Celebrating International Women’s Day 2024
Today Raikes gives over its entire edition to the voices of women from Gloucestershire - from business, the third sector and the arts - as it joins in marking International Women's Day 2024.
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Dear readers,
We hope you have had a great week.
Today, Raikes marks International Women’s Day. We do that by giving the entire edition over to the voices of four women from Gloucestershire who have been kind enough to share their thoughts on what the day means to them.
A massive ‘thank you’ to Florence Nayasmo-Thomas, of Lives of Colour, a charity that works across businesses, schools and communities to support equality, diversity and inclusion in Gloucestershire, Sophia Ford, compliance coordinator and gender equality champion at Cheltenham solicitors Willans LLP, Illyana Mullins, founder of WiTCH (Women in Tech and Cyber Hub) and BSides Cheltenham, and special thanks to Del Barratt from Stroud, chair and founder of Hundred Heroines and the Modern Museum of Women in Photography in Gloucester - who was generous enough to explain the charity’s history, its goals and give us access to just some of its incredible archive.
We hope you enjoy. Have a great weekend.
Please do continue to bear us in mind for your stories and ideas. The best email currently is andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk. Or telephone 07956 926061.
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* Everything you read on Raikes is made possible by the generous support of our partners (we’ve already let you know about QuoLux and more partners will be revealed over the coming weeks) our founding members and our paid-up subscribers. A massive ‘thank you’ to all our other subscribers too. The support of all of you is invaluable! To find out about commercial opportunities visit our About page. To get in touch email andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
Pengo: (Swahili word for ‘gap’)
By Florence Nayasmo-Thomas, of Lives of Colour
In celebrating and recognising the achievements of women on this year’s International Women’s Day, it is crucial to shed light on the persistent gap (pengo) in wages, leadership, opportunities, and representation that directly impacts decision-making and overall economic empowerment.
I have always heard about these gaps, but when I was asked to write this piece, I decided to look at the latest statistics and investigate what this means for women from ethnic and diverse backgrounds.
According to the Parker Review 2020 on ethnic diversity in UK boardrooms, only about four per cent of FTSE 100 board positions are held by women from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and the percentage of these women in leadership roles is even lower.
This disparity not only hinders the progress of women but also limits the full potential of organisations and societies at large.
I have been asking myself, when is society going to start addressing and rectifying these issues?
I believe that we can create a more inclusive and equitable world where women have equal access to leadership roles, opportunities for growth, and a seat at the table in decision-making processes.
This would benefit women but also goes a long way to contribute to the economic empowerment and prosperity of communities and nations.
Creating opportunities doesn’t always mean extra costs - businesses could use creative approaches. For example, last year for International Women’s Day, SuperDry created a campaign in collaboration with Lives of Colour.
Also, in the summer Spirax Sarco supported our Culture Fest event with their workforce spending the whole day volunteering for us.
Being given the opportunity to write this blog means that many more businesses will be aware of our consultancy and our impact within our county.
The gender pay gap has been a conversation since I came to live in the UK over 30 years ago. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) notes, the gender pay gap in the UK stood at 15.5 per cent in 2020, based on median hourly earnings for full time employees. This means that women earned, on average, 15.5 per cent less per hour than men.
Then there is the ethnicity pay gap, which describes disparities in pay affecting women from ethnic backgrounds. It means these women generally earn less than their white counterparts.
When we translate conversations about pay to the challenges faced by women from ethnic backgrounds running businesses or social enterprises, we see a consistent theme of limited networks, safe spaces and a lack of support systems that are crucial for entrepreneurial success.
Yet, I believe that if we choose to work together there are abundant opportunities to build, learn and enrich women and everyone within our society.
Let us create the opportunities that advocate for change, promote inclusivity, and pave the way for a more gender-balanced and empowered future for all women.
Lives of Colour is ready to collaborate with you to help close the gap (pengo) within business and diverse communities in Gloucestershire.
Lives of Colour ‘is an initiative of the Nowans Trust Community Charity’ and was launched in 2018. It works to empower organisations on the importance of equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
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Inspire inclusion
By Sophia Ford of Willans LLP solicitors
This International Women’s Day, we’ll be inviting everyone in our firm to reflect upon this year’s theme - ‘Inspire Inclusion’ - and to share thoughts and ideas about gender equality and what it means within our business.
Willans has been female managed for nearly 20 years. This isn’t something we often shout about; we don’t see it as a particularly big deal and although it shouldn’t be, it probably is.
We’re proud of what female leadership has brought to our business over the years and we employ more women than men in both lawyer and support roles; reflective perhaps of the fact that more women than men qualify as solicitors each year.
However, women are proportionally under-represented in our firm at equity partner level. Are we as ‘inclusive’ as we think we are? Is there more that we as a business should be doing?
The answers to these questions are not straightforward.
To an extent these issues are societal, and the solutions lie beyond the control of individual businesses. But we need to keep asking ourselves the questions.
Like many businesses, we’ve embraced hybrid working since 2020 and our firm has evolved at a pace and to a degree that we might never have imagined pre-pandemic.
The flexibility that we now offer most of our staff – at all levels – goes some way, we hope, to helping everyone achieve a healthy work-life balance, irrespective of gender.
With hybrid working also comes an opportunity to narrow the ‘gender chores gap’ (the widely reported inequality that exists in the division of household chores between men and women) as well as facilitating a more equal division between parents in respect of childcare.
This is an opportunity that everyone needs to be on board with, or hybrid working for women could, for them, mean greater inequality.
We also foster diversity, inclusion and gender equality internally through the Willans’ Champions initiative, launched in 2022. This scheme is aimed at creating visibility of our values and providing education and access to resources in a number of areas, giving staff ownership of championing these issues across the firm.
It also means that we continue to question how we operate as a business, and whether there is more that we can do to live up to the values that we espouse.
We’re aware that women continue to face barriers that impede their progress and success, and that there isn’t a single country in the world that has achieved gender parity.
For this reason, we stand by the Gloucestershire business community in celebrating investment in women, their careers and achievements this International Women’s Day.
Sophia Ford, is compliance coordinator and gender equality champion, Willans LLP solicitors, headquartered in Imperial Square, Cheltenham.
Quite simply one of the most inspiring women in cyber today
By Illyana Mullins, of WiTCH (Women in Tech and Cyber Hub) and BSides Cheltenham
Last week was a whirlwind of emotions as I was honoured to be named one of The Most Inspiring Women in Cyber 2024.
To be recognised alongside so many talented individuals is both humbling and invigorating (with a sprinkling of imposter syndrome thrown in).
Awards like this and The Cyber Diversity Awards held in Birmingham this week are a reminder of the progress we’ve made in diversifying the cybersecurity field, but also a call to action to continue advocating for equity and representation in a sector notorious for being ‘male, pale and stale’.
The phrase ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’ resonates deeply with me, though perhaps not in the traditional sense.
While visibility is crucial for inspiring future generations, it’s also about breaking down barriers and challenging stereotypes for those currently working in the industry or those looking to reskill later in their careers.
As a woman in cybersecurity, I’ve often found myself in male-dominated spaces where my presence alone challenges preconceptions about who belongs in this field.
Celebrating women’s achievements whether through an award ceremony or an IWD event isn’t just about recognition; it’s about creating pathways for others to follow.
When young girls see women succeeding in STEM fields, it expands their perception of what’s possible for them. It’s about fostering a culture where diversity isn’t just acknowledged but embraced for the unique perspectives and insights it brings to problem-solving.
It is also about changing culture to be more inclusive and challenging toxic attitudes that can keep women from progressing in the industry.
There are a lot of harmful stereotypes that persist. I have genuinely been told multiple times that “what if women just aren’t good at coding?”.
This is frustrating considering that historically the majority of coding was done by women, including the first algorithm intended to be executed by a computer - created by Ada Lovelace and the first compiler created by Grace Hopper.
My journey to where I am today has been shaped by both challenges and opportunities. I don’t have a traditional pathway into tech or cyber security, coming more from a business background so understand the struggles of those looking to reskill.
I navigated through a male-dominated industry, constantly having to prove my worth and capabilities. Along the way, I encountered other incredible women facing similar obstacles, fuelling my determination to create change.
That’s why I founded WiTCH (Women in Tech and Cyber Hub), a not-for-profit initiative aimed at empowering women in technology and cybersecurity.
Through networking events, mentorship programs, and educational resources, WiTCH wants to make it easier for women to reskill into these roles and almost more importantly, make cybersecurity and technology a career women will stay in.
WiTCH is a collective effort to level the playing field and create a more inclusive industry. Together, we’re building a community where women are not only seen but heard, valued, and respected for their contributions.
About: Illyana Mullins is founder of WiTCH (Women in Tech and Cyber Hub) and BSides Cheltenham. She is a loud and proud neurodiverse leader whose purpose is to make cybersecurity and technology a more welcoming and equitable place for all. Community and people are at the heart of everything she does, including recently starting as the part-time community manager for Bristol and Bath Cyber just in case she had a few minutes of down time. For upcoming events hosted by WiTCH and more information, visit www.witch.online
Hundred Heroines
By Dell Barratt, of Hundred Heroines and the Modern Museum of Women in Photography in Gloucester
Hundred Heroines was created in 2018 to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in the UK.
I was vice-president of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) at the time and becoming decreasingly despondent about the prevalence of work by men at festivals, in magazines, galleries, online, in teaching … it was as if the women pioneers were being air-brushed out of photographic history.
Spin forward to 2022 and the Modern Museum for Women in Photography was born in Gloucester. Our raison d’être is to promote the work of the great women photographers – both current and past – to show how photography can be used for positive change.
The lived experiences of the artists resonate with our audience – mainly young women and teenage girls – who are facing their own challenges, particularly in the aftermath of lockdown, the effects of which are still impacting their lives today.
I’ve chosen these images to represent Hundred Heroines because there are many similarities between the challenges the photographer faced being a woman in a man’s world and those we face as a museum dedicated to women.
An ardent feminist, German-born Elisabeth Buchmeyer Lewis photographed a wide range of subjects for a variety of different publications from house interiors for House Beautiful to the feminist culture for Spare Rib.
Of particular note was the reputation she gained for photographing sports cars – in an era when women-plus-cars in the photography world usually meant the former being draped semi-naked on the latter.
As well as photographs, her archive includes all sorts of interesting ephemera, such as love letters from her first husband, posters from concerts and sketches as well as outlines of her vision as to how her work could be exhibited – something we plan to realise next year.
Working with archives is one of the most exciting aspects of museum life. It is like being a detective, piecing together someone’s life story and their timeline from images and documents, often raising more questions than we can answer – why does she have two passports with different names and dates?
We also have a collection of old cameras and objects. Highlights from the collection include: Discordo Ergo Sum: Knife Rose by Austrian artist, Renate Bertlmann; a collaged anti-Nazi protest poster from German activist Hannah Höch, and a flag from French artist ORLAN that combines her portrait with the Saltire and Tricolour, representing the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France in 1925.
As to the future? We’re going to carry on promoting the work of these amazing women; we’re not quite sure where yet, as the Eastgate is part of the Greyfriars Quarter, which is due for major redevelopment.
My ideal scenario? An old warehouse – and the funding to refurbish it! We would also love a caravan or trailer to show the collection in some of the more rural communities.
In the meantime, we’ll continue creating offspace exhibitions, digitising our archives and creating spaces where young women can amplify their voices creatively.
The Great Train Tapestry
Working with Austrian artist, Lisl Ponger, Hundred Heroines has created the Great Train Tapestry - an exciting new contemporary artwork that showcases stories around the Great Western Railway, particularly its links to Gloucester and the much overlooked important role that women played in making the Western Railway Great.
The tapestry is unusual in that it is completely photography based. Using sublimation printing, photographs were transferred to fabric and then more than seventy women used different sewing or artistic techniques to enhance the photographic base.
The tapestry will be unveiled at 14:30 on International Women’s Day at Gloucester Railway Station, in the presence of artist, Lisl Ponger, and local MP, Richard Graham.
About Del Barratt: Hailing from Stroud, feminist, chair, chief cook and bottle-washer at Hundred Heroines, Del has a background in research and in higher education. Her Ph.D explored language and power, rooted in critical theory, which has given her a good basis from which to interpret photography, particularly the politics of representation. Del is just completing a master’s degree in curatorial practice at the Zurich University of the Arts (online). She is an avid photo-book collector and exhibition visitor – particularly in Vienna, her spiritual home.
* Everything you read on Raikes is made possible by the generous support of our partners (we’ve already let you know about QuoLux and more will be revealed over the coming weeks) our founding members and our paid-up subscribers. A massive ‘thank you’ to all our other subscribers too. The support of all of you is invaluable!
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