Celebrating the Women of the World – Chloe Wu, Croydon High School

The Friday began with a welcome talk, led by WOW’s director, Jude Kelly. She invited Verna Eggleston on stage who leads Bloomberg’s Philanthropies’ Women’s Economic Development Initiative. From the moment she stepped on stage, she was truly captivating. She moved with confidence and spoke with power. Her presence filled the auditorium with inspiration to rise above society’s expectations. She spoke of growing up as a black girl, having to face two barriers put in place by an unequal society: race and gender. Her passion when speaking was extraordinarily motivational. Eggleston undoubtedly encouraged young women, like myself, to use my gender as a motivational tool, rather than a burdening restriction. 

Following on from Verna Eggleston’s galvanising speech came former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. She discussed facing misogyny in politics and spoke of how she learned to stand out in a male-dominated field. Her speech on misogyny has become one of her most well known moments, yet she claimed to have made it up on the spot. She spoke of how the improvisation of it allowed her to speak from the heart. As the first, and only PM in Australian history, she clearly exemplified her role as an inspiring female leader.  

One of the students attending, Seren, said: “although I had not heard of some of the speakers before, they all grabbed my attention. It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to see so many wonderful women speak out.” The conference was teeming with people. It was an unmissable event. 

The final part of the morning included the speaker Laura Bates. She is the author of books such as ‘Everyday Sexism’. She continually uses her writing to provoke activism in others. Bates also spoke on sexism in politics. She highlighted the importance of our knowing that a large sum of our current government have been accused of sexual assault. Bates’ work is incredibly influential in educating the public on important matters that we must acknowledge. To have so many people in power who do not respect women is, without question, an issue.

 The WOW conference displayed a range of so many incredible women. Every person spoke confidently on issues that mattered to them. They all also inspired every attendee to hold the same care that they do. 

The power and passion shown by these women is what drives feminism. The WOW conference made it apparent that feminism is something that should be talked about openly. It also emphasised that young girls and women should be aware of misogyny to spark some of the same passion. As an all girls school, this trip was very motivating. We learned to call out misogyny, and to never be afraid simply because we are women. 

No matter what gender you are, the WOW conference can, and will, inspire everyone to rise above the challenges of society.