International Women's Day: Celebrating the female change-makers

Let’s just clear up one small thing before we proceed: we definitely don’t need to wait for a special day on the global calendar to celebrate awesome women. As a business, F4S is all about celebrating the uniqueness of every individual, which means we are privileged to have met tonnes of incredible women in our own journey - we’d need a whole year of International Women’s Days if we had to wait to talk about them all!

However, we do love getting behind such an inspiring event, so it was fitting for us to showcase some of the amazing change-makers that have made us all tingly inside. So, without further ado, we share with you the women who are driving change and shaking up the world in exciting ways:

Lisa Nichols: Entrepreneur and motivational speaker

Lisa Nichols’ life wasn’t always brimming with success and high-scale influence. At one point, she had just twelve dollars in her bank account and was fleeing domestic violence with her children in tow. She had hit rock bottom, but her motivation to rise with courage and carve out the life she wanted to live - that she knew she deserved - propelled her to fame, multi-million-dollar entrepreneurial success and legions of fans around the world, hanging on her every word.

As CEO of Motivating the Masses, Inc she has made it her mission to transform lives. She uses her experiences to motivate others, especially those men, women and teens who are struggling with seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them. Many have drawn inspiration and strength from her advice, using it to change their trajectory to one of happiness and success.

As the author of several best-selling books on personal development, winner of prestigious humanitarian awards and attracter of sell-out crowds at every speaking engagement, she is a powerful force for anyone dealing with the ‘impossible’.

Tiffany Yu: Founder, Diversability

Some things just need a sledgehammer taken to them with brute, unstoppable force. General perception of disabled folks is one of those things, and Tiffany Yu is smashing down the barriers with expert precision.

Her side hustle, Diversability, seeks to re-brand disability. Born from the experiences of her own disability following a childhood accident, she understood all too well the isolation, misconceptions and fear that many with disabilities face on a daily basis. Her mission is to empower by reshaping the perception of disabilities, uniting the community in celebration of their differences instead of perpetuating alienation.

Diversability organizes meetups and events for disabled people and their allies, as well as connects people with helpful services and support, all while showcasing the incredible things people are doing within the community. This hub is a powerful platform for effecting change and improving the quality of life and self-esteem of (often forgotten) members of humanity.

Hasina Kharbhih: Social worker and human rights activist

When you think about a problem as massive and dire as human trafficking, it’s hard to think that as an individual, you could have much of an impact on changing it.

Hasina Kharbhih didn’t let the intimidating scale stop her, she simply chipped away at transformation from the ground up. As a social worker, she saw the devastating effects of human trafficking on India’s most vulnerable. She sought to help those most at risk by empowering them with economic education and life-enhancing skills.

Her company, Impulse Social Enterprises, seeks to educate and support sustainable livelihoods for women and their children, thus lowering the risk of exposure to unsafe migration and trafficking. She has won several humanitarian awards in the course of her thirty-year quest to drive change and lift up those who need it most.

Natalie Hampton: Founder, Sit With Us

It’s no secret that high school can be a battlefield, especially for a student changing schools. When Natalie Hampton started seventh grade, she didn’t know anyone but made the effort to put herself out there and find a new friendship group. Instead, she was met with disdain, exclusion and eventually physical and verbal bullying. She ate her lunch alone for two years.

She developed anxiety and alarmingly, found no support from staff at the school - in a cruel twist, many ended up blaming her for her own isolation. She changed schools again, only this time she was met with a much friendlier cohort.

Her experiences led her to do what she could to ensure no child had to eat alone. In true youthful, innovative style, she designed the app Sit With Us. It empowers students to connect with and include each other, forming groups so no-one finds themselves alone at lunch. This heartfelt and deceptively simple solution is now used by thousands of students across eight different countries.

These strong, ridiculously clever women are championing change in so many critical areas. It is people like this who reshape our world and make it a better place.

International Women’s Day is held on March 8. For even more inspiration, take a look at our video on the future of leadership: