At the ‘Tria Luminaria’ event in January, the WLP celebrated its one-year anniversary – to the day. WLP Chair Kimberly Bartlett reflected on the achievements of a hugely busy first 12 months
If you were here a year ago – to the day – you would have seen the beginning of the WLP. We launched this group on 23 January, 2024, at Introba – actually in a room downstairs from where we are now, so we have gone up in the world!
We have had an amazing first year; we have done a lot in our first year. I can’t tell you how exciting it has been to do all of our events and initiatives. As chair for this first year, it has been terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. Thank you to the rest of the committee for dealing with me every day!
GROUND-BREAKING CPD
So, what we have we actually done? We’ve held some ground-breaking CPD sessions and seminars. We’ve introduced topics that are ‘difficult’ to deal with, and some that are wonderfully exciting. We’ve upset some people but we’ve also made people feel like they are part of something, and that is the big one for me.
Our first event after the launch was in Edinburgh, at Napier University, with ILP Scotland. We discussed topics such as how to stay safely overnight, and introduced a lot of people to the often-scary position that women can be in when we go on site. The sense that you cannot go anywhere because you don’t feel safe or you have to stay in a hotel with a restaurant or you’re not going to be able to eat.
That was a ground-breaker for us, and brought us into the wider ILP community before we’d almost even put our foot in the door; it was amazing. We had such good feedback.
SIGNPOSTING TO HELP AND SUPPORT
We went from there to signposting WLP members to help. Everyone has a horrible time at some point in their life; it happens, unfortunately and you may not know where to look for help.
We provided infographics and information to help signpost you to resources and support that could help, whether it be physical or mental health, debt, domestic abuse, criminality. The ILP as an Institution can’t provide that, but we can signpost you to services that can.
We held networking breakfasts at the Centenary Lighting Summit in London, where we had some really interesting conversations, out of which came other opportunities. We’ve been active on social media, notably LinkedIn, where we now have more than 360 members on our WLP group – that may not sound like a lot but, from a standing start one year ago is actually amazing.
We started a book group and sponsored and promoted a number of charity events that members were involved in.
We may be the ‘Women Lighting Professionals’ but we also during the year made it very clear that we are not just for or about women, we are here for everyone; to provide that support and holistic help for everyone who wants.
INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY WEBINAR
For example, in November we celebrated International Men’s Day with a ground-breaking webinar that discussed male cancers, such as penile, prostate and testicular cancer, as well as male suicide. It was one of our most-subscribed events and is now online on the ILP website, and so please do watch it if you have the time.
It provided such useful information, and such candid conversation, which we had never thought possible. Women on the call told us they were going to go and talk to son, dad, husband or brother about these issues, too, because they needed to know – which is immensely powerful.
We’ve held panel discussions and events – including this latest one of course – that have been all about introducing members to technical topics that they might not have thought of, and to provide viewpoints and reflections on things you might not have considered before.
I’m now approaching the end of my one-year tenure as Chair, and am very pleased to be handing over between now and Lighting Live in Glasgow in June to DW Windsor’s Nicola Batey, who I am sure will do an amazing job. But what we do as a membership community within the ILP is not going to change.
The whole point of the WLP is about collaborating and sharing knowledge; leaning in and talking to each other, providing information and supporting others, caring for others and working together to be ambassadors both for the Institution and engineering and lighting as a whole.
We want to make sure that everyone has the skills that they need to be the best they can be, and feels able to ask those questions they need to ask without fear or prejudice. If I’ve done nothing else in my year as Chair, I hope that we have made a difference.
One final word – I want you all to go away and celebrate the women in your workplace or organisation. Tell them when they’re doing a good job (or a bad one for that matter), tell their manager or their manager’s manager how great they are and the contribution they bring; shout it from the rooftops about how amazing women in lighting are.
Too often, all of us just come in day-to-day with no idea whether we’re making a difference. So we need to be encouraging and bringing forward the people around us, and the women especially. Stand up and tell them!
To quote Henry Ford, if we always do what we’ve always done, we will always get what we’ve always got. Until we change, nothing else will change – and no one else is going to do it for you. So let’s do it; let’s make that change.
Kimberly Bartlett is Chair of the WLP as well as lighting design consultant at Introba
This is an abridged version of the article that appears in the March edition of Lighting Journal. To read the full article, simply click on the page-turner to your right.
