Geography at the Department of Geosciences of the University of Fribourg. She holds a Master's degree in Ancient Mediterranean World History, Archaeology, and Art from the University of Pavia, and a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Nazarbayev University.
Visit our Eventbrite page to register for free!
Steppe Sisters Speaker Series: Suha Hasan
Suha Hasan is an architect, historian and the founder of ASH, an architecture practice based in Stockholm, Sweden. She has lectured and taught at universities in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, Sudan, and the UK. Suha is the founder of Mawane, a platform for urban research based in Bahrain, and a founding member of the MSc Modern Sudan Collective. She is the head of the AA Visiting School Climate Cartographies, which explores the intersection of architectural history and the environment. Suha is the winner of the Guldrummet 2025 Award.
The AA Visiting School Samarkand, Imagined Skies, takes the Observatory of Ulugbek, a machine built to observe the sky, as a starting point for participants to engage with broader issues of climate change, heritage, and astronomy. The School’s agenda explores the intersection of climate change and heritage through the medium of vision. Early maps of the skies tell stories of both constellations above and perceptions below. The programme in Samarkand explored how we perceive the world and how we choose to represent it. The Observatory of Ulugbek serves as a departure point for readings histories of observation of space, their architecture manifestations, and more recent histories of architectural conservations.Summer 2026 Newsletter
📣 Our Summer 2026 newsletter is out!
Who we are
Membership to our closed forums and discussion groups is limited to Steppe Sisters members only to provide opportunities for women*. Men who wish to support Steppe Sisters may join as friends of the group to access our mailing list and website and can contribute through offering training opportunities. Members of the public can interact with the group through our social media and the webpage. Discussion is encouraged in the language of your choice. You can access our constitution here.
*Women encompasses all women, as based on gender identity or/and biological sex, and underrepresented groups, as well as those discriminated against based on their gender identity
Our aims are:
- To network to bridge cultural divides
- To support early-career women researchers
- To promote research by women in the past and present
- To advance equality, diversity and inclusion in academia
We support women-led professional academic development through:
- Providing online discussion forums for networking and communication
- Online and in-person training sessions, lectures and seminars
- Mentorships that link senior and early career scholars with students
- Small-Grant Programmes for early career researchers (supported by funding organizations)
Steering Committee
Our steering committee leads and directs Steppe Sisters and is responsible for organising conferences, online events and acting as admins in our online community spaces.
Communications Team (Newsletter Editor)
Bioarchaeologist
Oregon State Legislature and Oregon State University
Steering Committee Secretary
Archaeologist
Freie Universität Berlin/Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies
How to join
If you are interested in joining Steppe Sisters please visit us on social media to join the conversation! If you'd like to receive our biannual newsletter please fill in this form below.
hello@steppesisters.org