Women in Innovation: Celebrating International Women’s Day
The 8th of March marks International Women’s Day (IWD), a global event celebrated on the same date every year since 1911 to honour women’s achievements in various areas including the society, economy, culture, and politics1. This day also serves as an important reminder about women’s equality.
IWD’s theme for the year 2024 is “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, which highlights the need for achieving gender equality and enhancing women’s wellbeing in every facet of society. Let us imagine a world where gender, stereotypes, and discrimination are non-existent; in this ideal environment, diversity, equity, and inclusion serve as guiding principles where any differences are fundamentally embraced and respected, and every individual’s uniqueness is celebrated, regardless of the race or background.
Furthermore, both men and women deserve equal representation and recognition. However, there are specific fields in the workforce in which women remain significantly underrepresented compared to men. An important example are the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields, which are among the most lucrative sectors, yet women only constitute 34% of the total workforce2. This further exacerbates recognised issues such as the gender pay gap, economic insecurity of women, and the introduction or emphasis of biases in certain fields as well as their products and services.
In today’s world, characterised by rapid technological advancements and innovation, the need to include a diverse and talented workforce that is free from discrimination or stereotypes is more important than ever. Urgent attention and proactive action are needed to prioritise inclusion and promote equality both within the workforce and society. This involves the implementation of several strategies such as facilitating educational opportunities for females to excel in traditionally male-dominated fields, fostering inclusive workplaces, emphasising the important role of women in certain sectors, and encouraging open dialogue to address biases and stereotypes.
At 10zyme, we are firm believers of inclusion and diversity, and we provide full support to everyone regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. We are dedicated to providing an environment that enables people to thrive, and also gives them the opportunity to be innovative and creative. Therefore, at 10zyme, everyone can take part in the company’s innovative mission of revolutionising access to vital diagnostics, where they are able to make a positive difference to women’s health.
Leading this innovation is Dr Angela Pine, 10zyme’s Founder & CEO, and an accomplished molecular engineer with an MSc and PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology. Her main work included developing novel technologies for over 10 years. To date, Dr Angela Pine has designed and created a gene therapy for prostate cancer (patents awarded), as well as a novel diagnostic for detecting SARS-CoV-2 using saliva. In 2022, she won Edinburgh’s ‘Data-Driven Innovations Venture Builder Incubator Demo Day’ in partnership with Cancer Research UK. In 2023 she was recognised as one of Women of Wearables’ ‘200 Trailblazing Leaders in Women’s Health and FemTech’. Dr Angela Pine also won the ‘First in FemTech Award’ and the ‘Femtec Network Award for Innovation’, in addition to being nominated for the Women’s Cancer Innovation Award from Femtech World, in recognition of her innovative work towards cervical cancer elimination.
Dr Angela Pine is passionate about women’s health, and dedicated to the prevention and elimination of cervical cancer. She is fully committed to developing a new innovative at-home test that would enable the easy and convenient self-screening for HPV infections that cause cervical cancer. She is also highly dedicated to providing a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis, monitoring, support, and treatment of patients with HPV infections. This is based on the strong belief that her innovative work will help to pave the way of achieving the goal of cervical cancer elimination, both in the UK and worldwide.
As a reflection of 10zyme’s inclusive and diverse environment, here are more examples of extraordinary women making significant contributions to the innovative mission at 10zyme:
- Megan Docherty – Marketing Manager
- Courtney Ralston – Design Team Lead
- Rhina Houinato – Content Writer
- Agata Myszka – Content Writer
- Reem Abedi – Content Writer
- Nosa Uhumagho – Content Writer
- Eloise Hughes – Marketing Specialist
- Thao Hoang – Marketing Specialist
- Mary Oladele – Graphic Designer
- Rhianne Kiley – Research and Development
- Roisin Sugrue – Research and Development
- Shirley Chima – Human Resources
In summary, ‘International Women’s Day’ serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing journey towards gender equality and the vital contributions of women globally. As we mark this special occasion, we must reiterate our dedication to building an inclusive society where every woman is respected, valued, and given equal opportunities. At 10zyme, our priority is to accelerate progress and create an environment where everyone can grow and flourish, every single day.
10zyme: Advancing women’s health
We’re developing a groundbreaking self-test with instant results to detect the main cause of cervical cancer: high-risk HPV. Detecting infections early prevents cancer ever developing.
By enabling self-testing, we aim to empower women, overcome stigma and anxiety, and help eliminate a disease killing hundreds of thousands a year globally. See our Education Section to find out more.Please follow and support us on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
References:
- International Women’s Day (IWD). Inspire Inclusion – 2024. (Online). Available at: https://www.internationalwomensday.com [Accessed 06/03/2024]
- American Association of University Women (AAUW). (2024). The STEM Gap: Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. (Online). Available: https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/ [Accessed 06/03/2024]
