Women of the year

Courageous, tenacious and determined to make a difference, these women were role models to look up to in 2019.

GRETA THUNBERG

Few people have captured worldwide attention in the way 16-year-old Greta Thunberg has. Since her solo protest outside Swedish parliament in August 2018, her tireless campaign for action against climate change has become a global movement. In March, an estimated 1.4m students in 112 countries joined Thunberg’s strike, now known as Fridays For Future. In May, she was on the cover of Time magazine and named a next-generation leader. In September, she addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York

(while her sea voyage to get there had us all enthralled). Thunberg is not without a sense of humour, too. When a sarcastic Donald Trump attempted to mock her by saying she seemed ‘a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future’, she retaliated by putting this very quote in her Twitter bio. Naturally, the internet went mad for it. Meanwhile, Thunberg has met with the likes of Barack Obama, was nominated for the Nobel

Peace Prize and has become the voice of a generation, proving that just as her book of speeches is titled, no one is too small to make a difference.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ Alexandria Ocasio-cortez worked as a waitress and bartender before she mounted a grassroots campaign in order to run for congress in 2018, and her everywoman aura quickly won over many hearts across the globe – and more than enough in the US to get her elected. This was widely touted as one of the greatest political upsets in recent American history. She assumed office on 3rd January 2019, and at 29 years old, was the youngest woman ever to do so. She has been making waves ever since, including already being the subject of an award-winning Netflix documentary, Knock Down The House, along with three other female politicians. A fearless feminist and ally to marginalised communities, Ocasio-cortez is known for standing for social justice and her heroic Twitter take-downs. She is unafraid to challenge the establishment and she’s only just getting started.

JOANNA CHERRY, LADY HALE AND GINA MILLER

When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his plans to prorogue parliament in September this year, outrage ensued from all corners of the country. But a trio of women stepped up, resolute on holding Johnson to account for what they deemed as undemocratic. QC and Scottish National Party MP Joanna Cherry rigorously petitioned for a judicial review. Legal campaigner Gina Miller continued her fight for democracy by challenging the prorogation in the High Court. And finally, Supreme Court president Lady Hale ruled the suspension of parliament as unlawful (and set off a fashion trend for brooches with her #Bigbroochenergy in the process).