history

More Than a Piece of History, a Lot About Impact: Why I became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers

girlymicro General, Leadership , , , , ,

The start of 2026 has me thinking a lot about perceptions of women in science, and after my dive into women in the workplace and the importance of female visibility last week, I thought I would write something on a related topic, both in terms of London history and in terms of relatively recent changes to reflect the diversity of the city in which it is based. So today I’m talking about how I became a member of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, what Worshipful Companies are, why they still matter, and why I decided to become involved. It felt timely to write this off the back of the one about the Lady Mayor’s parade, as it is the Worshipful Companies that elect the Lord/Lady Mayor and so it may also help you enjoy that post more.

Lead WITH Us: Why making history is important, and not just about walking in a parade

What are the Worshipful Companies?

To start, a little bit of history…

There are 113 Livery Companies as of 2026. The term livery originated in the designed form of dress worn by retainers of a nobleman and then by extension to special dress to denote status of belonging to a trade. They are unique to London and began to be established in the 12th century as a way to guarantee that those who members hired were qualified and the goods they produced were reputable. Not only this however, being a Liveryman offered protection and had added benefits, such as the right to trade within the City of London, now commonly described as the Square Mile, an area of central London around Chancery Lane. The reason that Livery Companies are also known as Worshipful Companies, is because early companies also had religious ties, with a chosen Patron Saint and association with a local church/monastery.

Due to the reason for their creation, most of the Ancient Livery Companies are associated with specific crafts, and were formed from ‘mysteries’ or fellowships of craftsmen. For this reason they also had a role in training, where they oversaw the progression of pathways from apprentice to master craftsman. They also always had a charitable arm, where they cared for members in sickness and old age by providing alms (money, food, clothing, or other necessities given as charity to people in poverty or need, often considered a religious or moral duty).

Ancient Livery Companies continued to be established until the 17th century (1848) when a combination of civil war and growth of trade outside of the Square Mile meant creation of new companies became less viable. A number of companies have been created subsequent to 1926. The term used for these newer Livery Companies is Modern Companies, and their precedence starts with the Worshipful Company of Master Mariners (granted Livery in 1932). The newest Livery Company is the Worshipful Company of Communicators, and was granted livery status in March 2025 making it the 113th City livery company in order of precedence.

The Great Twelve Livery Companies

The Great Twelve Livery Companies were the ones that were considered the most prestigious, ancient, and historically wealthy trade guilds in the City of London, when they were ranked by the Mayor of London in 1515. At that time there were 48 companies and ranking was mostly based on both levels of wealth and level of influence.

The Great Twelve in Order of Precedence:

  1. Worshipful Company of Mercers: General merchants established 1394.
  2. Worshipful Company of Grocers: Originally spice/pepper merchants 1345.
  3. Worshipful Company of Drapers: Wool and cloth merchants 1361.
  4. Worshipful Company of Fishmongers: One of the oldest, dating to 1272.
  5. Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths: Bullion dealer, Regulates gold/silver (hallmarking) 1327.
  6. Worshipful Company of Skinners: Fur traders 1327.
  7. Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: Tailors 1327.
  8. Worshipful Company of Haberdashers: Dealers in small wares and fabrics. 1448
  9. Worshipful Company of Salters: Originally traders in salt/chemicals 1394.
  10. Worshipful Company of Ironmongers: Originally iron dealers 1463.
  11. Worshipful Company of Vintners: Wine merchants 1164.
  12. Worshipful Company of Clothworkers: Originally finishers of cloth 1528.

One of the most interesting things about the order of precedence of the Great Twelve, is that numbers 6 and 7 alternate each year. Both the Worshipful Company of Skinners and the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors were incorporated in the same year (1327) and grew to be among the most powerful “Great Twelve” guilds. This led to intense rivalry over which should be ranked higher in civic processions and violence broke out in 1484 during the Lord Mayor’s river procession. In order to resolve the dispute, the Lord Mayor (Lord Mayor Robert Billesden) who was a Haberdasher, settled the dispute by requiring that the companies alternate their positions each year, traditionally at Easter. This is supposed to be where the term ‘at sixes and sevens’ originates.

History of the Livery Companies and the Royal Family

The British Royal Family maintains close, historical ties with the Worshipful Companies, with many members serving as Royal Patrons, Liverymen, or Honorary Freemen of these ancient trade guilds. These, often ceremonial, relationships involve Royal charters of incorporation, attendance at banquets, and support for the City of London’s philanthropic and civic initiatives. The relationship between the Liveries and the Royal Family date back to their creation and were an important component of the the Crown interacted with craftsman at the time.

Worshipful Companies with Royal Family Members:

  • Worshipful Company of Shipwrights: King Charles III is the Patron, succeeding the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2024. The Permanent Mastership is also merged with the Crown.
  • Worshipful Company of Brewers: King Charles III is a Liveryman of this company.
  • Worshipful Company of Butchers: The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) is a Past Master.
  • Worshipful Company of Carmen: The Princess Royal is also a Past Master of this transportation-focused guild.
  • Worshipful Company of Saddlers: The Princess Royal holds the unique status of Yeoman.
  • Worshipful Company of Fan Makers: Queen Camilla was clothed as an Honorary Liveryman in 2024.
  • Worshipful Company of Basketmakers: The Duchess of Gloucester serves as an Honorary Liveryman.
  • Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers: The Duchess of Kent is a Liveryman. Historically, this company has included the late Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) and Prince Michael of Kent as Royal Liverymen.
  • Worshipful Company of Drapers: This company has a long history of royal members, including King George VI and King William III.
  • Worshipful Company of Mercers: Liverymen include various members of the royal family, continuing the tradition of the company that ranks first in the order of precedence.
  • Worshipful Company of Master Mariners: King Charles III is the Patron, and the late Duke of Edinburgh served as Admiral and Past Master.

Her Majesty The Queen (formerly HRH The Duchess of Cornwall) was admitted to the Worshipful Company of Plumbers on 26th January 2017.

Worshipful Company of Plumbers

As I said, there are a total of (as of 2026) 113 Worshipful Companies within London, with the Worshipful Company of Plumbers sitting at number 31 in the order of precedence. For interest to see the scope of crafts included, here is the list of the 48 Ancient Livery Companies by Precedence. excluding the Great Twelve:

  • 13 Dyers
  • 14 Brewers
  • 15 Leathersellers
  • 16 Pewterers
  • 17 Barbers
  • 18 Cutlers
  • 19 Bakers
  • 20 Wax Chandlers
  • 21 Tallow Chandlers
  • 22 Armourers and Brasiers
  • 23 Girdlers
  • 24 Butchers
  • 25 Saddlers
  • 26 Carpenters
  • 27 Cordwainers
  • 28 Painter-Stainers
  • 29 Curriers
  • 30 Masons
  • 31 Plumbers
  • 32 Innholders
  • 33 Founders
  • 34 Poulters
  • 35 Cooks
  • 36 Coopers
  • 37 Tylers and Bricklayers
  • 38 Bowyers
  • 39 Fletchers
  • 40 Blacksmiths
  • 41 Joiners & Ceilers
  • 42 Weavers
  • 43 Woolmen
  • 44 Scriveners
  • 45 Fruiterers
  • 46 Plaisterers
  • 47 Stationers and Newspaper Makers
  • 48 Broderers

The company was formed in 1365 in order to regulate plumbers in London and to ensure the quality of the crafting linked to cisterns and sanitation in order to support public health. It was subsequently granted a royal charter in 1611. As well as ensuring quality by providing oversight, and by punishing poor work and ‘unruly behaviour’, it also had an educational role in overseeing the 7 year term of apprentices.

As it is Worshipful Company, it is associated with St Michael as its patron Saint and the St Magus the Martyr church. It retains a focus on charity and education. There are five major committees that form the work of the company: Education & Technical, Finance, Freedom & Livery, Membership, and Social, each chaired by a Court Member

Homepage

Like most Livery Companies, the Plumbers’ Company has a number of different levels of involvement, consisting of:

  1. Freemen – this category recognises that some individuals may not be able to make a full commitment to become a Liveryman when they initially apply. The Freeman membership category limits the functions you can attend, however it gives a good insight into being a full Liveryman and Freeman are encouraged to become a full Liveryman at an appropriate time. Freeman can attend all visits and activities, but not the formal Company functions, unless invited as a guest by a Liveryman. They also cannot vote in the City of London elections.
  2. Liverymen – there are ~three hundred and fifty members of the company, the vast majority of whom are Liverymen. About 70% are connected with the plumbing craft and allied disciplines. The remaining members cover a wide spectrum of interests and professions including engineers, scientists, architects, builders, accountants, lawyers and many others.
  3. Court of Assistants – drawn from within the Livery, it reflects in its membership those disciplines which are needed for the Court to advise and help the Officers of the Company to run its affairs
  4. Officers of the Company – the Master, Upper Warden, and Renter Warden are installed annually in October and serve for one year
  5. Stewards – led by the Senior Steward, they help to ensure the smooth running of functions and organise Company visits. Stewards serve initially for three years, and then either stand-down, or continue on to become Senior Steward.

Although traditionally London based, a third of Liveryman live over 100 miles from London, and charity work is undertaken globally.

There are a number of routes to admission:

  • Redemption: The most common method for new members, where an application is made followed by an interview.
  • Patrimony: If a parent was a Freeman at the time of the applicant’s birth.
  • Young Entry Scheme: Discounted rates (50% off) for those aged 21–40.

Applying involves being proposed and seconded by existing Liverymen, and potential members must be involved in or connected to the plumbing industry. Applications can be made online via the Company website.

How and why did I get involved?

I have been involved in looking at the role of the built environment in transmission of infection, mainly in healthcare, since before doing my PhD. In recent years I’ve been actively involved in writing a number of pieces of water based national guidance, as well as running the Environment Network and associate courses. You can see some of the papers that have come out of this work on the publications page. I also get to put some of this theory into practice by being involved in providing guidance about the design and commissioning of new buildings (hence the delightful cover picture :).

Despite working in this area for over two decades I hadn’t really heard of any Worshipful Companies, let alone the plumbers specifically. I had done a few internationally webinars for the Royal Society of Public Health and linked to this I was fortunate enough to be invited to an awards ceremony, where I met Elaine Waggott, who had just become a Liveryman herself. We started talking and she told me about the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, the work they were doing, and their ambition to get more women involved. The company was one of the first to admit women, and there has been an active push to recruit women from a variety of backgrounds. Elaine talked about the Women in Livery and Diversity (WILD) team as a determined group of members leading a drive to improve the gender balance and increase diversity in the Company, and across the Livery. As someone who cares deeply about female representation this aspect of the company really resonated. This plus both their charitable and education focus really spoke to me and so I decided to throw my name into the hat.

Stages of involvement

Once I decided to get involved there were a number of stages that I needed to progress through in order to become a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.

First I needed to apply to be a Freeman, have the support of several Liverymen, and go through an interview process. After which I swore the Oath of the Freemen.

Once I became a Freeman, I then had to apply and be awarded Freedom of the City of London. The Freedom of the City of London is a symbolic honour dating back to 1237, originally granting citizens rights like trading within the City and freedom from feudal service. Today, it is a largely ceremonial title recognizing high achievements, contributions to public life, or association with the City (such as being part of a Worshipful Company), and is granted by the City of London Corporation to nearly 2,000 people annually.

This was such fun, the ceremony felt really meaningful, and Mr Girlymicro and I even got to hang out with Florrie the sheep. Recipients are often humorously cited as having the right to drive sheep across London Bridge, carry a sword in public, or be “drunk and disorderly” with safe passage home. The main thing is that being granted Freedom of the City of London is a requirement before being accepted as a Liveryman for a Worshipful Company.

The Freedom process involves completing paper work that is included in the National Archives, as well as agreeing to follow a set of rules of conduct. Both of which give it a very historic feel.

Once all of the prior stages are completed you can then be invested as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.

Women in the Livery

By 2020, all City Livery Companies and guilds opened their membership to women on equal terms with men, you read that right, 2020.

Like many surprising parts of the history of women at work I discovered as part of my Lady Mayor’s post, the first female Master was not elected until 1983 (Sylvia Tutt, Chartered Secretaries & Administrators). It feels like the 80’s were the beginning of a watershed change. Another milestone was passed around 2015 when the association of Female Past Masters achieved 100 members – significant because progression to Master often takes 20 years in a Livery Company (irrespective of gender), so these women started their journey to the chair of their respective companies well before the topic of gender inclusivity among the Livery Companies was widely understood or recognised.

There have been three female Masters in the history of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers in the 650 years since its charter. The first of which came into place in 2015:

  • Erica Stary (2015–2016): The first woman to serve as Master of the Company
  • Dame Fiona Woolf (2018–2019): The second female Master; she also served as the second female Lord Mayor of the City of London
  • Sandra Raine (2025–2026): The current Master of the Company

Additionally, Janet Rivers is presently serving as the Upper Warden for the 2025–2026 term, and so is a candidate for election as the next Master,. Every woman makes it easier for the one to follow. As with the Lady Mayor, progress is happening, but the fact that much of this change has happened in the last decade just goes to show both how recent this change in approach has been, and also how far we have left to go.

So why does any of this matter?

Institutions that go back, and are as part of the cultural structure of places like London matter. They matter because they have influence. They matter because they have the capacity to drive change. As organisations with such history are often the slowest to change, the fact that change is now occurring is significant. These groups are involved in electing roles, such as the Lady Mayor, they have the capacity to drive inclusion via their education and charitable work, and they lend legitimacy to wider changes in attitude and position. Being visible matters, being accepted matters. Being both of those things in an organisation that has established links to other established institutions, such as the Royal Family, can only help to move dialogue forward.

I am probably not your typical member. I don’t have a private school education. I am not associated with the armed forces. I am not a lawyer. Yet I have been welcomed. I have been especially welcomed by Sandra Raine both before and now she is Master, who has taken such a lot of time to help me network, to include me, to help me feel like I fit in. There is a lot we can learn from the mentorship and support offered. Having Liverymen who do not fit the mold is important. Changing perceptions of what a Liveryman looks like is key to ensure that the company continues to support the workforce as it looks like now, and that it’s charity and education work remain fit for purpose.

It is easy to think that these types of organisation are not for us. To think of them as part of an establishment that doesn’t have room for someone who looks different, or who comes from a different place. There are however people working actively, passionately, to change the trajectory, whilst still maintaining the history and values that drove the organisation to exist. I for one count myself lucky to have met some of those individuals, and hope to build on the legacy they are putting in place.

All opinions in this blog are my own

Lead WITH Us: Why making history is important, and not just about walking in a parade

girlymicro General, Healthcare Science, Leadership , , , , , , , , , , ,

On 8 November 2025, 200 women from across the worlds of tech and health walked together in the Lady Mayor’s Show answering Dame Susan Langley’s 697 call for change. They formed part of 697 women walking to support the historic shift that Dame Susan is introducing as the 697th Lord Mayor of London.

This post was just going to be about the privilege of being involved in walking in such an amazing historic event, but then an article was published by the New York Times on the 6th November which both changed what I wanted to say, the context of why I think the walk was important, and also required a few weeks of calm reflection before I felt I was ready to write it.

The article was called “Did Women Ruin the Workplace? And if So, Can Conservative Feminism Fix It?” Needless to say it garnered quite the response on social media and across the internet:

If you, like me, don’t have a New York Times subscription, this article summarises it pretty well: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/conservative-feminism-new-york-times

Reading and processing my response to both the article and the coverage led me down a number of rabbit holes, both about the history of women in the work place, and women’s right to equality linked to both work and the money acquired as a consequence of that work. Some of which shocked me.

History is important, as it leads us to the present. It also means that we acknowledge the fight it took to get to our current ‘normal’ and prepares us for the role we need to play to make the changes for those that will follow. So, before I talk about how this ties into the Lady Mayor of London and the Lead WITH Us movement, I thought it was important context to share.

Why does having women in the workplace matter?

Access for women to work has not been an easy path, many women had to stand up, be seen, and be counted in order for progress to occur. In my mind, most of this change happened when Queen Victoria was on the thrown, but that assumption was far from correct. Here are some key points of that history:

  • Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first female doctor allowed to train and become legally qualified in 1865, no British hospital would accept her qualifications however and so she studied in Paris to gain her formal degree and was eventually admitted to the British Medical Register in 1870. She then worked to bring in the Medical Act of 1876 to formally open the medical profession to women, and co-founded the London School of Medicine for Women which now forms part of UCL
  • The first female MPs were permitted following the Parliament Qualification of Women Act in 1918. The first woman elected was Constance Markievicz, but she didn’t actually take her seat. The first woman to actually sit as an MP was Nancy Astor. Despite this, women could not sit within the House of Lords until after the Life Peerages Act 1958 that permitted Baroness Swanborough, Lady Reading and Baroness Wooten to take their seats
  • Women were not allowed to serve as magistrates or on juries until 1919. Even when the law changed however, juries remained predominantly male for another 40 years. The same act permitted women the right to undertake professional careers, such accountant, or vet, but women did not have protection for the income they earned until much later
  • Women were not allowed into ground combat roles in the UK military until 2016, with the RAF opening up roles in 2017, and the wider military 2018. Women had served in combat prior to this, but were banned from serving in front line military units

Unless you have women in the rooms where decisions are made the voices of women will never truly be heard. This is why the role of women in the workplace is so key. Much of the change that has occurred has been incremental, as it was only when women made it into positions where they could influence change, that that change occurred for the wider population. Even when laws change, culture change takes longer, and so embedded change requires conscious effort for decades after the first shift occurs. We have all seen recently how quickly rights can disappear that had been considered to be part of day to day life, and so there is a continuing need to not take rights that were hard earned for granted.

Why is women working important for both them and society?

Access to work supports both financial and societal freedom, supporting autonomy and decision making. When looking into the history of how work placed change impacted on financial autonomy I was pretty shocked by the fact that the timeline for some of these changes occurred within my lifetime.

  • The first petition for women’s suffrage in parliament was in 1867, but it wasn’t until Parliament Qualification of Women Act of 1918 (the same act that permitted female MPs) that eligible women were granted the right to vote. It wasn’t until 1928 that the Equal Franchise Act passed that gave women equal voting rights to men, making 15 million women eligible to vote
  • The Married Women’s Property act passed within the UK in 1870, which allowed women to become the legal owners of any money they earned. Women could not however inherit property on the same terms as men until 1922, when a property act change meant that that a husband and wife could inherit each others property. Prior to this, women had to give up all rights to their property when they married
  • Women had no legal right to equal pay until the 1970 Equal Pay act which came into being after 850 female workers went on strike at Ford Motor factory in Dagenham. Even so this allowed men to be paid no more than 15% more than women. The Equal Pay amendment act (1983) allowed women to be the paid the same as men for equal work – the pay gap however remains ~15%
  • It took until 1975 for women to be allowed bank accounts in their own names with no counter signatories (when the sex discrimination act came into law). Before then, although no law forbade women from having their own accounts, but many banks and financial institutions still required a male guarantor to open accounts, access credit, or get a mortgage
  • It was not until 1982 that the law changed to mean it was illegal to refuse to serve a woman a drink if she was unaccompanied by a man
  • Statutory maternity introduced in 1987 permitted eligible women to have 6 weeks leave at 90% of their usual earning. This wasn’t expanded to all working women until 1993 as a result of a European directive

It is no coincidence that the right of women to work in professional spaces changed alongside the right of women to have representation and the right to vote. Change often comes with privilege, and not everyone benefits from the changes initially, this can be seen in some of the step wise changes above. It is beholden on those who have access via that privilege to continue the work to ensure that access is widened and available to all, rather than a select few.

What’s the Lady Mayor’s Show and how does this tie in?

The role of Lord Mayor of London has been in place since 1189 when Henry Fitz-Ailwyn first took it up, although the holder wasn’t referred to by the title of Lord Mayor until 1354. Since then there have been 697 Lord Mayors, of which only three have been female.

The first two were:

  • Dame Mary Donaldson, in 1983, who famously fined people for referring to her as Lady Mayoress
  • Dame Fiona Woolf, in 2013, who focused on trying to promote women into senior roles within the City of London

The role of Lord Mayor, these days, changes annually and is based upon an annual election held by the Liverymen (more on that in a separate post to come) who are members of the City of London’s Livery Companies. The process involves Aldermen presenting two candidates, followed by a vote by Liverymen to select the new Lord Mayor, who then serves a one-year term as an ambassador for UK financial services. Only sitting Aldermen are eligible for election, and so even to even be in a position to be nominated is a feat within itself, especially when many Livery Companies are still male dominated. In 2025, Dame Susan Langley was elected at the third ever female Lord Mayor.

It took until my lifetime to have a woman serve as Lord Mayor, and until 2025 to have a Lord Mayor who was happy to represent female visibility enough to call herself Lady Mayor, and set out to embrace difference in order to increase visibility and impact. The parallels between this change and some of those linked to female autonomy and role acceptance have not been lost on me. This change was celebrated as part of the annual parade at the start of the Lord Mayors term, when the parade was renamed the Lady Mayor’s Show.

As part of the principles of her term Dame Susan has focused on something called the “697 call for change” which refers to the fact that she is the 697th person to hold the office of Lord Mayor of the City of London, and the first to use the title “Lady Mayor”. This call includes:

  • Adopting the Title “Lady Mayor”: While she is the third woman to hold the post, she is the first to be officially known by the title of “Lady Mayor”. This decision reflects a commitment to modernising the role and promoting diversity and inclusion within the City’s traditionally male-dominated institutions.
  • The “Lady Mayor’s Show”: In another historic first, the traditional Lord Mayor’s Show was renamed the “Lady Mayor’s Show” for her procession in November 2025.
  • Inclusion in the Parade: The show included 697 women from various City sectors walking in the parade with her, symbolically representing her position as the 697th holder of the office and highlighting women’s roles in the City.
  • “Modern Mayoralty” Initiative: Dame Susan is committed to introducing a “Modern Mayoralty” initiative, a long-term vision to ensure the role’s ongoing relevance and to “un-square the Square Mile” by championing innovation, prosperity, and inclusion. 

Having talked about historically why having women visible and in positions of influence matters to supporting changes and improvement for women more widely, the shift to clearly embracing diversity and incorporating female visibility, feels like an important declaration. It should not be a news worthy moment to include reference to Lady rather than Lord within a title, but it is indicative of a wider agenda which is significant for a role that has existed for 836 years.

Why does it matter?

We may say, well why does this matter? I certainly don’t face the same barriers as a woman of my grandmothers generation, or even those that impacted my mother. I have never been stopped from having a bank account, no one has ever stopped me having a drink in a pub. Those barriers were present in my lifetime however, and just because they are gone does not mean that other barriers do not exist. Within STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers women are still under represented at senior levels, with women making up only 28% of the overall workforce in 2024. Women are still on average paid ~15% less than colleagues for the same job, and so the pay gap is certainly still present and there is still work to do.

Even in my career I have encountered numerous incidents where being a woman was included as part of a value judgement of my career trajectory, including a male colleague congratulating me when they discovered I couldn’t have children as it meant that ‘they could continue to invest in my career’ as I wasn’t going to disappear off and have children. There have been decades of my career where I was utilised to write grants and other work for my male professors, and my name was never included. Some of this is earning your way, but I am aware that there was a definite difference between how some of their male students were treated in comparison. This isn’t whinging, I found my own way. I learnt lessons. I also had the privileged (if you can call it that) to not be managing a family or caring issues which would have meant that life was harder.

This attainment difference due to lack of recognition in science linked to gender is so common that it even has a name, the Matilda Effect. This makes it even more important that women are represented at senior positions within science and tech, not just to show that it is possible, but also to change the dynamics so that some of the embedded cultural norms are subject to change.

Why did I think it was important to walk?


All of this brings me onto why I believed it was it important to walk as part of the 200 women representing science and technology. As the wonderful guys at Lead WITH Us state:

‘This isn’t just a float. It’s a signal. A collective act of visibility. 200 women. One shared purpose. Infinite possibility. A reminder that leadership takes many forms and that women are already leading, shaping, coding, building, healing, innovating, and challenging systems in ways that often go unseen.’

That was the reason that I chose to walk, but the experience was so much more than I had predicted. We walked for 3 miles along a route that was lined with people of all ages, backgrounds, and reasons for being there. The smiles of the children we encountered, the number of high fives requested and given. Walking as a group of women in science and tech, flying my geek flag proudly, being surrounded by a wonderful group of women who shared a goal and were there to support each other. Role modelling leadership in action. Hearing the cheers and feeling the welcome was an amazing reminder of the difference that science makes and how much it is appreciated.

Representation matters

The other great thing about walking with this group of women, was that the group itself was as diverse as those who lined the streets. People brought their parents, sisters, children, friends. I even brought Mr Girlymicro to help with tech and take some photos.

We come from different disciplines and backgrounds:
Some of us are Healthcare Scientist, Allied Health Professionals, nurses and clinicians working in the NHS.
Some are immersed in data and code.
Some lead strategy or drive system change.
Others are disrupting the infrastructure across delivery and design.
And some are just starting out but already creating waves.


We were walking to be visible, but more than that we were walking so others can re-imagine the future. We walked standing on the shoulder of giants who came before. Those who created a momentum. A momentum we want to continue. So much of what we do builds upon the work of those who came before.

There is still change that needs to be made. Representation still needs to be improved so that it leads to real change and that the barriers faced by those that come after us are different again from the ones that we are overcoming.

What will the legacy be?

Plenty of work will be ongoing in 2026 during this one year term and it is well worth keeping an eye on the City of London website. More than that though, there is a real hope that the 697 will become a movement and a legacy of this year. Certainly the 200 of us who walked are still linking in and a community is forming. From Whatsapp groups to a LinkedIn page, spaces are being made where we support each other, share successes, and form connections that will help everyone in their roles and ambitions. If you know a woman in Tech or Health who’s made a difference in your life or career, or if you would like to be involved yourself, then follow the links and get involved. Change can happen, but it happens best and last longest when we make it together.

All opinions in this blog are my own