Following yesterday's blog, we've chosen to honour British women who have encouraged the message behind IWD 2014's theme, "Inspiring Change".
International Women's Day is still vitally important for women in the Western world, including Great Britain and the USA, as we still need to improve the equality of women in the workplace, society and home.
With that in mind, we've been putting together some of today's most inspirational and influential female figures and how they are "inspiring change", in time for International Women's Day 2014. Yesterday was the day of the American women - Jennifer Lawrence, First Lady Michelle Obama, Kim Cattrall (born British, but known as being American) and Beyonce. Today, we have four Brit women who are well and truly rocking...
Karren Brady
Championing: Women in business / Working mothers
Her message: "...At some point almost all women want to have children – to me it's never an issue, because I have two children, and I work. I always say, women have brains and uteruses, and are able to use both." (source).
"We might be accused of being boring, whinging and moaning about it, but we will continue being boring, whinging and moaning until we get some sort of equality – equality in pay, in outlook, in opportunities, in the ways we are portrayed in the work we do, I’m sure Emmeline Pankhurst felt the same." (source)
Why we love her: She is a real woman, who has made a success out of her career, TV personality-status and has done all that and sneaked in becoming a mother too. A strong character for many career-orientated women, she continues to speak out about women and the importance of them having a place in the working environment that is equal to that of their male counterparts. She's sassy, smart and fashionable! Plus, having become MD at Birmingham City FC at 22, she states: "There are only two things that I really care about – apart from family – one is business and the other is women in business." (source).Official Twitter: @karren_brady
IMAGE: @dwppressoffice via Twitter
Rebecca Adlington
Championing: Women in sport / body image
Her message: "For me, I was an athlete, I wasn't trying to be a model, but pretty much every single week on Twitter I get somebody commenting on the way I look (on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here." (source)
"It’s hard for a woman. A woman has to deal with it – and that’s never easy... A guy doesn’t get comments on his weight or his looks." (source)
Why we love her: Rebecca is recently said to have undergone nose surgery following "years of cruel taunts" (source), yet it was her plain-as-day honesty about women's body image on I'm A Celebrity... in 2013, that cemented her place in women's hearts as a genuine role model. She broke down when a conversation about body image got heated, with her name trending on Twitter she captured our hearts after she already became a gold medal Olympian. While on the reality TV show, she said of model and fellow camp mate Amy Willerton: "[She] doesn't know what it's like on a day to day basis... she's stick thin, she's got these push-up bras that make her boobs seem massive. She's stunning. To me it’s not to do with her as a person. It’s the image she portrays that girls should be stick thin and beautiful." (source).
A respectable, sensible sporting champion and real woman with the same insecurities as others', is a winner in anybody's eyes.
Official Twitter: @BeckAdlington
IMAGE: @BeckAdlington via Twitter
Kate Winslet
Championing: Body image
Her message: "I believe it is important to go on insisting that normality is not what we are exposed to. Honestly, among my acquaintances there is no woman wearing XS. No, sorry, there is one: my daughter. The point is that Mia is 11 years old. It's true that you need much time to get rid of the fat girl you once were, but you know I am sincerely grateful for my buttocks." (source)
"As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, 'I love my body'. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, 'I am so proud of my body', so I make sure to say it to Mia [her daughter], because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age." (source)
Why we love her: Everyone probably first saw Kate, as curvy redhead, Rose, opposite heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack, in 1998's Titanic. Fifteen years on, the blockbuster was re-released, with Kate saying: "We do look very different, we're older, Leo's 37, I'm 36 — we were 21 and 22 when we made that film. You know, he's fatter now - I'm thinner.". Her comments may surprise, but she's often spoken of her difficulty not seeing herself as the "fat kid" she once was, but it's her British cynicism, forthrightness and downright honesty that makes us love her as an actress, mother and real life role model.
IMAGE: Promotional still of Kate Winslet from the 2008 movie, Revolutionary Road (http://katewinsletfan.com)
Victoria Beckham
Championing: 'Girl power!'
Her message: "There aren't enough women out there who support other women. That's what we should do, support each other. That's why I'm here tonight [accepting her Woman of the Decade award in 2013]" (source)
Why we love her: Starting out as a Spice Girl in the 90s, Victoria and her girl band (completed by Mel C, Mel B, Geri & Emma) sang - admittedly, not fantastically, but powerfully - about female independence, friendship and about getting what you want ("what you really, really want"). Since, she has met, dated and married footballing superstar David Beckham, had four babies and stayed by David's side when rumours got personal (alleged affairs haven't rocked the Beckham brand). Following the Spice Girls split she turned her eye to fashion - what she loves - and made it a worldwide success - the clothing range, VB, is an international brand. You have to admit, although we're often cynical about the abilities of female superstars to be role models, Victoria's got this nailed...!
Official Twitter: @victoriabeckham
IMAGE: @victoriabeckham via Twitter
March 8: International Women's Day
There is a very important message behind the upcoming day, so watch the video below, visit the official International Women's Day website (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/) and show your support for gender equality.
