“I fight so that future generations will have the resources and assets they need to survive on the planet that’s being destroyed every day” — Miriam Miranda.

Today is International Women’s Day, an excellent opportunity to celebrate women, their contribution to society & address the issues that they face.

Throughout history, it has been noted that women have often stood at the forefront, led the marches, started the community groups, and really pushed to see us move towards a more sustainable way of living. Sadly, women are often left out of the decision making & this is a big problem considering the fact women & girls are disproportionately impacted by climate change. If we look at countries beyond the West, many women & girls are responsible for doing things like fetching water & fuel & we know the scarcity of these are decreasing due to the climate emergency.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #BreakTheBias an opportunity to discuss gender-based discrimination and how to dismantle it.

We would like to highlight five incredible women who are helping shape our future for the better.

Pamela EA

Pamela is a game-changer, a force to be reckoned with. Born in Mexico, Pamela’s dream is to see the world address climate change & gender inequality correctly. She started her journey documenting experiences through photography & her passion for climate justice grew from there.

Pamela is the founder of Be Someone, a co-founder of Latinas for Climate & a co-founder of Climate Words.

Orsola De Castro

Orsola is a dynamic upcyclist with genuine love and passion for the world of fashion. When we look at the fashion industry, most specifically focusing on fast fashion, we know that this area is causing issues with how we address climate change. With fast fashion being responsible for over 2.1 billion metric tons of GHG emissions in 2018, we know there isn’t a more crucial time to address our spending habits than now.

Orsola is the co-founder & creative director of Fashion Revolution, a sustainable fashion activism movement. They help people learn more about the industry, why they should challenge the system & provide advice on how to approach fashion more sustainably.

Leah Thomas

If passion was a person, it would be Leah Thomas! She wants to see us act; she wants to see more people play their part and explores motivations by drawing links between social justice & environmentalism. Leah understands the power of media, social media & giving people the resources they need. She founded a couple of eco-lifestyle blogs, including The Intersectional Environmentalist, a platform that highlights the intersectionality of sustainability & social justice & The Greens Girl co.

Leah has seen that specific communities don’t get a turn on the mic, and so she addresses these inequalities by uplifting people within these communities.

Luisa Neubauer

Organising marches, sharing climate-related news via her social media & just being a force in this space, Luisa wants to be an active part of the change. Luisa was part of the team that organised the Fridays For Future marches in Germany & regularly advocates for climate action at major global events.

Pippa Murray

Have you heard of Pip&Nut well? If you have, you may know of the founder, Pippa Murray. Assignment: Make climate action for foodies, and she did! Palm oil-free, refined sugar-free, these nut butters are helping us change the way we view food in the fight against climate change.

Food systems contribute a whopping 21% — 37% of GHG and contribute to deforestation, declining water tables & biodiversity loss, so we must address the way we view the role food plays in our fight against climate change.

Pippa is helping people do away with palm oil so they can satisfy their bellies whilst saving the planet.

We are delighted to have highlighted these awesome women! Remember, we must all play our parts to address the intersectionalities in this space. To address climate change properly, we have to pass the mic around. Women, youth, ethnic minorities, disabled people, LGBTQ people all need to have an input to solve this together.

Yayzy is here to help on this journey; we are a tool created by the people for the people.

‍