Dream the Impossible

Hi

I was watching a BBC news programme a couple of weekends ago and saw a story about a young woman, Shanel Drewe. I hadn’t heard of her, but at 17 years of age she won 2nd place in the Michelin Clio Championship. It started me thinking about who might be the next generation’s inspiring female role models. With Women’s History Month a recent memory, and a continued focus on gender pay, we thought we’d shine a light on a two modern female role models. We wanted to highlight that progress continues to be made. Young women who are challenging the status quo to realise their own dreams, and remove barriers for others.

Let’s start with an introduction to Shanel. In 2016, Shanel was a new driver to the Junior Saloon Car championship grid (JSCC). Here she joined Katie Milner and Emily Glanvill, to make three female drivers on the grid. She was fifteen years old, and this was her first season as a driver. However, she had first driven on her eleventh birthday, and was immediately hooked. During 2015 she volunteered her spare time to two motor racing teams, doing anything from washing wheels to helping with mechanical repairs. She understands that succeeding on the track will be challenging, but says “I believe that you should not settle for the norm, and unless you chase your ambition and dreams, they will never come true”. Extract taken from girlracer.co.uk

At the start of the 2017 season, her initial goal was to develop her limited racing experience. This was quickly surpassed when she found herself in a Championship position. She came 2nd in her first professional adult championship. It was her first full season.

The second role model, many of us will already have heard about, Malala Yousafzai. Perhaps though, her story before being shot by the Taliban in 2012 is less well known. She was born in Pakistan, in a mountainous district known as Swat in 1997. Her parents encouraged her education, and she had learnt English by the age of eleven. Even at this age she was a strong advocate of education for all. She began a blog, using a pseudonym, writing of her daily life for BBC Urdu. When the Taliban came to power in Swat, she shifted her focus to reflect the changes in her life. By continuing her blog, she made it clear that she was opposing the Taliban. She became a more avid supporter of education for all. When she appeared on television, her connection with her blog became known and her father received death threats. Her father refused to close the schools he was connected with, and moved his family to a refugee camp for a while. Malala remained outspoken on the topic of education and won the National Peace Prize for her advocacy work in 2011. She was 14 years old.

After the shooting in 2012 she and her family moved to England. By March 2013 she was back at school. Taking advantage of her celebrity profile she set up a fund, @MalalaFund to support education for all girls worldwide. In October 2014 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with Kailash Satyarthi, a Hindu activist for education from India.

If you had to choose a current, inspiring young woman, who would you pick?

We chose two very different role models. One well established, and already making a positive impact on the global stage. The other, at the start of her journey. Her achievements to date, making it easier for any young girl who wants to pursue a career in motor sports. Despite their many differences, both wanted the opportunity to follow their dream.

Whilst the spotlight is on gender pay, and rightly so, it’s important that we continue to remove the other barriers that limit the opportunities for women and girls, preventing them from realising their dreams.

Please like, follow and keep in touch with us on twitter: @UoGEquality

Why not tweet us your choice of a current inspiring woman? We’d love to hear from you.