A few weeks ago, I watched a group of men mock a woman online simply because they disagreed with her opinion. Their closing argument?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf not for men, she wouldn\u2019t even have the internet that she\u2019s using to publish this podcast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, I enjoy a good debate. I also enjoy irony. And this one was rich.<\/p>\n
Because if we\u2019re going to play the \u201cwho built what\u201d game, we might want to remember that the technology that makes wireless internet possible traces back to frequency-hopping communication systems developed by a woman called Hedy Lamarr<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Yes. A woman. A Hollywood actress, no less.<\/p>\n Her work in wireless transmission during World War II laid the foundational concepts that later influenced Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi. So technically speaking, while they were busy typing, they were proving her point.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the thing about history: women have always been building things. We just haven\u2019t always been building the narrative around them.<\/p>\n Since we\u2019re celebrating women with this edition, let\u2019s revisit a few receipts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Airplane Muffler<\/strong><\/p>\n In 1917, El Dorado Jones<\/strong> (fondly called \u201cIron Woman\u201d) designed what was considered the first successful airplane engine muffler that reduced noise without reducing engine power.<\/p>\n She ran a factory staffed entirely by women over 40. Let that sink in. In 1917.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t get funding to mass-produce it. But the ingenuity was undeniable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Medicine Cabinet MVPs<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever treated a fungal infection, you\u2019ve indirectly met Rachel Fuller Brown<\/strong> and Elizabeth Lee Hazen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n They developed Nystatin, the first effective antifungal drug, while working at the New York State Department of Health.<\/p>\n From life-threatening infections in transplant patients to infant oral thrush, their work quietly saves lives daily. Not dramatic. Just essential.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Gertrude Belle Elion<\/strong>, who helped develop Azathioprine, the first immunosuppressive drug, transforming organ transplantation and cancer treatment.<\/p>\n So yes, modern medicine has women\u2019s fingerprints all over it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your Kitchen Is a Feminist Exhibit<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s walk through your house quickly.<\/p>\n Your dishwasher? Thank Josephine Cochran<\/strong>. In 1872, she designed a machine that used water pressure instead of scrubbers, and it worked.<\/p>\n Your electric refrigerator? Florence Parpart<\/strong> patented one in 1914, improving on the icebox era.<\/p>\n Your electric water heater? Patented in 1917 by Ida Forbes<\/strong>, at a time when gas dominated.<\/p>\n Disposable diapers saving modern parents from daily chaos? That would be Marion Donovan<\/strong>, who was simply tired of washing endless wet bedding and decided there had to be a better way.<\/p>\n Innovation, sometimes, is just exhaustion meeting intelligence (because girls just want to have fun, lol.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Healthcare, Simplified<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever used a diagnostic test strip, that convenience traces back to Helen M. Free<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Her work made at-home testing for diabetes possible using simple colour-changing strips. Healthcare became less intimidating, more accessible, and far more practical.<\/p>\n She later received the Garvan Medal from the American Chemical Society. As she should.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Safety, Seen Differently<\/strong><\/p>\n Home security systems weren\u2019t always common. In fact, in the 1960s, they were practically non-existent.<\/p>\n Enter Marie Van Brittan Brown<\/strong>, who invented a closed-circuit television (CCTV) home security system because she wanted to feel safer returning home from late nursing shifts.<\/p>\n Safety innovation didn\u2019t begin in corporate boardrooms. Sometimes it began with a woman saying, \u201cThis isn\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Moon Landing? Also Her Code.<\/strong><\/p>\n When Neil Armstrong<\/strong> took that famous step on the moon, history applauded, rightly so.<\/p>\n But the onboard software that prevented the mission from failing under pressure? That was written by Margaret Hamilton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n She developed priority scheduling systems that allowed the computer to focus on critical tasks during Apollo 11\u2019s descent.<\/p>\n In simple terms: when things got chaotic, her code kept calm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Communication, Reimagined<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever made a call over the internet, used Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, or sent a text-to-donate code during a fundraiser, you owe a nod to Marian Croak<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Her work at AT&T laid the foundation for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.<\/p>\n So again, the irony of telling a woman she wouldn\u2019t have the internet is\u2026 bold.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Windshield Wiper (Because Visibility Matters)<\/strong><\/p>\n On a snowy day in New York, Mary Anderson<\/strong> watched a trolley driver struggle to see through sleet.<\/p>\n She went home, designed a manually operated windshield cleaning device, and patented it in 1903.<\/p>\n It was initially rejected because (wait for it) it might \u201cdistract the driver.\u201d<\/p>\n History has a sense of humour.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And Then There\u2019s Beer<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. Beer.<\/p>\n Historical research shows that brewing in ancient Sumeria and Mesopotamia was originally women\u2019s work. For centuries, women brewed it, sold it, and ran taverns.<\/p>\n Beer was even considered a gift from a goddess.<\/p>\n So, if we\u2019re being technical, women didn\u2019t just help build civilization. They fermented it.<\/p>\n I used to say \u201cThank God for beer.\u201d But now, I\u2019m going with \u201cThank God for women.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My point?<\/strong><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t about diminishing men\u2019s contributions because innovation has always been collaborative. Rather, it is about correcting a lazy narrative.<\/p>\n Women have not been passive recipients of progress. They have engineered it, coded it, brewed it, cooled it, sterilised it, powered it, and secured it.<\/p>\n Sometimes without funding. Often without credit. Frequently without applause.<\/p>\n So, the next time someone casually suggests that women are merely beneficiaries of modern civilization, we can gently remind them:<\/p>\n The internet you\u2019re using to type that comment? There\u2019s a woman in its origin story.<\/p>\n And she probably didn\u2019t argue about it online. She just built it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few weeks ago, I watched a group of men mock a woman online simply because they disagreed with her opinion. Their closing argument? \u201cIf not for men, she wouldn\u2019t even have the internet that she\u2019s using to publish this podcast.\u201d Now, I enjoy a good debate. I also enjoy irony. And this one was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":10003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10005,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10002\/revisions\/10005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heirsholdings.com\/hhpeople\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}