Inspirational women and equality aspirations on International Women’s Day

Introduction by Nicola Moore-Miller, Global Chief Executive Officer:

As a female-led and female-dominant business, this International Women’s Day, we’re once again giving a voice to the women at Jayva.

It’s wonderful to read the thoughts and inspirational influences of some of our team, and it’s interesting to note the differences between regions and generations.

As Jayva’s owner and leader, I'm incredibly proud of the diverse and talented global team I’ve built during our 10 years+ in operation, with 75% of our workforce being women in a traditionally male sector. While we celebrate women's achievements, I also recognise the valuable contributions of men in our organisation too.

I've been very lucky to have forged inspiring relationships with men and women alike throughout my career and in my personal life. However, I'm deeply aware of the sacrifices women have made to advance gender equality and I’m proud to shout about equality by giving International Women’s Day a space on this platform.

As a career-driven mum, I often struggle with ‘mum guilt’ but as my children grow, I’m beginning to see the positive impact of this role model on my children, who are turning into independent young people with a strong work ethic.

Ultimately, what's right for one woman may not be right for another. Whether it's having kids, travelling the world or focusing on a career, every woman deserves the freedom to make her own choices, in just the same way as men.

Here’s what a few of our powerhouse women have to say about their female inspirational figures…

Sue Rodgers, Director of Global Professional Services:

As a proud Mancunian, I was brought up on tales of the Pankhurst women and the suffragette movement. We even have a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in one of our main squares, this being the first statue of a woman in Manchester since Queen Victoria one hundred years ago.

I marched through Manchester to the unveiling of Emmeline’s statue in 2018. But, it isn’t the only statue unveiled that day. At the same time, in Oldham, there was another statue revealed honouring a fellow suffragette, Annie Kenney.

If you haven’t heard of Annie, I’d like to enlighten you. Annie was born into a poor family and was the fourth daughter of eleven children. She started working part time in mills at the young age of ten and had progressed to full time working by the time she was only thirteen years old. Annie’s start in life is vastly different from that of the Pankhurst sisters.

Annie remained at the mill for fifteen years altogether, was involved in trade-union activities, furthered her education through self-study and – inspired by Robert Blatchford's publication of weekly newspaper, The Clarion – promoted the study of literature among her colleagues.

Along with Christabel Pankhurst, Annie was jailed in 1905 for disrupting a meeting at Manchester Free Trade Hall in her fight for equal rights. News of the arrest spread globally and it’s now viewed as the pivotal point in the entire suffragette movement.

When Annie left jail, there were a hundred people to greet her and another 2,000 supporters gathered to hear her speeches at a later Manchester protest meeting.

Throughout her life, Annie was jailed many times and, as did many other suffragettes, she went on hunger strike on several occasions. She was famously carried into one meeting on a stretcher after she was released by the 1913-introduced Cat and Mouse Act. This Act allowed for the early release of prisoners who were so weakened by hunger striking that they were at risk of death. They were to be recalled to prison once more when their health was recovered, whereby the process would begin all over again.

On International Women’s Day this year, then, I celebrate this woman, Annie Kenney, from just up the road who through determination and belief became one of the leading suffragettes – even if not everyone knows her name.

Liz Loane, Implementation Consultant:

It’s important to take time to stop and think about women who’ve been inspirational in the fight for gender parity and made vital moves towards achieving it.

Inspired by Sue’s reflections on Annie Kenney (and not 6 degrees removed from it), the person I’m highlighting is Dr Catherine Hamlin (1924 – 2020). As an aside, Catherine and Sylvia Pankhurst (daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst) met and became friends in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 1959.

It’s not nice to talk about obstetric fistula, a medical condition which destroys women’s lives in low-income countries where women have limited access to obstetric care during childbirth, but Catherine talked about it a lot.

Catherine was a truly extraordinary woman. Not only was she was intelligent, humble, kind, playful and adventurous, together with her husband, Dr Reginald Hamlin, she was instrumental in revolutionising the medical fields of obstetrics and gynaecology.

When Catherine and Reginald arrived in Addis Ababa for a three-year contract, they didn’t realise they were starting out on a life’s journey and that Ethiopia would become their long-time home. To underline some of her achievements, between 1959 and 2016, Catherine:

• Pioneered the world’s leading fistula surgery procedure.

• Treated over 60,000 women in Ethiopia with life-changing surgery and care.

• Set up hospitals and clinics specialising in obstetric fistula.

• Shared her knowledge and expertise by training doctors and midwives worldwide.

• Continued performing surgery until she was 82 years old and only stopped when her own health deteriorated.

• Established the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation which continues her legacy of eradicating fistula forever.

The World Health Organization estimates 50,000 to 100,000 women are affected by obstetric fistula each year.

Catherine was extremely modest and when asked how she’d achieved some of these amazing things, she simply replied “from little things, big things grow”. It’s unlikely she was directly quoting from the Paul Kelly song of the same title, but, then again, she was very cool so perhaps she was.

Jessica Tatar, Legal Accounts Specialist:

For me, gender equality is not simply about raising awareness; it’s also about raising the standards we deem acceptable ourselves, as women.

Simone Biles, the Olympic-medal-winning artistic gymnast, is an individual who demonstrates so many characteristics I’m personally inspired by, and which young, impressionable girls are inspired by as well. She’s used her platform on the World Championship stage to advocate for multiple causes beyond her fantastic gymnastic achievements and successes – actually, sometimes in risk of them.

Simone has championed women’s empowerment, promoting body positivity, self confidence, and the right for female athletes to make decisions about their own careers and wellbeing.

As a survivor of sexual abuse, she’s been a vocal advocate for victims' rights, particularly in the wake of the Larry Nassar scandal – a team doctor of the United States women’s gymnastics team who used his position to exploit hundreds of young athletes over an 18-year period.

Simone has consistently called out institutional failures in protecting athletes and pushed for greater accountability within American gymnastics Olympic and Paralympic committees. She’s also worked with organisations like RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) to increase knowledge of sexual abuse and support survivors.

Beyond advocacy for abuse survivors, Simone’s been instrumental in advancing conversations about mental health in sports. Her decision to withdraw from events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to prioritise her mental wellbeing sparked a global discussion about the pressures faced by elite athletes whilst opening up and normalising much-needed conversations on this subject. Since then, she’s partnered with Cerebral, a mental health telemedicine company, to provide accessible mental health resources.

As a Black athlete, she’s spoken out against racial inequality too, supported the Black Lives Matter movement, and endorsed greater diversity and inclusion within gymnastics, calling for systemic changes for athletes of colour. Additionally, she’s been an outspoken advocate for equal pay for female athletes, backing efforts led by The Women’s Sports Foundation and the USA Women's National Soccer Team in their fight for pay equity.

Not stopping there, Simone has talked about foster care and child advocacy, drawing from her own experience of being in foster care before being adopted by her grandparents. She’s worked with Friends of the Children and Childhelp to support foster youth and prevent child abuse.

In sum, Simone’s activism spans multiple areas, all rooted in her experiences and commitment to making sports and society more just, inclusive and compassionate. She’s proven to be not just a gymnastics icon but also a powerful force for change, using her influence to push for equity, accountability, and the wellbeing of athletes and vulnerable members of the community alike.

Jennet Ingram, Marketing Executive:

For women, it’s pretty challenging to succeed in today’s patriarchal society. The ‘glass ceiling’ still exists for many women in the modern workplace. However, through persistence, tenacity and downright hard work, success is there for the taking, as we see in our sector, across other industries and by women in the spotlight.

If it’s difficult for women to thrive professionally in contemporary society, it was near-impossible in centuries past. Women who spurned societal expectations and did everything in their power to pursue their professional interests and utilise their undeniable talents are my heroes.

As someone with a degree in English and former English teacher, I’d have to showcase women authors in times gone by, many of whom were forced to write under male pseudonyms and often didn’t receive the literary recognition they deserved until after their passing.

These pioneering women penned some of the greatest works in British literature from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Now-household names such as Jane Austen, George Eliot and the Bronte sisters fought their own fight for gender equality, thus paving the way for the female writers who followed them and adding to our country’s rich history of classic literature. They get my vote this International Women’s Day.