8 March 2016

I have sat in a great many technical meetings here, and the person holding the drawing and explaining why the proposed solution would not work has often been a woman with thirty years in the trade.

Engineering, chemistry, agronomy, medicine: the proportion of women in these professions here is high by any comparison I can make, and it is treated as entirely ordinary.

Today is marked with flowers, which is pleasant. The professional record is the more interesting thing and it deserves a mention alongside them.

A happy 8 March to all of you.