Role Model

I recently became a Speakeasy4School ambassador, talking in schools for programmes that encourage young people to be successful. I decided to become an ambassador after overhearing a young girl on the tram tell her mother she wanted to be a topless model, and her mother responded with 'well at least you'll be famous and have money'. It is statements like this that make me realise how few positive female role models we have. Looking in magazines and on TV there are so many young women selling themselves short. There is so much potential in young people but all they get shown is that to make money you don’t need to be clever or work hard, you just need to look good, or prance around in your underwear... or worse in nothing. This is so frustrating for me because there are so many successful women who set an example, but there is so little media attention on them. Women like Amanda Jones, who co-founded Red Button is a great example of this, she is an amazing business women, and a brilliant role model! I was shocked when I asked some students for a list of successful business people and they could not think of one woman, when I mentioned Anita Roddick they looked at me as if I had gone mad. Why do young people know of Alan Sugar and Peter Jones but do not know one of the world’s greatest activists for ethical business and human rights. Anyone can have a pretty face but it takes real guts to do something worthwhile. There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made, but I always think, after so many people sacrificed so much and fought so hard for women’s rights why should we not be a force to be reckoned with. Women lost their lives so we can do have the opportunity to do so much in our lives, surely that should make you want to succeed in life and be someone that is remembered in a positive way- why when it seems like we have won so much should we suddenly stop fighting. There is still so much we can do.