IWD: Remarkable Women That Inspire Us
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re putting the spotlight on some incredibly inspirational women.
Sharmadean Reid - Founder of beautystack and WAH Nails, co-founder of FutureGirlCorp
Revolutionising the nail industry with WAH Nails at the age of 24, Sharmadean Reid has always been ahead-of-the-trend. Now she’s continuing to disrupt the beauty landscape with beautystack (think of it as an ‘Instagram meets Treatwell’), with a mission to use technology to empower women economically, socially and culturally. In addition to this, the working mum, runs FutureGirlCorp, championing the next generation of female CEOs.
Pip Jamieson - founder and CEO of The Dots
Dubbed as LinkedIn for creatives, Pip Jamieson founded networking platform The Dots to democratise talent and build an inclusive community of no-collar professionals. A big advocate for diversity, The Dots have implemented a policy that their featured section has to be half female and include at least 30% Black, Asian and/or Minority Ethnic. Pip also believes that creativity should not be reserved for those that can afford it, and with automation on the up, it is more important than ever before to champion and nurture the creative talents out there.
Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey - Founders of Rixo
Best friends and business partners Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey left their jobs as buyers at ASOS to start up Rixo from their kitchen table doing everything themselves. Fast forward four years and Rixo has taken the industry by storm with an army of loyal followers and customers. Without any loans or outside investment, the talented duo has built a global and successful fashion empire from scratch with an impressive number of stockists including Net-a-Porter, Liberty, Selfridges and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Lauren Mahon - Founder of GirlvsCancer
Lauren Mahon is a 32-year-old breast cancer survivor. After being diagnosed when she was 31, Lauren struggled to find relatable support. Instead of facing her cancer diagnosis alone, Lauren began documenting her experience, using the #GirlVsCancer hashtag which has grown to an established community. By speaking openly and unfiltered about her experience, Lauren wants to beat the cancer taboo and create a better understanding of the challenges facing those diagnosed with cancer in their 20s+30s.
Liv Little - Founder of gal-dem
It all started whilst Liv was studying politics and sociology at the University of Bristol. Frustrated with the lack of diversity she founded gal-dem, a platform (and printed magazine) for women and non-binary people of colour. Since then gal-dem has gone on to curate and collaborate on a number of different projects including a take over at The Guardian, a Friday Late session at the V&A, and other events that focus on creating a safe space and platform for women and non-binary people to share their experiences and opinions.
Poorna Bell - Award-winning journalist and writer
Following the tragic suicide of her husband in 2015, writer and journalist Poorna Bell has worked tirelessly to tackle the stigma surrounding male depression and suicide. By openly sharing and talking about her own experience Poorna wants to help break the stigma around mental health. Most recently she was named Rising Star at Stylist’s 2019 Remarkable Women Awards for using her voice to help others and for uniting men and women in her mission.
Gina Martin - Upskirting activist
After being a victim of upskirting at a festival, Gina Martin decided she wasn’t going to brush it off and launched the powerful #stopskirtingtheissue campaign to make the practice illegal. Two years of exhaustive, unbelievable work paid off and the offence will finally become a criminal act this spring. Gina’s fearless and relentless fight is an important step in making the world safer for women.
