International Women’s Day is more than a date on the calendar; it is a chance to pause, reflect, and celebrate the strength and diversity of women everywhere. It remains deeply relevant to women today, whether they identify as female, are trans or cis, non-binary, or gender-diverse. Across The Open University, students are coming together to celebrate the women who inspire them, sharing stories of courage, compassion, creativity, and resilience. This collaborative, student-led celebration reflects the power of shared voices and inclusive spaces.
All women – the everyday miracle workers
Nominated by Nicki Hadjipanteli
The picture of the woman I admire, you can see all around you, sitting opposite you in the office, shopping in the supermarket, at the school gates; all the women we meet every day, juggling life like an Hindu goddess with multiple arms. I admire many well-known women who have been recognised and celebrated in their own fields, but mostly I admire the everyday woman who juggles personal and professional life and gets no praise. The one who manages family life, tries their best for their children, cares for family members, volunteers in hospitals and old people’s homes, Open SU is not exempt, finds personal time to study, keeps relationships and friendships, and performs small miracles every day.
Lady Phyll – activist and writer
Nominated by Alex Thomas
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, known as Lady Phyll, is a British activist and writer best known for founding UK Black Pride in 2005 with other Black lesbian activists. The event was created because Black and minority-ethnic LGBTQ+ people were often under-represented and marginalised within mainstream Pride events.
The first UK Black Pride began as a small community trip to Southend-on-Sea, and it has grown into one of the largest celebrations for LGBTQ+ people of colour in the world. Each year, the event brings together thousands of people for performances, speakers, workshops and community stalls. UK Black Pride focuses on creating a welcoming and inclusive space, while also highlighting issues that affect LGBTQ+ communities of colour, including racism, inequality and access to support services.
Lady Phyll has become an influential voice in conversations about intersectionality, highlighting how race, sexuality, gender, and class interact to shape people’s experiences. She has spoken widely about the importance of recognising these overlapping identities when building an inclusive movement.
Alongside her work with UK Black Pride, Lady Phyll has contributed to several other LGBTQ+ organisations. She has worked with DIVA Magazine, which focuses on the lives and experiences of lesbian and queer women. Through this work, she has supported greater visibility for LGBTQ+ women and people of colour in media and community spaces. Lady Phyll has also served as the Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, an organisation that campaigns internationally for LGBTQ+ rights. Her work continues to emphasise the importance of creating spaces where everyone can feel seen and valued.
Professor Laura Lundy – children’s rights expert
Nominated by Nina Taylor
One of the women I admire is Professor Laura Lundy, who is a leading expert in international children’s rights. She is Professor Emerita at Queen’s University Belfast, and Professor of Law at University College Cork. In 2007, she wrote an article called “‘Voice’ is not enough: conceptualising Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. (British Educational Research Journal. 33 (6), 2007: 927–942), which is probably one of the most highly cited and influential papers on children’s rights, particularly the right to participate. The Lundy Model of Participation, which she created at the same time, can be seen below:
The model is a way of ensuring that children have a voice in decision-making, as guaranteed by Article 12 of the UNCRC.
I listened to Professor Lundy give a keynote speech at a conference last year, and she was certainly inspiring. And now, as I embark on planning my final project for my module, I will ensure that I pay attention to her work so that, whatever I decide to plan for my research proposal, I will try to embed her rights-based approach into it, so that any participatory research with children doesn’t become tokenistic.
Natalie Baker – Open SU President
Nominated by Scarlet James
One of the women who has inspired me most during my time at the Open University is our current Open SU President, Natalie Baker. Natalie played a pivotal role in encouraging me to step into Open SU volunteering at a time when I doubted my own confidence and voice. Her belief in me, alongside her patience and quiet reassurance, helped me realise that my experiences and my voice truly mattered.
What makes Natalie’s leadership especially powerful to me is that we both live with fibromyalgia. She understands, without explanation, the exhaustion, pain, and unpredictability that come with it. Yet despite this, she continues to show up fully for students, giving 100% of herself to advocating for under-represented voices with compassion, determination, and integrity.
Natalie’s down-to-earth nature, ease of company, and genuine kindness create spaces where people feel safe to speak honestly. Balancing the demands of the presidency alongside her master’s studies and health challenges, she inspires me to keep going on difficult days, to be kinder to myself, to push forward when I can, and to believe that perseverance, care, and empathy are powerful forms of leadership.
Katie Piper – activist, writer and presenter
Nominated by Danielle Cafearo
I really admire Katie Piper, not just for her strength, but for what she’s chosen to do with her experience. She went through something life-changing and incredibly traumatic, and instead of stepping away from the world, she stepped forward to change it.
My admiration is personal. A member of my family was severely burned and left disfigured as a child, and I saw how much isolation and ostracism they experienced as an adult, and it’s heartbreaking. When Katie founded the Katie Piper Foundation in 2009, with the aim of making sure no one living with burns or traumatic scarring feels alone, it really resonated with me.
For me, Katie represents resilience, compassion and real, practical change. Her work gives people not just rehabilitation but dignity, confidence, and a sense that they belong, and I’ve seen first-hand how important it truly is.
Rosie Jones – comedian, actress, writer, activist
Nominated by Alex Thomas
I was lucky enough to attend a queer disabled prom last year, which Rosie Jones hosted. It was the first time I had ever been to an event for disabled people. It wasn’t crowded; there was plenty of seating and quiet space. But this did not detract from the fun of the event; there were plenty of drinks and karaoke. As disabled people, we are sometimes treated like we are fragile, and like we wouldn’t enjoy a club environment, or that these spaces are inaccessible to us entirely. Rosie got on stage to introduce the event and the organisers, wearing a sharp suit, and spoke about the importance of the event. This wasn’t what made me write about her as someone I admire; what makes me admire her is that she partied. She showed me I could exert myself, dance, drink, and no one would wonder if I really needed the accommodations the venue had given me (I often need to reserve a seat at gigs and clubs) – no one would judge if I was ‘really’ disabled.
I’m also a fan of her comedy – both her stand-up and her TV show, Pushers. Comedy seems like a brutal place for anyone who is not a straight white man, and Rosie has had to contend with discrimination and harassment just for doing her job while having cerebral palsy and being a woman. I hear criticism that she’s not funny, but she got her start writing for TV. If you have laughed at 8 Out of Ten Cats Does Countdown or Would I Lie to You?, you have probably laughed at Rosie’s jokes.
There is often pressure for public figures to only be seen as one thing, as if you can’t be a lesbian and disabled. Rosie’s stand-up defies this, incorporating being a lesbian and having cerebral palsy, as she talks about her life and her experiences. But by sharing herself through comedy, we see the person behind the labels, something some of us may be doing for the first time when we see her perform. Roise also works to uplift other disabled people through her work with The Rosie Jones Foundation, her influence in the comedy scene, and her recent documentary on Channel 4.
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