Banknotes aren't just for the boys

Possibly one of the most frustrating parts of being a mother is that a lot of the things you do go unnoticed. You could have spent all day washing clothes, drying clothes, putting clothes back in wardrobes, changing beds, cleaning the bathrooms, scraping cornflakes off the floor, shopping for food, preparing that food and tidying away what was left after small people ‘ate’ the food – and still not get a word of thanks. In fact you are far more likely to be asked why you tidied away a favourite toy and chastised for not having ensured the preferred pair of socks have not miraculously reappeared in the sock drawer at the precise moment they were wanted (it doesn’t matter that there are 20 other clean pairs to choose from okay?). You may feel taken for granted.

Is The Bank of England short-changing women?

 

But it seems that it’s not just at home that women can go unrecognised for their contributions. Recently Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, announced Winston Churchill will replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry as the face of £5 notes. This effectively means that our currency will now only honour men (apart from the Queen of course, but she got there because of who she is, and not what she has done). Through this move, The Bank of England is sending out the message that the achievements of British females are not as significant as those made by our men. It is effectively a way of ignoring the contribution women have made to our society – be that through politics, science, the arts or good old fashioned hard work. By removing the only woman that was on a bank note and replacing that image with one of a man, the whole gender is made invisible. You may feel taken for granted, again.

 

But fear not, like many women before her, journalist and campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez is not prepared to sit back and let injustices go unchecked. Initially she set up a petition that asked the Bank of England to review the decision – which garnered 27,000 signatures and widespread press coverage. Sadly, the Bank of England dismissed the petition, and so she has now also embarked on a fundraising project to finance a legal challenge under the 2010 Equality Act. Be afraid Bank of England, be very afraid!

 

And it doesn’t stop there, bloggers – some might say ‘social influencers’ by the way ;-) – have also started to promote the campaign and fundraising by sharing ideas on exactly who could be the next female ‘face’ on a fiver (just in case The Bank is having problems, you know). It’s not hard to come up with internationally known British women that excelled and continue to excel in their fields and brought and still bring positive changes to the lives of others. From Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti to writer Agatha Christie, from Unicef ambassador Audrey Hepburn to athlete Kelly Holmes, the past, present and future is littered with them.

Cut out picture of lady and affix here...

My personal choice for the banknote would be Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett (1895-1957), a British electrical engineer and electricity industry administrator. Born in West Sussex, she started her professional life as a junior clerk at a boiler company. Within four years she was managing the London office and went on to receive formal training in practical engineering for boiler design. In 1919 she became first secretary of the Women's Engineering Society and later became the group’s President. She also co-founded and became the first director of the Electrical Association for Women and sat on the Council of Scientific Management in the Home, the Council of the British Institute of Management and the British Electrical Development Association. She edited both the Electrical Handbook for Women and Household Electricity.

Most importantly, one of Caroline Harriet Haslett’s primary concerns was to encourage the use of electricity in the home – so that women could be released from the drudgery of housework and have the time (and energy I would imagine) to pursue other interests. This is the reason I think her work and contribution to public life fits so well with this campaign. She wanted women to be free of what were then truly hard physical tasks such as washing (think scrubbing board and mangle) so that they could join in public life and be visible outside the home. She also studied and lectured about the difficulties faced by women within engineering, including examining typical payment and incentive schemes. At just 36, Haslett was awarded a CBE for her services to women and later a DBE giving her the title Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett. Thank you Dame Haslett, I could not survive without my washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, food mixer, toaster, kettle….

Dame Caroline Haslett (with thanks to the Institution of Engineering and Technology)

 

So what can you do to stop the contribution women make to society being ignored? Boycott money and burn bank notes? Hardly! Instead – make sure you sign the petition, and if you can, add something to the pot to fund the legal challenge. If you are a blogger why not write a post with your suggestion for a new female face and share it using the linkys at NIXDMINX? If you’re not a blogger, feel free to make suggestions for other worthy women in the box below and share this post to let others know about the petition. After all, no one wants to be taken for granted!