The BBC has announced that it aims to get more women into positions of authority by 2020, but what was the situation in the early years of the organisation? Dr Kate Murphy has been researching the era for a new book.
The 1920s were a time of great contrasts for working women. On the one hand the vote had been won in 1918 (for those aged over 30) and the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 had removed most barriers to the professions. More
Deaf Awareness Week runs from 2 – 8 May and with this in mind we have chosen Emily Mason from the University Sustainability Unit as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month. This is the first time we have chosen an individual member of staff.
Emily works in the Sustainable Development Unit, within the Estates and Facilities Directorate and like one in seven people in the UK Emily has a hearing impairment. She first noticed that her hearing was not quite right at the age of 11 but ignored it until she was older and finally went and spoke to a doctor about it. Her hearing loss is hereditary and both her parents are profoundly deaf. Emily uses lip reading with her family and in noisy environments. At work she finds meetings tiring because she has to use her eyes a lot, especially when people talk over each other! Other difficulties include when some people like to cover their mouths when they talk which Emily finds very annoying. To help with using the telephone Emily has been provided with an amplifier so she can adjust the phone to be able to hear when people ring her. As a result of her deafness Emily tends to use her hands a lot when she speaks and is self-conscious about her voice.
Deafness is invisible and many people would not know that Emily is hearing impaired. Emily was inspired by her mum and dad to just get on with things and never give up on what she wanted to achieve. She is a graduate of the University of Kent with a degree in Wildlife Conservation and now is the Project Officer at our Sustainability Unit. One of her projects is the Edible Garden based at Avery Hill Campus which is hugely successful. Emily has many interests outside of work. She is a Chelsea fan, a huge fan of Dr Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and all things similar but her number one hero is David Attenborough and her most prized possession is a letter he wrote to her when she was at university.
Emily is also a stalwart member of the university choir. She finds it hard work trying to keep in time sometimes and hit the right notes but finds the little Alto crew are very supportive! In the last concert there was a signed song which she found emotional but was really special to her and her parents who came to watch. To find out more about the work Emily does at the university follow her on twitter at @sust_Greenwich or see the Sustainability Blog at http://blogs.gre.ac.uk/greengreenwich/