Corporate boardrooms were once a male domain – they didn’t call it ‘working for the man’ for nothing. But a report released this week found that women now hold one in three boardroom roles at the UK’s FTSE 350 companies. The number of FTSE 100 female directors, meanwhile, has doubled in five years. There’s a way to go, but the figures highlight progress.
Speaking of decision makers, the top brass at energy firm Drax pulled the plug this week on controversial plans to build Europe’s largest gas power plant in Yorkshire. It follows pressure from climate groups, which argued that it was incompatible with the UK’s net-zero targets. The move is a win for climate action.
Elsewhere, a bird that was missing presumed extinct re-emerged in a jungle in Borneo – some 180 years after it was last seen. And people in England and Wales dared to dream of hugs, live music and a return to something resembling normality this summer. Find out what else went right this week here.
More good reads from the week:
Pollinators and public art: how one Cornish seaside town is creating a buzz
A plan is afoot to rejuvenate one of Cornwall’s largest seaside towns through art, while boosting bee numbers
‘Pain and hardship, love and hope’: book gives voice to mothers of lockdown babies
Amid the haze of feeds and nappies, 227 mums wrote about what it was like having a baby in lockdown. A book gives voice to their experience
Smashing! The dinnerware made from recycled ceramics waste
Amid heightened awareness about what goes on our plates, a ceramics workshop in Liverpool has turned its attention to dinnerware itself
‘A quiet conservation success story, the likes of which aren’t told enough’
Although often overlooked, small-scale conservation projects are having a big impact on wildlife and communities – even in conflict zones