To All The Inspiring Women In My Life.

During my 8 years at university, I’ve been actively involved in outreach events, especially those catering for girls. Physics at work, Cambridge Science Festival, Making Materials Matter and Women in STEM carousels. There are several reasons for this. Having been the first Mauritian girl to have attended both Oxford and Cambridge universities, I always wondered why that was the case. There’s definitely been many women smarter than me before me. With Project Access for Refugees, I saw other kinds of barriers. Barriers to access education for girls are varied and dependent on a mix of cultural and economic factors that vary from girl to girl. But most importantly, the problem with female representation as we progress into the work place and up the ladder of career progression seems to persist.

The world is full of inspiring women whose passion, work and impact in their community encourage us to choose a specific field of study, follow a certain career path, and become economically empowered. But when I think of inspirational women, I do not only mean those who have achieved success in a leadership role, as great as these women often are. I also think of the women who have taught me about respect, compassion, honesty and humility and without knowing it made such an incredible difference to the lives of others. For me, this started with my amazing mum and my older sister from day one. The sass definitely comes from them too!

We all know how female role models can have a great influence in advancing women’s economic and personal empowerment. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I could make an impact, how can I help? While thinking about my female friends, of all ages, I realised that I am so lucky to be surrounded by very inspiring women! They are all passionate about either a goal or a career, and are going after it, unapologetically. And they are all very unique in the career path they chose, or the journey they picked to reach their goals. Some are training to be astronauts, others are professional athletes, scientists, doctors, teachers, journalists, venture capitalists, bankers, actuaries, founders of million dollars’ worth start-up, the list goes on. I’m always delighted to hear all the inspiring stories of chasing after their dreams, finding a way to make a more flexible lifestyle work for them, the tough days of the hustle and stopping at nothing to create a life they adore.

So, I have been thinking of creating a platform where I can have my friends on and they can share their stories. The best idea I came up with is, *drum rolls please*, a PODCAST! Full of passion, they’re sure to inspire and encourage others, just like they did for me. They might even ignite the fire in you to pursue your crazy big dreams! Because being alive in today’s age is awesome and we should all be encouraged to build a life we love! Watch this space for more information about the podcast, launching soon!