Celebrating Women’s History Month: Changemakers Who Inspire Our Team

Women have made transformative contributions to the space race, helped uncover the double helix formation that catapulted our understanding of DNA, traveled the world in fewer than 80 days (before airplanes were even invented), fought to desegregate schools, and so much more.

Countless women throughout history have worked tirelessly to change our world and lives for the better, often in the face of adversity. At SJR, we’re inspired by these fearless female trailblazers, and we proudly celebrated their accomplishments throughout Women’s History Month.

As part of our Diversity, Equity, and Belonging (DE&B) efforts to create a more inclusive workplace culture, we encouraged our global team members to recognize the inspirational women they admire who have contributed to history, culture, and society.

We received a wealth of amazing nominations, from pioneering social activists to glass ceiling–smashing creatives (including some of our very own talented SJRers) to gender equality–championing transgender activists and beyond. Each nominee’s remarkable contributions, in all their unique expressions, serve as reminders of the importance of encouraging, empowering, and investing in women and girls everywhere.

By boldly demonstrating what is possible, these women leaders can motivate others to challenge gender stereotypes, speak out and live their truths, and pave the way for future generations.

Each week in March, we highlighted these nominees through our internal company communications, and we’re pleased to share them with you. Here they are, the women changemakers who inspire all of us at SJR.

Nominated by Molly Cummings, Business Development Associate

Who they are:

Lauren is a diabetes health coach, an author, and a yoga instructor. In 2018, she was selected for the PureWow 100, a list of the top women doing remarkable things within their industry. With a commitment to overall wellness and health, Lauren specializes in coaching and creating resources for people with Type 1 Diabetes to help them take control and ultimately feel better.

Why they were nominated:

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 19 years old, but once I discovered Lauren, my life with diabetes changed. She became my diabetes health coach a few years ago, and the tools and tips she has provided me with over the years have given me a life with more freedom as a diabetic, which I will forever be grateful for. She is my inspiration every day, and that’s why I choose her to be celebrated!

Nominated by Elizabeth de Leon, HR Manager

Who they are:

Painter

Why they were nominated:

Frida’s unwavering bravery in showing her love for Mexico and for herself is a constant encouragement for me. As women, we are constantly reminded of our faults and inabilities, and of all the things we are not. She is my reminder that being who we truly are is magical and is art worth admiring. We are art.

Nominated by Lucy Coles, Executive Editorial Director, EMEA

Who they are:

Senior BBC International Correspondent

Why they were nominated:

I am eternally impressed by BBC International Correspondent Orla Guerin. She epitomizes bravery, intellect, and determination as she stands, right there, in the epicenter of war and disaster. What I particularly like is the sense that she doesn’t want you to see ‘her,’ but to witness the stories she is telling. She doesn’t court her viewers; she wants us to experience the events with her, to see her through that important moment in time. There is no ego, just a vocation to shed light in the shadows. Her empathy manifests itself as a frown that underlines her message. She also has a humility that sets her apart from other broadcasters. Her Twitter profile says it all: “Orla Guerin, Dubliner making detours for decades. Never far from a cup of tea.”

Nominated by Tom Howard, Editorial Director

Who they are:

Social activists, UN delegates, and human rights campaigners

Why they were nominated:

Roosevelt and Mehta were the only two female delegates to the 1947-48 UN Commission on Human Rights. They arguably had a greater impact than all the men put together. Roosevelt, a former First Lady of the United States, was the first chairperson of the Commission and played a key role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that year. Mehta, an activist for women’s rights in India and abroad, is credited with changing the words “All men are born free and equal” to “All human beings are born free and equal” — an important statement in the progress of recognizing women’s rights. Getting the words right matters. The UDHR does not have the status of law, but it was hugely influential in getting human rights written into legal systems. Given it had no legal enforceability, it shows just how powerful a piece of owned content can be.

Nominated by David Drummund, Head of Creative, EMEA

Who they are:

Ex-editor and cofounder of London Review of Books

Why they were nominated:

She was the editor of LRB for nearly 30 years, in that time evolving what is an (arguably) niche literary print publication into what I hold as one of the best publications for long-form writing in the UK (which last count had nearly 100,000 circulation —big for a thing of its type!). There aren’t many female editors of leading publications (although more than before), and there certainly weren’t when she began her tenure. Wilmers is inspiring not just for her standing in a world in which she was an outlier, but because she created something that is unique and idiosyncratic: a regular long-form print publication in a world that was scared of dying attention spans and obsessed with pivoting to video.

Nominated by Sofia Fabiano, Senior Traffic Coordinator

Who they are:

Group Creative Director at SJR

Why they were nominated:

Christie is a bad-ass. She is an amazing creative and leader, always ready to listen and solve a challenge. Christie uplifts the team and pushes her colleagues to grow and learn more. She will make you laugh and probably bother you about some little nuance you forgot to do, but she is a great coworker, leader and friend.

Who they are:

Laverne Cox is a trans woman who has been breaking barriers and ceilings, advocating for gender inclusivity and equity. She’s an outspoken role model for all young people, offering encouragement to find and live in your truth, but do it in such a way that it creates a path for those behind you to follow. In 2015, Laverne became the first trans woman to win a Daytime Emmy for being the executive producer of Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.

Why they were nominated:

I’ve grown up with friends in the trans community who have struggled to see a version of themselves in media that wasn’t a crime scene victim or the punchline of a joke. Laverne, standing on the shoulders of many who came before her, has taken the platform she has and used it to create an inclusive space for everyone. I think intersectional representation really matters when talking about big topics, and Laverne’s being a Black, trans woman thriving in her authentic self deserves celebration.

Who they are:

Erin Sarofsky is the leader of Sarofsky, a creative studio in Chicago, IL. The studio has made some of the most memorable title sequences for film and television in the past and very recently.

Why they were nominated:

Erin and her company routinely produce stunning visual work utilizing motion graphics. She has built a lasting powerhouse in the advertising and entertainment space, and she’s an inspiration to me and many others.

Nominated by Elizabeth de Leon, HR Manager

Who they are:

The first woman to officially complete the Boston Marathon.

Why they were nominated:

Despite being attacked by the race director when he tried to physically remove her from the race, Switzer completed the then-all-male Boston Marathon. It took five more years before women were allowed to run the Boston Marathon, but it was Kathrine who pushed past the belief that women could not run long distances and that running took away from their femininity.

Nominated by Eddie Ansell, Head of Editorial, EMEA

Who they are:

“I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.”

In a small green next to where I live is a statue celebrating one of the most unheralded heroes of the feminist movement. Born in 1759, Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer and a passionate advocate for the education and social equality of women. The daughter of an alcoholic, violent farmer, Wollstonecraft became fiercely independent from a young age. Self-educated, she left home at 19 and just five years later, founded a prestigious girls’ school in North London with her sister Eliza and friend Fanny Blood.

Wollstonecraft’s passion for writing led her to become an author, producing novels, a history of the French Revolution, and even a children’s book. But it’s her treatise, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) that has really left its mark on the world. In it, she argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.

Why they were nominated:

Viewed as outrageous at the time, Wollstonecraft’s treatise influenced and inspired feminist thinking for centuries after. The suffragettes held her an icon, with no less than Virginia Woolf saying, “We hear her voice and trace her influence even now among the living.” Wollstonecraft’s pioneering spirit continued in her daughter Mary Shelley, author of one of the earliest examples of science fiction, Frankenstein.