News >>> Include, Invest, Change #IWD2022

In recognition of this day, and to support young women coming through in their own careers, Adelan invited a student from Cadbury College in Birmingham to give their perspective on IWD2022. We would like to thank Thea Regan and wish her all the best in her writing career.

8th March 2022

As a typically ambitious 16 year old girl with a typically questioning mind, I have
found myself throughout my adolescence jolted by the overwhelming male voices of
authority within the professional circles in which I have wished to explore. As I have
taken in the world around me, feelings of exclusion, belittlement and
underestimation have grown to become habitual occurrences, as it always has been
for the girls before me and how it has continued to be for the girls walking alongside
me. Our streets become growingly dangerous for us, with 1 in 9 women already
victims of the spiking epidemic and gender based crime stories continually
headlining daily news, our homes often not much safer with domestic abuse affecting
1 in 4 women. Our history erased, and promises of equality broken, waving away
hopes of change once again.

The worlds of philosophy, art, literature, science, music have always been brimming
with male representation, and the museums and libraries filled with waist coats and
oh so official facial hair, whilst women soar with revolutionary thought and
distinction to achieve at best a niche, a side note of female recognition. Our
oppressed ancestors would despair at this world of technological wizardry that still
continually excludes, exploits, sexualises and patronises us. The idea of misogyny is
nothing new- but a refusal to be comfortable with it and its continuation into another
generation is an idea that cannot be allowed to die out, despite centuries of shunned
female voices. Gender bias is a fundamental error of the global social order and an
underestimation of women’s competence can only hinder our economic, academic
and political progression. Why cast aside over half of the world’s population in favour
of the preservation of the fragile male ego? The time has come to begin sharing and
celebrating our women, to begin resourcing our women and investing in our women.
We want solutions and change. With the power of scrutiny and awareness, I
encourage you to ask the questions in order to make the change. I spoke with
teachers and mothers, scientists and artists and the issue often boils down to one
source: a lack of equal resources. Statistics unveil this disparity, especially in terms of
distribution of public funds, for example only 1% of ESG investments have been
provided to female led businesses. But in order to make this information known, the
questions need to be asked. So make a habit of counting the women in that
boardroom, push your way through the crowds of navy suits, because change starts
with scrutiny.

“When boys grow up to be men, many of them act out that entitlement by interrupting
women, talking over them, ignoring them, resisting their influence, discounting what they
have to say, and mansplaining to them even when the women are experts.”

Mary Ann Sieghart, The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than
Men, and What We Can Do About It.

To discover exactly how Adelan can support your clean transport needs or deploy their clean, quiet and reliable energy system for remote, mobile or any other applications, please contact Dr Kendall and the rest of the Adelan team at:

Adelan Ltd
15 Weekin Works, 112-116 Park Hill Road, Birmingham B17 9HD (UK)
info@adelan.co.uk
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