Sustainable Biz Magazine A4 March 2023 - Flipbook - Page 45
aerospace industry and creating cuttingedge digital educational tools.
Innovative products
There are thousands of blue plaques
across the UK, 900 in London alone,
celebrating the achievements of
influential and pioneering figures. Yet,
women feature on fewer than one in seven
of them.
This highlights a national issue of the
under-representation of women in the
media and in leadership roles, whether in
the workplace or in the education system.
This results in a lack of relatable role
models for children and young people.
"It is my belief that you have
to “inspire to aspire” and I was
delighted to support Innovate
UK and Howard Partridge
celebrate the placement
of a Purple Plaque at The
Knights Templar School in
Baldock to acknowledge
#womenininnovation."
Innovate UK hopes the purple plaques
will inspire more girls to get into science,
technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) subjects and follow in the award
winners’ footprints.
Women in innovation
Commenting on the ceremony, Adrian
Hawkins OBE said: “It is my belief that
you have to “inspire to aspire” and I was
delighted to support Innovate UK and
Howard Partridge celebrate the placement
of a Purple Plaque at The Knights Templar
School in Baldock to acknowledge
#womenininnovation.
“It was a further honour to be invited to
witness and support Dr. Natasha Boulding
receive this recognition for her work, as
encouragement for more ladies to become
entrepreneurs in the future.
We will see more from Dr. Natasha
Boulding and her company Low Carbon
Materials (LCM) in the future as she
develops her sustainable concrete for
construction.”
Louisa Simons, Innovate UK’s Chief
Operating Officer said: “Research shows
that 78% of female entrepreneurs did
not have business role-models of the
same gender as them. Though they can,
of course, find inspiration in their male
counterparts the lack of relatable role
models is likely having a huge, but hidden,
impact on UK innovation.
“Again, this lack of female representation
results in a lack of inspiration for the
next generation. This is exactly why we
unleashed out purple plaque’s initiative,
to end the cycle of low-visibility by
commemorating today’s trailblazing
women in innovation.”
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