On 12 November 2024, the founder of Ada Lovelace Day (ALD) Suw Charman-Anderson sadly announced that ALD Live! would be ceasing as an event due to a lack of funding. As proud supporters of ALD at the Royal Institution in the last few years, we’ve looked back on memories of hosting ALD Live!, and reflected on the incredible achievements of this important day for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Ada Lovelace Day is a celebration of the achievements of women and girls in STEM
ALD began in 2009 when Suw Charman-Anderson concluded she was one of few women in the tech space[RD1] . On the ALD website, Suw mentions that “the reasons for this inequality are many, spanning issues such as social pressure on girls and women to pursue “suitable” careers, subtle misogyny in higher education and the workplace, and a lack of support for women who wish to have a family or re-skill when re-entering the workforce after having a family.”
What started as almost 2,000 people pledging to blog about their admiration for a woman in technology on 8 October 2009, blossomed into an annual international Ada Lovelace Day Live event to mark the day, shining a light on women from far reaching edges of the STEM community.
Yet ALD became so much more than the national day; Suw worked on year-round projects for ALD’s mission of increasing numbers of women in STEM, such as media engagement, interviews and podcasts, talks and creating online resources to name a few.
Four exceptional years of Ada Lovelace Day Live! at the Ri
The Ri Theatre hosted ALD Live! on four occasions, filled with incredible talks from inspirational women in STEM, and in most recent years livestreamed across the world. Everyone here looks forward to the event and it attracted a diverse audience to the Ri to share incredible science and stories.
The Director of the Ri, Katherine Mathieson, said “I have such fond memories of ALD Live! at the Ri, there was such a joyful atmosphere. The amazing speakers were delighted to be there and the audience was excited to meet the speakers. There was a real sense of occasion – an annual event, part of an international network, in a historic location – and also this immense sense of joy and gratitude. It just shows that it is possible to have fun while making the world a better place.”
The first ALD Live! at the Ri was in 2014, featuring talks from Turi King about the fascinating discovery of Richard III’s burial site:
Richard III and the Greyfriars Project - Turi King
and Hannah Fry discussing how we might predict the future with maths. Five years later, Hannah returned to the Ri to deliver the iconic 2019 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, along with other talks such as ‘Should computers run the world?’.
Can Maths Predict the Future? - Hannah Fry
ALD Live! returned to the Ri in 2017, with another cabaret celebrating women in STEM. Featuring more eclectic talks, such as Yasmin Ali revealing the surprising connection between ice cream and chemical engineering:
What does ice cream tell us about chemical engineering? - Yasmin Ali
and author Tricia Sullivan examining the link between science and science fiction and highlighting some talented female authors.
Why do we need science fiction? - Tricia Sullivan
You can watch all the talks from the evening here.
After a few years’ break (and a global pandemic), ALD Live! came back to the Ri in 2023 with a stunning line up of talks. Helen Arney performed Tom Lehrer’s song ‘The Elements’, whilst also compèring the evening:
Tom Lehrer's Elements - Helen Arney
And Jenny Rohn made the topic of gender bias in disease research, specifically with urinary tract infections, comical but impactful, and inspired us to be angrier about how women’s health research has been overshadowed.
Why we should be angry about UTIs - Jenny Rohn
To top it off, the Ri’s own L'Oréal Young Scientist Centre presenter, Rosie Curran Crawley, demonstrated some showstopping explosions, despite some technical hitches along the way requiring a fire extinguisher! However, everything was managed safely and provided a great example of how unpredictable science demonstrations can be sometimes. Rosie spoke about how a simple conversation, like the one she had with her chemistry teacher, can get you interested in science.
Women of wonder - Rosie Curran Crawley
You can watch all the talks from 2023 here.
The most recent Ada Lovelace Day Live! on 8 October 2024 was also held at the Ri, seeing presentations from women spanning the STEM industry. From Takita Bartlett-Lashley creating fashion from mathematics, to Evgenia Ilyinskaya sharing stories of studying Icelandic volcanoes, to rubber ducks(!), it was a truly captivating show.
Subscribe to the Ri YouTube channel to be the first to know when these talks are available to watch!
A lack of funding for women in STEM
In light of such successful and inspirational events, it’s devastating to find out that the reason for ALD’s cessation is due to lack of funding. As Suw pointed out in her powerful and detailed statement announcing the closure, there is hardly any funding coming from potential supporters such as billion-dollar tech giants, despite, Suw Believes being able to support the entire women in STEM sector without noticing. ALD requires dedicated funding to not only host ALD Live! but to support Suw’s year-round projects that increase access for women in STEM.
In her blog post, Suw mentioned that ALD has consistently struggled to secure funding, losing sponsors from year-to-year meaning Suw was putting in increasing effort to keep ALD going. Suw feels that this is a reflection of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) sector as a whole, citing other projects, which were previously well supported, now also struggling to find the funds to continue. At the brink of breaking point, ALD had previously been saved by media attention and crowdfunding efforts, but unfortunately Suw has concluded that is no longer sustainable without committed support from larger organisations.
Ada Lovelace Day is still a day in the calendar, but what else can we do to support the mission?
While ALD won’t continue in its current format, the mission lives on – continue to support women in STEM wherever you can. Suw has some other ideas in the pipeline in her blog which you could get involved in. If you work in the STEM industry, consider opening up the conversation about women in STEM within your company – it might even lead to funding for events like ALD in the future. Find new ways to celebrate and raise up women breaking into traditionally male sectors, perhaps take a look back through our archive of ALD talks and host your own watch party, or host an ALD Live of your own on 8 October, inviting women that inspire you to talk about their research!
About the author
Ellie Jarvis is a biology PhD student who studies how the public engage with science experiments. She is currently doing a three-month internship in the Digital and Marketing team, learning new ways to communicate science.