The Women We're Standing Behind This IWD2020

The Women We're Standing Behind This IWD2020 - Smith & Sinclair UK
How can we define this day? International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. A day where we celebrate the fearless, powerful and independent women who are ruling their own world in their own way.
Today, we're bringing you five women, who in our eyes, are making a change for a good.
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Introducing Kerry Diamond:
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Kerry is the founder and editorial director of independent lifestyle magazine Cherry Bombe, that celebrates women in food.
Along with this, she also hosts Radio Cherry Bombe and co-owns the Caroll Garden restaurants, which include: Nightingale Nine, Smith Canteen and Wilma Jean with her partner, Robert Newton.
Along with this, Kerry also runs the Cherry Bombe Jubilee, which is an annual conference that serves to connect women in food and keep them nourished in body and spirit.
This conference started after TIME Magazine’s “Gods of Food” controversy (no female chefs were invited to speak).
Kerry decided she wanted to take the plunge and bring women together. They shine light on incredible women in lots of different ways; whether through food or collaboration - some of the most exciting *cook* book deals have happened at the Jubilee.
A woman who supports women? We stan.
Follow Kerry's journey here.
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Introducing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

Chimamanda delivered two landmark TED talks: her 2009 TED Talk The Danger of A Single Story and her 2012 TEDx Euston talk We Should All Be Feminists, which started a worldwide conversation about feminism, and was published as a book in 2014. You may know Chimamnda from the infamous Beyoncé song ***Flawless, she’s the voice behind the monologue.

‎‎‎After being told by a male journalist that feminists were women who were unhappy with themselves because they couldn’t find husbands, Chimamanda decided to give feminism a new meaning to then be told that feminism wasn’t part of African culture and she was being influenced by western society. 

‎Chimamanda recently spoke to The Guardian and said the following on feminism:

‎“Gender is not an easy conversation to have. It makes people uncomfortable, sometimes even irritable. Both men and women are resistant to talk about gender, or are quick to dismiss the problems of gender. Because thinking of changing the status quo is always uncomfortable.

‎Some people ask, "Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?" Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general – but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.

‎That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem should acknowledge that.

‎Some men feel threatened by the idea of feminism. This comes, I think, from the insecurity triggered by how boys are brought up, how their sense of self-worth is diminished if they are not "naturally" in charge as men.

‎We love what she stands for.
Follow Chimamanda's journey here.
Introducing Juno Dawson:
Juno Dawson. A transgender activist, best-selling author and screenwriter. 
You might know Juno's work, she's the woman behind This Book is Gay, Margot & Me, and The Gender Games.
Juno recently spoke to MTV about what International Women's Day meant to her and here's what she said:
"More and more men are calling themselves feminists! Yay! Extra snogs for these good men! Feminism benefits everyone because assumptions about gender, childcare and emotional capacity don’t do ANYONE any favours. Any human with a heart should want things to be fairer right? That would include men and women having equal opportunities and the right to live free from fear.
Feminism is trendy again! After being quite off-putting for much of the eighties and nineties – largely due to bickering within the community about what constitutes feminism – we now have a generation of girls who are proud to call themselves feminists.
Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, Lady Gaga and Lorde are all proud feminists who, whether you like their music or not, speak to a teenage fanbase, who will, like all girls, need feminism."

We think it's important to have women like Juno in the world, who not only stands for women's rights, but trans women's rights.
Follow Juno's journey here.
Introducing The Notorious RBG:
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a hero to women. A future without her is chilling prospect." - Moira Donegan, The Guardian
 You can find her face on enamel pins, tote bags posters, and greetings cards. She stares at you from T-shirts, from stickers, from stationery, from inside embroidery hoops, her face rendered in tiny squares of thread.
Ruth, 86, is a Supreme Court Judge and co-founder of Women's Rights Project at the ACLU. She says "Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy."
Ginsburg has been a pioneer for gender equality throughout her distinguished career. While singular in her achievements, she was far from alone in her pursuits and received much support from talented, dedicated women all along the way. Celia Bader (Ruth's mother) provided a strong role model for her daughter at an early age.
Ginsburg recalls, "My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent. The study of law was unusual for women of my generation. For most girls growing up in the '40s, the most important degree was not your B.A., but your M.R.S."
A fun fact about Ruth: Between 1973 and 1976, she argued six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court and won five.
We couldn't find Ruth on Instagram, but there are articles being written daily on her successes.
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Introducing Irene Agbontaen:
South London born Irene started the “TALL GIRL” movement after she couldn’t find clothes that would fit her. She’s 5”11.
Bored of the difficulties that came with finding clothes for women her height, Irene decided to start her own clothing line that could fill in the gaps in her wardrobe. TTYA (Taller Than Your Average) address all your tall-gal woes.
Started in her bedroom; the line is now stocked in Selfridges, ASOS, Barneys NYC and more. Beyoncé and Jourdan Dunn are fans.
Along with owning a highly successful brand, Irene also runs TTYA Talks, which focuses on industry and career specific topics and provides direct access to successful women working across the creative industry. She’s had the likes of FKA Twigs speaking at one of her talks.
Again, a woman supporting women. We stan.
Follow Irene here.