In the run-up to International Women’s Day this Thursday 8th March, rather than putting together a typical list that includes everyone from Marlyn Monroe to Danny Dyer, we decided to come up with a list of people that we believe have demonstrated this year’s theme #PressforProgress.
Now more than ever, there is a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. With a number of rallying cries including unified and motivating movements, examples of which include the recent #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, there is a strong call to #PressforProgress motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.
The rules of the fantasy guest list are simple;
- Choose 5 people.
- Guests can be dead or alive, on this occasion we have decided on the living.
- They can be on your list for any reason, conversation, entertainment to pick their brain or you are hoping there could be a goodnight kiss in it for you…
- Finally, you create the menu – what are you serving.
So, who to include??
- Michael Kimmel – is an American sociologist specialising in Gender Studies, his TED talk ‘Why gender equality is good for everyone – men included’ is a surprising, funny and practical case for treating men and women equally in the workplace and at home.
- Malala Yousafazi – Grew up in Taliban controlled Pakistan, as a girl she was forbidden to go to school, Malala felt that this ruling by the Taliban was unfair and wrote about it online. A few days later on a bus, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban on her way home from school, she did not die and now is a female education activist and the youngest Nobel prize laureate.
- Michelle Obama – Graduated Harvard and became a lawyer at a top firm, one day her boss asked her to mentor a young lawyer, his name was Barack Obama. Michelle quit her job to support Barack’s campaign to become president and became the first African American First Lady of the United States. As First Lady, Michelle was a role model for women, an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity and healthy eating, and a global fashion icon.
- Justin Trudeau – is the current Canadian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberals, he is an outspoken feminist and advocate for gender parity. After being sworn in as Prime Minister, when asked by a reporter why he felt gender parity was important when naming his cabinet, he replied simply, “Because it’s 2015.”
- Reni Eddo-Lodge – Born in London to a Nigerian mother Reni is a writer and feminist activist, in 2017, Eddo-Lodge completed her debut book, ‘Why I am no longer talking about race to white people’. The book that sparked a national conversation, exploring everything from the link between class and race, eradicated black history and intersectionality, we believe an essential read for anyone who wants to understand race relations.
If we had room for more people, we would include Joan Rivers, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and Alicia Alonso. As for the menu, oops we are terrible cooks so would perhaps have to invite Delia Smith to the party to cater.
Who would attend your #PressforProgress dinner party?