Reflections From 200 Columns

We have now produced two hundred columns written over four years. After that many back-to-back weeks of researching, writing, and editing, it is strange to think back to the very start of the column in September 2022. The sustainability and circularity spaces still looked quite different then, and the scope of our work and the direction we thought we would take with The E-Waste Column also looked quite different.

They say small actions compile over time, and that has been nothing but true for The E-Waste Column. Over the past 4 years, what started as a fairly humble column posted weekly on LinkedIn transformed into a multi-stakeholder platform with three interconnected hubs: learning, innovation, and action. Our work and focus on promoting sustainable development around electronics landed us on The Bloom's 30 Under 30 Social Impact list in December 2024 and paved the way for us to join UNIDO's Global Electronics Management Program as a stakeholder this year.

Despite everything that we have achieved, we have to say that our journey has been a rollercoaster ride in so many ways. We have found so much more purpose and fulfillment in our work than we could have ever expected. We have also gotten to speak to and touch more people's lives than we could have ever imagined. (After all, if you would have told us back in 2022 that upwards of 47 000 of you would read our column in 2025, we probably would not have believed you!) Throughout the years, we however sadly also learned the hard way just how difficult (or impossible) securing funding for our work — as an all-female team working in raw materials and tech — is.

The gender funding gap is something that has impacted our work and ability to scale in countless ways, and it still continues to do so. Yet, rather than be defeated by that, we decided time and again to speak up openly about our experiences and try to advocate for change in this space. While we honestly do not feel like the needle has budged in any meaningful way, we are continuing to push for a world where women can start and successfully scale ventures — because no woman building a company in raw materials, tech, or anything else should be up against what we have been up against and because we believe the world would be a much better place without the gender funding gap.

There is a lot of talk about a just transition and a gender-inclusive transition, but the past four years taught us that a lot of that talk is really cheap. The real value lies in action — and that is luckily something that we at The E-Waste Column are really good at, even while being super leanly funded or underfunded. So, while the gender funding gap may have pushed us to near bankruptcy a few times, we are still here educating, connecting, and moving people in very real and impactful ways — and that is all thanks to a small group of people, who rallied for us in exactly the right moments and who we are incredibly grateful to!