On the 30th of November, myself and my colleagues represented Lynn as we attended the UN Women Awards. The ceremony returned to London’s Old Bailey to celebrate the courageous people and institutions who have impacted the status quo of gender inequality both nationally and globally. We went excited, we left inspired.
‘We went excited, we left inspired.‘
It was an evening to remember filled with rousing stories, conversations, and performances. The president for the evening, however, was set with the Executive Director, Claire Barnett, and her opening speech:
“We live in the climate crisis where more than 80% of refugees related to that are women and girls. We are also living through conflicts that regularly expose women to the threat of sexual assault being used as a weapon of war”.
This struck a chord. Not only as a woman and a feminist, but as an employee at Lynn. The climate crisis is what Lynn Planet was created to combat, while Lynn’s Misinformation Cell focused on fighting Putin’s propaganda. To see these through the lens of equality offered a new perspective on the challenges we face.
The UN Women UK Awards had more information to offer. Later, data revealed that it will likely take nearly 300 years to achieve complete gender equality. There was also the fact that 80% of women in the UK had experienced sexual harassment in public.
The statistics are both overwhelming and invigorating. They upset and torment, but also energize; that night, every one of our team came away fizzing with new ideas of how we could make a difference in our work. Yes, the UN Women awards celebrated the positive progress women have made. But they also highlighted that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to build a more equal and safer society.
Ultimately, the UN Women UK Awards served as a crucial reminder that we can all have the power to shape a brighter future, and be part of change.
Visit the UN Women Award page here.
