Where Heritage and Culture connect our communities and #BreaktheBias

Today being #Internationalwomensday it is time to celebrate the #wins and learn from the mistakes, as they are tomorrow’s innovation.

The history of women’s struggles for #gender #equality and #equalrights is long and inspiring, but we must also celebrate those who have #empowered and #lifted us up sharing their #knowledge and support, including our partners and families who help us keep #strong in the darkest of days and #challenges.

Many will feel that it is hard to celebrate right now or even trust. We’ve just had two years of a traumatic pandemic and misinformation that disproportionately affected both women and others at work and at home.

And in the last few days, a vicious invasion of Ukraine has sparked a humanitarian crisis with mostly women and children fleeing for their homes / lives or choosing to stay – fighting or working on the frontline.

We have worked tirelessly over the past few years as an organisation and community to level the playing fields with the shared aims of equality, peace, and social justice for all and empowering people from all fractions to be inspired, supported and thrive.

And it’s at times like these, that we should remind ourselves of how far we’ve already come and celebrate the people that helped us get there.

Towards the end of the 1800s, women began protesting for the vote and against appalling working conditions.

The famous Match Girls strike of 1888 at Bryant and May’s match factory in East London, where 1,400 women and teenage girls were subject to low pay for a 14-hour day, cut even more if they talked or went to the toilet, and the lifelong terminal conditions caused by the cheap type of phosphorus in the matches.

They amassed amazing public support and sympathy, forcing the company to improve conditions and pay for the workforce.

It is with this same ethos myself and the community are taking on a mammoth task to renovate a Industrial Heritage Building that was put on the at risk register in 2018, as years ago we as Women would not of been allowed pass the Basement area and typing pool, and the only woman to see the grandeur of this amazing building was its Cook and cleaner.

We must also celebrate these women that joined together and make a stand towards equal rights, that have helped grease the wheels of change for the upcoming entrepreneur and worker.

The lengthy 1968 equal pay strike at the Ford Factory in Dagenham led originally by one woman (Rita O Grady) who led and empowered others to fight for their right of pay and conditions triggered the passage for the Equal Pay Act and, to this day, which in some industries both Women and minorities are continuing their battle for equal pay and rights. What people do forget is the Union person that helped and educated Rita to fight this injustice, and there are many of them out their lifting there women up to help them achieve their ambitions.

Our site through research had an amazing woman who changed the landscape history. Brenda Colvin not only designed the amazing, landscaped gardens for a male orientated steel industry, but was the first woman engineer to hold a director level role in a board. She was also instrumental in setting up the Landscape Institute that connects people to Nature and helps design, educate and support biodiversity across the UK It is with these role models that we must emulate their successes and learn from their struggles to inspire future generations.

With this driver it was critical that our project was ran by a woman to inspire females and other minorities to believe in themselves and open up the world of construction and design to many others, as it is a male orientated industry, but it doesn’t have to be, These #women can.

Today, it’s more important than ever that women make a big noise about International Women’s Day not just for women but for all minorities out there to remove barriers and work together for a better tomorrow.

All elements of the social demographic need to work the progress towards gender equality lost during the pandemic and defend both women and others against attacks on their rights across the UK and world.

It is with these voices that we will make the change needed to Thrive and not just survive in our communities and inspire the Role Models of tomorrow.