Celebrating Inspiring Women for IWD 2019

I am surrounded by some truly inspiring women; they show up in my newsfeed, I meet them at networking events and I often share a bottle or two with them over lunch! Every year, during International Women’s Day, there is a wonderful opportunity to surround ourselves with those that support, inspire and encourage us.  So, I recently asked who inspires you, and the results were wonderful. Here are the women that lead from the front!

Rebecca from Beck and Call PR has a lovely list of inspiring women:
Jameela Jamil “ I love the fact that she is outspoken and isn’t afraid to call other celebrities out on their sometimes unethical choices in terms of what they promote. I like that she has overcome adversity in the form of anorexia and breaking her back. The fact she won’t allow herself to be airbrushed. That she uses her celebrity for good. The work she has done with the @i_weigh movement promoting body positivity and acknowledging that all of us have so much more value than a number on a scale and the fact that she is a feminist. As you can tell I am a big fan. Oh, and I love The Good Place “
Caitlin Moran  “I really enjoy her books, the fact that she is a Midlander, I loved her tv programme Raised by Wolves and I saw her speak at Birmingham Town Hall last year and she is hilarious”. I
 Sali Hughes and the work she is doing with @thebeautybanks; which are like food banks but with beauty essentials and toiletries.
Locally Kathy Coe who is the CEO of Pathway Project and helps women and children escaping domestic violence. Kathy is a domestic violence survivor herself which led to her starting the charity.

Sherry Bevan, from The Confident Mother, wanted to profile “Susan Payton, because she’s put herself out there, invested in herself and her mission and been to Nashville to work with Donald Miller” as well as Helen Pritchard “because she has worked SO hard over the past two years and here she is now being SO successful and working with amazing clients. She went through that discomfort zone, believed in herself and now she’s helping other business owners do the same.”

The Parental Pay Equality team feel strongly that Harriet Harman should be included, due to her work on the 2010 Equality Act.

Louise, from Under a Pewter Sky Photography, wanted to highlight Sally Darby. “She’s local to me (in Sutton Coldfield) and I find her inspiring in raising awareness on equality, diversity, and inclusivity for all mums with disabilities and managing conditions, offering support and creating a sense of community.”

Finally, I think Estelle sums up how we all feel about the wonderful women around us;
“I’d echo the sentiments of these comments too. There are all of the amazing ‘usual suspects’ for icons. And let’s face it, becoming and iconic Malala, Michelle OB etc is for the few. So I really like the idea of those around us who inspire us every day. From those bringing a bit of real-life chaos to social media posts that help us feel like we aren’t alone in being imperfect, to friends and colleagues one meets and raises us up”.

So, who would you add to the list? Let’s not reserve celebrating the inspiring women around us for one day a year; make EVERY DAY International Women’s Day!