2015’s most inspirational women

This time of the year is always hectic; we rush to get all of our work done in time, we triple check that our holiday arrangements are finalised, we worry about if our children are going to do well in their final exams, and we still need to stay on top of all those little admin tasks, like paying the levies or getting affordable life insurance quotes before we can take that well-deserved break.

This is why we support our clients in as many ways as we can; we take care of the little things for them, like their life cover, so that they can be at their best each day without having to worry.

Just to give you a little extra support for these last weeks of the year, we thought we’d share encouraging stories of women from around the globe who are doing their best and making a difference; we’re looking at some of the world’s most inspiring women of 2015 and we are celebrating their achievements.

We hope they inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us!

Adv. Thulisile (Thuli) Nomkhosi Madonsela

Before we look around the globe, let’s admire a woman from our own beautiful country. Thuli Madonsela is a pillar of ethics to not just South Africans, but the rest of the world, too. She was one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2014, but we think she still deserves to be recognised for her continued role as South Africa’s public protector in 2015. Thuli is also a human rights activist and her office has continued to ceaselessly investigate governmental corruption this year.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna

These women may not have glamorous occupations in the traditional sense of the word, but their work in 2015 has far-reaching implications for generations to come. Both are geneticists and have developed a new technique of gene modifying that could help fight innumerable diseases such as HIV and even some types of cancer. The implications of their discovery are only beginning to be understood, but we know that it will change how scientists and medical professionals fight disease.

Malala Yousafzai

This marks the third year running where Malala Yousafzai has been included in Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People’ list. Malala ceaselessly campaigns for the rights of girls globally to receive an education, and is leading the way with excellent marks at the Edgbaston High School in Birmingham. A year ago, on 10 December 2014, Malala accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and donated $1.1 million in prize money to the financing of a secondary school for girls in Pakistan. On her 18th birthday this year, she opened the Malala Yousafzai All-girls School, which provides secondary education to Syrian girls living in informal camps near the Syrian border in Lebanon. Malala’s continued courage in the face of life-threatening challenges to stand up for young girls’ rights inspires us to do and be better.

Eniola Aluko

Eniola has one of the most recognisable faces in women’s football. She is a striker in the England and Chelsea squads, won the Player-of-the-Match Award in this year’s FA Women’s Cup Final, and to top it all off, she is also a lawyer! This multi-talented Lagos-born footballer is also known for championing better pay for England’s women football players and has been vocal about racism in the men’s game.

Syeda Ghulam Fatima

Before 15 August 2015, the majority of the world had never heard of Syeda Ghulam Fatima, but by 19 August, people from all over the globe had donated over $2.2 million to her cause. The popular photoblogging series Humans of New York spotlighted Fatima’s strength, bravery and resilience when it presented a series on the plight of brick kiln workers in Pakistan while doing an overseas series for the blog earlier this year. Bricks make up 3% of Pakistan’s GDP. Brick kiln owners are so wealthy that despite bonded labour being illegal, they are able to force more than a million people into modern-day slavery within their businesses. According to HONY, Fatima has undergone severe physical violence and intimidation for most of her life to end bonded labour in Pakistan, but has not been deterred in her fight to help the victims of brick kiln owners. Fatima’s courage in the face of death and intimidation is awe-inspiring.

Meryl Streep

She may not seem like an obvious choice at first, but Meryl Streep’s generous philanthropic work has continued for 30 years. Together with her husband, she established a charity called Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts in the early ’80s, which has donated millions of dollars to all areas of the Arts, including theatre, music, and film.

She has also supported charities that focus on bringing amazing women to the fore, like the Vital Voices Global Partnership, who define their mission as “to invest in women leaders who improve the world.” She also supports the Women’s Refugee Commission and Women for Women International. Meryl has quietly continued her philanthropic work this year as she always has, which makes her one of our Women of 2015.

At 1st for Women, we think all of our clients are inspiring in their own ways, which is why we offer car, home, and life cover that is tailor-made just for them. We believe in all things our clients do, whether big or small, and support them in whatever roles they take on each day. Life products are underwritten by 1Life, an authorised financial services provider.