IWD 2021: Molly Allington - Empowering Women in Innovation

As part of International Women’s Day, we interview Molly Allington on her role at Albotherm, her views on women in business and what a more gender-balanced world-view means to her.

Tell us about your role.

I am currently the CEO of Albotherm, a University of Bristol spin-out company where we are working to combat climate change with smart coatings that lower temperatures without energy input.  

Over the last year, myself and my co-founder Sian have officially launched Albotherm after being awarded an Innovate UK grant to develop our first market-ready product. During this time, I have led commercial development and recently completed our first fund raise.  

Our next steps are to develop our first market ready product for which I will be leading the commercial launch. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?  

I enjoy the variability of the job, having to rise to a new challenge every day keeps the job interesting while giving me great pride in my work and how much I have accomplished. Getting the vast range of experiences that come from a job like this has been a great opportunity.

And what are the most challenging aspects? 

As a business owner you have a lot of freedom as you are the person who decides on direction, but you also have a lot of responsibility. There are a lot of tough decisions you have to make that significantly affect the company has a whole. Managing risks in particular is tricky as there is a constant worry that you have missed something or made the wrong call. 

What 3 things do you think you need to progress as a woman in business?

I would say what has got me to the point I am now is resilience, adaptability and humility. 

There is very little that has gone as expected when starting Albotherm and the ability to realise you have made mistakes, then to learn from them and keep pushing on has been instrumental in getting us to where we are now. 

What are the biggest challenges the future generation of women in business face?

The way we work is changing extremely quickly at the moment, notably with rises in automation and with flexible and remote working set to become more commonplace. This means we must adapt just as quickly to be able to keep up, but it also provides women with an opportunity to create business environments that work for everyone. 

What can the next generation bring to business that previous generations may not have?

Speaking as a 24-year-old, I would say I am a part of the next generation and I hope that this generation will bring a more sustainable outlook to all types of business. 

I think people my age are incredibly environmentally conscious in all aspects of their life and that this will filter into all areas of business. As these people become leaders in their respective fields having eco-friendly business protocols will become a natural part of the process and not something to add on later to meet targets or to build a brand. 

What does a more gender-balanced world-view mean for you?

As Albotherm has an all-female founding team, we hear a lot about how its so great to see two female founders, particularly in a scientific start-up. Although it is great to see how many people are truly committed to creating a more gender-balanced workforce, what we really need is a world where diverse teams are the norm. Where there isn’t a need to celebrate ‘women in business’ separately and all genders can be awarded for their achievements alongside each other. 

How can we enable more women to take a place at the board-room table?

It is often the case that women are interrupted or talked over in meetings. This not only prevents women from sharing their ideas but can also mean they lose confidence, preventing them for aiming for promotions. 

It is important for this issue to be address by everyone and not just women, by standing up for your colleagues when you see this take place. 

This rule doesn’t only apply to women but for anyone who has been disadvantaged at work for race, gender, sexuality or any other reason. It’s important for everyone to be aware of these issues and to work together to fix them.

How can businesses evolve to be more gender-balanced?

It has become normal for women to occupy more stereotypically male jobs, but until men do the same for stereotypical female jobs, I don’t think that you can have equality in our society. 

One thing businesses can do to promote this is have equal maternity and paternity leave for expectant parents. This means the decision on who stays home to look after children can become more balanced for couples, encouraging more equal workforce and raising children without the same expectations of ‘mens’ and ‘womens’ jobs. 

What advice would you give to young women and men starting out in business today in context of promoting a more diverse world-view?

Stand up for each other and educate yourself about diversity and equality, so you are better prepared to recognise and eradicate inequality from the workplace. 

What women inspire you and why?

There are too many women I am inspired by to talk about here, however, an example of a time I was inspired by a woman is from Molly Scott Cato, the Green Party MEP for the South West.

While in European parliament she was challenged by Brexit MEP Robert Rowland on her economic policies who said, "As far as I'm aware she doesn't have a degree in economics”.

Her reply was that he must not have checked her CV as she is a Professor of Economics. This comedic answer was a very satisfying moment for any women whose abilities have been unfairly doubted before.