New research shows women in the UK are turning to AI to help diagnose medical issues because their pain is being dismissed by doctors.

Nurofen’s fourth annual Gender Pain Gap Index reveals the scale of pain dismissal experienced by women across the UK and the devastating impact it has on their lives and their lack of trust in the healthcare system. When dismissed by doctors, women are turning to AI to seek out answers, risking their health and misdiagnoses.

The findings of the Gender Pain Gap Index show that:

• More than half (53%) of women feel their pain is ignored or dismissed - rising to 73% among 18–24-year-olds, compared to 40% of those over 55

• 74% of Black women and 65% of Asian women report being dismissed, compared to 51% of White women

• 94% of women who experienced dismissal say it had a negative impact on them

• Nearly half (46%) reported becoming reluctant to seek help again; more than a third (35%) said their trust in the medical system had been impacted, with 13% giving up seeking help entirely

With so many women not finding the support they need from doctors, sadly 3 in 4 (74%) have used unverified sources for answers, with 1 in 5 (21%) using AI tools like ChatGPT. This puts women’s health in danger with misinformation and unreliable sources.

Women are suffering because of medical misogyny and it’s time for the gender pain gap to be closed for good. One in six women experience severe pain every day, and are in more pain, more often than men according to the new research published. And one in two women believe their pain is ignored or dismissed because of their gender.

The new report states nearly three in five (57%) women say they felt dismissed by their GP (57%), with 67% of women feeling that they were dismissed by healthcare professionals (GPs, specialist consultants, and pharmacists) compared to 53% of men.

Penny East, CEO of the Fawcett Society, said: “The Gender Pain Gap is a long-standing equality issue affecting women and girls. When more than half of British women continue to feel their pain is dismissed and millions are resorting to unverified sources for health advice, we’re seeing a systemic problem at play. Having our pain minimised affects our wellbeing, our worth and our health outcomes.”

The UK government’s Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) warned women’s health is not being sufficiently prioritised in the Government’s system-wide NHS reforms, in March this year.

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Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Labour MP Sarah Owen said: “Our inquiry has shown that too many girls and young women are still being let down by a system that fails them at every stage, from the lack of access to a school nurse to dismissal in primary care, and they continue to face unnecessarily painful procedures in diagnosis of relatively common conditions. The Government’s response to the Committee’s 2024 ‘medical misogyny’ report was deeply disappointing, and as our new report sets out, the Committee is not convinced that the menstrual and gynaecological needs of young women and girls has been sufficiently prioritised in wider reforms to the healthcare system.”

In April 2026, former Health Minister Wes Streeting vowed to stop women being “gaslit” by doctors as he relaunched the women’s health strategy for England, saying, “[Women] have for so long been let down by a healthcare system that too often gaslights women, treating their pain as an inconvenience and their symptoms as an overreaction.”

“It’s clear the system is failing women. Women’s voices must be central to delivering effective, respectful and empathetic care. We need to hit medical misogyny where it hurts – the wallet. Today’s renewed strategy will tackle the issues women face every day and ensure no woman is left fighting to be heard.”

Penny East, CEO of the Fawcett Society, said: “The government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy is a welcome step, but policy must be met with action and wider societal change: we need everyone from the NHS to brands to employers to confront this issue and make improvements in the way women are supported. Nurofen’s Pain Pass is an example of a tool that provides women with practical support to communicate their pain. We need much more innovation and education throughout the health system; women are living with the daily consequences of not being heard.”

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We hear a lot about inclusivity from brands - but what happens when the marketing looks more inclusive than the actual product? That’s the question Stefanie Reid found herself asking after trying to …

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We hear a lot about inclusivity from brands - but what happens when the marketing looks more inclusive than the actual product? That’s the question Stefanie Reid found herself asking after trying to buy a pair of running shoes. Or more specifically, just one.

The Paralympian, broadcaster and executive coach - who lost her right leg below the knee as a teenager - shared her frustration at having to pay hundreds of pounds for two trainers when she only needed one. It sparked a much bigger conversation about accessibility, authenticity and whether brands are really designing for the people they claim to include.

In this issue of Take The Lead, we’re spotlighting some exciting news for women. A new non-invasive scan for endometriosis diagnosis has shown promising results in an early trial at the University of Oxford. We’re also celebrating Rachel Entrekin, who became the first woman ever to win the ‘Cocodona 250’ outright - a brutal 250-mile race across Arizona. She finished in a record-breaking 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds, smashing not only her own previous women’s record, but the men’s course record too.

We also caught up with Melanie C about the women from real life, history, and fiction who’ve inspired her for the first episode of My Female Leads. We especially loved her fictional hero. Meanwhile, at the British Academy Television Awards, disability advocate Tasha Ghouri encouraged people to make accessibility part of everyday thinking, not just an afterthought.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and let us know what you think!

The Female Lead Team

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We’re talking about…

🩻 A possible breakthrough for endometriosis diagnosis - A new non-invasive scan for endometriosis has shown promising results in an early trial at the University of Oxford. Researchers tested an experimental radiotracer called maraciclatide, which can “light up” endometriosis tissue during scans - potentially removing the need for diagnostic surgery.

Women in England currently wait an average of more than nine years for a diagnosis. Researchers say the breakthrough could dramatically speed up access to answers, treatment, and support for millions of women living with pain.

🏃‍♀️ A woman has won one of the world’s toughest ultramarathons outright - Rachel Entrekin has become the first woman to win the Cocodona 250 overall, beating the entire field in a record-breaking time of 56 hours, 9 minutes, and 48 seconds.

The 250-mile race across Arizona is considered one of the toughest endurance events in the world. Rachel smashed the previous course record by more than two hours, despite powering through on minimal sleep and stopping along the way to pet dogs.

Inspire me…

Stefanie Reid MBE doesn’t call herself a disability campaigner. In fact, she actively resists the label.

“I think there’s a big issue as soon as you start segmenting the population into people with disabilities and people without,” she tells The Female Lead. “What I advocate for is every single person being able to find themselves existing in an environment that allows them to reach their full potential.”

Read the full article here

Final thought…

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Stefanie Reid MBE doesn’t call herself a disability campaigner. In fact, she actively resists the label.

“I think there’s a big issue as soon as you start segmenting the population into people with disabilities and people without,” she tells The Female Lead. “What I advocate for is every single person being able to find themselves existing in an environment that allows them to reach their full potential.”

That distinction matters. Because Stef - paralympian, broadcaster, keynote speaker and executive coach - isn’t interested in rage for rage’s sake. She’s interested in solutions.

The former Paralympic sprinter and long jumper, who lost her right leg in a boating accident just before her 16th birthday, took up recreational running after retiring from elite sport. While searching online for a new pair of high-performance trainers in early 2024, Stef hit a familiar frustration: she only needs one running shoe.

“The Nike trainers I was recommended by friends at parkrun were between £200 and £250,” she says. “It’s not that I’m opposed to funding my hobby, but it’s so frustrating when I’m literally going to throw half of this away.”

Then Stef remembered Nike had displayed their running gear on amputee mannequins with a running blade like hers. “It was so cool to see the inclusivity. My sister sent me photos of models with a blade like mine in a store in America and a friend spotted it in Nike’s London store a month later,” Stef says. “Obviously, somebody in that store had to dress that model with one shoe and they would have realised there’s one shoe leftover.”

So she contacted Nike to ask whether she could buy a single shoe or receive a discount. The answer was no.

“At one point they offered me a one-time 15% discount,” Stef says. “And I was like, ‘That’s great, but I’m still going to have this problem for the rest of my life’.”

What happened next resonated far beyond the disability community. Stef shared her experience online and the post exploded.

“It wasn’t actually primarily people with disabilities reposting,” she explains. “It was an entire population of people who wanted authenticity from brands. They want companies to live out their values.”

That point feels particularly powerful in an era where inclusivity is often used as a marketing strategy. Stef’s criticism was never about “calling out” one company for the sake of it, it was about asking whether representation means anything if systems don’t change alongside the marketing.

“I specifically targeted brands who were using amputee runners in their ads,” she says. “Your marketing has to match your actual practices in life.”

Nike later reached out privately to Stef and had “really productive conversations” with her. “I firmly believe when things like this happen, it’s not because somebody was sitting in a room thinking, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ They just didn’t think about it,” she adds.

That’s where Adidas entered the story.

Following renewed media attention around Stef’s campaign, the sportswear giant quietly contacted her in early 2026. “They said, ‘We don’t want anything from you. We just want to tell you what we’ve done and get your input’,” she recalls. “It was this really lovely, humble conversation.”

Adidas had introduced a single-shoe service for amputees without launching a huge marketing campaign around it. “They said, ‘We know it’s not perfect, but we’d rather try.’”

So Stef decided to test it herself. Quietly. She visited an Adidas store in London as a regular customer. What happened next is the kind of story that changes industries because of how simple it is.

“I went to the till and asked for the single-shoe service,” she says. “And the staff member’s face lit up. She said, ‘This is so exciting, I was just trained on this two weeks ago and this is the first time I get to use the code’.”

“That was the thing that impressed me most,” Stef explains. “They’d actually gone through and done this properly. I do love that Adidas was paying attention.”

The interaction itself stayed with her too.

“She stumbled over her words a little bit and said, ‘I’m really sorry, I don’t know how to ask this properly, but I need to make sure I’m putting the right shoe in the box.’ And I was like, ‘Yes, that is a very important question, ask away’.”

Stef walked out carrying one trainer. “It really was that simple.”

But the bigger issue Stef raises goes far beyond amputees.

“More than half of the adult population has feet that aren’t the same size,” she points out. “For most people it’s fine, they go half a size up and get away with it. But for a lot of people it’s more than that. You’re either buying two sets of shoes or wearing shoes that don’t fit.”

To her, this is about rethinking the entire fashion industry’s relationship with bodies, accessibility and sustainability.

“Nobody’s body fits this one standard,” she says. “And yet that is what the entire fashion industry is based on, a concept that simply isn’t correct. But consumers think, ‘If you’re going to treat everyone with respect, you’re probably going to treat me well too’.”

It’s impossible not to connect this mindset to Stef’s boat accident as a teenager. Her life was saved by a surgeon in Toronto, Canada who amputated her right leg below the knee. Surviving the trauma changed her perspective entirely.

“I spent a significant portion of my life in the able-bodied world and gave very little thought to people with disabilities,” Stef says. “I think of my life in terms of ‘before’ and ‘after my accident’. I realised life is fragile. You face death and it changes your perspective on everything. I emerged as a very different person because my priorities changed. It’s life altering and life affirming. But I could have lost every limb on my body and I still would have been me - competitive.”

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The experience transformed Stef’s relationship with risk and failure. “The worst has happened,” she says simply. “So this can’t be so bad. Let’s just try it.”

It’s now the philosophy behind her Hail Mary Friday Club, where people challenge themselves to do something bold every week.

“Every Friday you do something you’d usually consider too bold or audacious for yourself. They usually don’t work out but that’s not the point. It’s just like inoculating yourself to failure. My accident was super unfortunate. But you realise that at rock bottom there’s actually quite a lot of power,” Stef says. “Because you don’t have anything to lose.”

Stef’s message isn’t about striving for perfection. It’s about building systems that make everyone feel seen.

And sometimes, that starts with something as ordinary as buying a pair of trainers - or just the one you need.

Learn more about Stef and the Hail Mary Friday Club here.

If you’ve ever taken a river boat along the Thames and passed under Waterloo Bridge, you might have heard it called the Ladies Bridge. And if you haven’t, consider this your heads-up.

The nickname has been floating around for years, passed on by river boat tour guides. For a long time, it sounded like one of those stories that’s nice if it’s true. It turns out, it is.

By the 1930s, a century after it officially opened, Waterloo Bridge was falling apart. A rebuild was already in motion when construction began in 1939 - right as the Second World War broke out. As men were sent to fight, Britain was left with a labour shortage that reached into every industry, including construction, and women stepped in.

Women’s contribution to the war effort is often told through familiar images - factory lines, uniforms, the “we can do it” poster in the US. (Although, fun fact: “We Can Do It!” wasn’t widely seen during World War II. It was actually an internal Westinghouse image, shown only in February 1943 to encourage existing female employees to work harder - not to recruit women. It was only rediscovered in the early 1980s and later became widely reproduced)

Even Queen Elizabeth II trained as a mechanic and driver with the Auxiliary Territorial Service. But what tends to get less attention is the scale of women’s work in places like building sites.

By 1944, around 25,000 women were working in construction across the UK. On Waterloo Bridge, it’s now believed that up to 65% of the workforce were women. They were doing skilled, physical, technical labour - lifting, welding, assembling - the kind of work they’d long been excluded from.

And yet, when the bridge reopened in 1945, there was no mention of them.

A mix of wartime censorship and incomplete records meant their contribution was barely documented. Without official recognition, the story started to slip. Over time, it became something closer to myth - kept alive more by word of mouth than by anything written down.

It stayed that way until the early 2000s, when historian Christine Wall began looking into it. Alongside filmmakers Karen Livesey and Jo Wiser, she went digging through archives. At the National Science and Media Museum, they found photographs that had been overlooked for decades - including images of women dismantling the original bridge, and a welder known only as Dorothy working in the final years of construction.

They also tracked down testimonies from families of workers, confirming what the nickname had hinted at all along: women made up a significant part of the workforce.

In 2015, the bridge was re-listed, this time acknowledging their role.

The wider context makes that story feel less surprising. During the war, women’s employment rose sharply - from around 5.1 million in 1939 to over 7.25 million by 1943. Nearly half of all women of working age were employed or in national service. Among single women aged 18 to 40, it was closer to 90%.

They became mechanics, engineers, munitions workers, air raid wardens, bus drivers and fire engine drivers. More than 640,000 served in the armed forces through organisations like the ATS, WRNS and WAAF. Elsewhere, over 80,000 joined the Women’s Land Army, working long hours in tough conditions to keep the country fed.

Because women were moving into skilled roles that had previously been closed to them, it forced conversations about equal pay and status. Some limited agreements on equal pay were introduced, but they were narrow and often avoided. On average, women still earned just over half of what men did.

At the same time, Britain had to respond to a new reality. With more women working, childcare became a national issue. Wartime nurseries expanded rapidly, though they were always seen as temporary. The expectation that women would return to domestic life never fully went away.

And after the war, many did - not always by choice. As men returned, women were pushed out of jobs in large numbers. Despite wanting to stay in employment, most lost the economic independence they had gained.

The Ladies Bridge is more than infrastructure - it’s a record of a moment when the workforce shifted dramatically. There’s still an ongoing campaign, supported by the Women’s Engineering Society, to install a blue plaque on the bridge to honour the women who built it.

When you zoom out, the gap between contribution and recognition is hard to ignore. Across both the UK and the US, there are still fewer than ten women-only memorials dedicated to the Second World War. In Britain, the most prominent is the Monument to the Women of World War II on Whitehall, unveiled in 2005 - the same year Waterloo Bridge’s story was formally acknowledged.

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The news cycle? Still fairly bleak. Longer days can’t fix everything - but they do help. And alongside all of that, women - as always - have been getting on with doing remarkable things across space, sport, environmental activism, art, healthcare and human rights.

Consider it our job to make sure you hear about the very best good news stories from the past month.

One giant leap for women

On 1 April, Christina Koch quite literally reached new heights. As a mission specialist on Artemis II, she became the first woman to fly around the moon, joining a four-person crew on a 10-day journey from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It marks the first time in over 50 years that humans have returned to the moon’s orbit.

Koch, an engineer and physicist, already holds the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, and previously took part in the first all-female spacewalks. In a field where nearly 90% of astronauts have historically been men, her presence is reshaping what leadership in STEM looks like. As she put it: an “incredible privilege and responsibility”.

You can read more about the women involved in the mission here.

A clean sweep for women saving the planet

For the first time ever, all of the Goldman Environmental Prize (often dubbed the “Green Nobel”) winners were women.

• Iroro Tanshi (Nigeria) – Protected endangered bats and their habitat in Afi Mountain by leading community efforts to prevent destructive wildfires.

• Borim Kim (South Korea) – Led the first successful youth climate court case in Asia, forcing the government to strengthen its emissions targets.

• Sarah Finch (UK) – Won a landmark Supreme Court case requiring the climate impact of fossil fuels to be considered in planning decisions.

• Theonila Roka Matbob (Papua New Guinea) – Pressured mining giant Rio Tinto to take responsibility for environmental damage caused by the Panguna mine.

• Alannah Acaq Hurley (United States) – Helped stop a major open-pit mining project in Alaska, protecting land and ecosystems.

• Yuvelis Morales Blanco (Colombia) – Mobilised her community to successfully halt fracking projects along the Magdalena River.

The six winners, representing regions from all over the world, were recognised for grassroots environmental work that ranges from land protection to fighting industrial pollution. Each receives $200,000, but most importantly, global visibility.

Since its founding, the prize has honoured 233 defenders across 98 countries.

Abortion decriminalised

In England and Wales, a significant legal shift took place. The Crime and Policing Bill 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April, meaning women will no longer face criminal prosecution for ending their own pregnancies.

This doesn’t change when or how abortions are legally available. What it does do is remove women from a criminal framework that, until now, meant potential investigation, charges, and even life imprisonment under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

It sends women in the UK a clear message that abortion is healthcare, not a crime.

Afghan Women United can return to competition

In football, FIFA made a quietly radical move. Afghan women’s refugee players - many of whom fled after the Taliban regained power in 2021 - have been officially recognised as a national team, without needing approval from the Taliban.

The team, known as Afghan Women United, is made up of players now living across Australia, Europe and the Middle East. It’s part of a wider FIFA strategy to support Afghan women in sport, including advocacy and access to play.

Given that the original national team was effectively erased, this is more than administrative - it’s a way of restoring identity, visibility and the right to compete.

Women’s rugby won’t slow down

Women’s rugby is officially the fastest-growing team sport in the world. Around 2.7 million women and girls now play globally, up from just 200,000 in the early 2000s, with a surge in new fans helping to reshape a younger, more balanced audience.

In Scotland, that rise was marked in a very literal way. Claire Luxton unveiled Now We Arrive, a 2,228 square metre artwork spanning the pitch at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, during a Women’s Six Nations match that drew a record-breaking crowd of over 30,000 - the largest ever for a women’s sporting event in Scotland.

Commissioned by Skyscanner for Scottish Rugby, and supported by UN Women, the piece takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic Ruighinn, meaning “arrival” - which, at this point, feels about right.

Watch the video on Claire’s Instagram

Better information, safer pregnancies

Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, has launched the Pregnancy Health Information Questionnaire, aiming to understand how clearly and effectively pregnancy advice is actually reaching people.

Because knowing your body is one thing - having the right information at the right time is another. The survey looks at how women access and understand health guidance, where gaps exist, and how communication can improve.

It’s open to anyone currently pregnant or who has been in the last three years, including those who’ve experienced baby loss. Tommy’s goal is to ensure that important health information is not only evidence based, but also clear, consistent and available at the right moment.

If you needed a reminder that good things are still happening - and that women are behind so many of them - consider this it. Share this with your friends, your group chats, your mum. Everyone could do with a bit more good news.

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And if you’ve got stories of your own - from your community, your industry, or anywhere in the world - send them our way. We might include them in next month’s round-up. Because while news headlines tend to amplify the worst, we’re just as committed to documenting the better.

As The Devil Wears Prada sequel, which has been 20 years in the making, finally hits cinemas, it lays bare just how much the magazine industry has changed in the decades since the glory days of magazines in 2006 when I was taking my first steps as a journalist in the media.

When the first film came out, I was starting out in magazines and ironically shared the name of the protagonist Andrea (Andy Sachs - played by Anne Hathaway) much to my friends’ amusement. Like her, I had just done a stint at Conde Nast (Features Writer at Glamour Magazine). It was the days of huge budget shoots, bottomless expense accounts, dressing in sky high heels and evening-worthy designer dresses to the office, and parties every night of the week. It was also a time before social media, when magazines were the gatekeepers of all that was glamorous and exclusive.

Like Andy though, I craved the world of investigative journalism. I left Conde Nast to work on features and investigative reporting for the Daily Mail, Sunday Times and Grazia, even dipping my feet into some undercover reporting for Channel 4 and ITV before returning to magazines when I landed my dream job as Features Director at Marie Claire.

In the new film, we catch up with Andy who has lived out her dream as a ‘serious journalist’ in newspapers and - without any spoilers! - suddenly finds herself back in the world of magazines as Features Editor on the legendary glossy Runway. The film neatly spotlights a world that has been turned upside down by the demise of print (and advertising) and rise of digital, social media and AI. We watch as Miranda Priestly and her team struggle to navigate the sweeping changes within the world they once ruled.

As someone who has spent over two decades in the industry and most recently 6 years as editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, I’ve seen all this all play out in real time and yet, it’s still a world I love. After all, where could you jet off to Paris for Couture Fashion week one day and be at a Downing Street reception with the Prime Minister talking about gender equality the next? So if you’re still keen to break into publishing, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way...

Hone your personal voice

We live in a world with relentless digital noise. Your unique perspective is your superpower. Be bold enough to speak up and express your own point of view. Have you had an unconventional background? Are you the only person who looks like you in your team? Use that lens on the world to your advantage and write or speak from a place that feels authentic and genuinely yours. This is your personal brand.

Build your network

You cannot climb the ladder alone. Build a network of like-minded women cheerleaders via social media and IRL who have your back. These women will be your sounding board when things get tough and help you navigate the big decisions that will obviously come your way. If you can, also find a mentor or role model who can help you identify what sort of leader you want to be in five or 10 years time. They don’t even need to be from the same industry - mine was an influential black woman I met in my twenties from the banking world, but she gave me so many useful lessons about how to move through the corporate world boldly yet gracefully as a leader.

Do scary things

Some of the best moments in my life have come from saying yes to things that terrify me: speaking on a live TV politics show, interviewing the Prime Minister, accepting a new job I didn’t feel 100% ready for. These wonderful moments are where the growth is, so seize them. Regularly challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone and see what happens. You’re capable of more than you think.

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Be prepared to compromise

Don’t get hung up too early on the ‘dream’ publication or role. I always wanted to work at Marie Claire but did a total of five jobs at different publications before I got there and learned so much from each one of them. A goal is great, but side-stepping into unanticipated roles along the way is a great opportunity to experience new working environments and learn new skills, which will ultimately make you better at the job you want when you get there.

Build resilience

You need a thick skin to survive in this industry. Make your peace with being rejected for jobs or pitches and don’t take it personally if your work is criticised. I’ve interviewed countless highly successful women, from actors to entrepreneurs, throughout my career and all of them have credited best learnings to their ‘failures’. The ability to learn from and thrive after setbacks is what being successful in any career is all about.

Stay curious

It’s easy (and lazy) to rely on the same handful of news sources, platforms or accounts. To stay informed and ahead of trends you need to be consuming a wide range of content. Not just the outlets whose opinions you agree with, but those you vehemently disagree with too.

Be disciplined

Creativity is nothing without preparation and discipline. Do your research, prepare thoroughly and stick to deadlines. If you have a big interview, meeting or event, over preparation is key. I always find my nerves dissipate before something I’m scared of doing if I’m confident I’ve done the best job of preparing first.

Look after your health

We work in a demanding deadline-driven industry where an element of stress is part of life. Find something away from the day job that keeps you healthy and focussed. I’m a passionate runner and have always started my work day with a run or work out. It sets me up with a positive mindset for the day and is often the time when I get my best ideas.

Follow Andrea on Instagram here.

Living with Tourette’s Syndrome is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me. I am a mixed race, disabled teenager and none of those things have held me back. If anything, they have shaped me into someone determined to be seen, heard, and unapologetically powerful.

Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder defined by involuntary motor and vocal tics. I know that definition by heart. I was diagnosed with severe TS at 14, but I had already been living it. The best way I can describe it is like a sneeze - impossible to stop. Suppressing it feels like trapping pressure inside your chest until it burns.

I remember when I was 13 during a maths exam, I had a cold and needed to cough but I tried to hold it in, very aware of the silent hall. That pressure built until it exploded into my first tic attack. I slammed my hands and head against the desk. I don’t remember leaving the exam, but I remember going home and losing control - blinking, whistling, hitting my head against the wall. It was terrifying.

Then I had to give up a lot of things including swimming - something I loved, something that grounded me. Losing it felt like losing part of myself. These moments forced me to confront a reality I didn’t understand and couldn’t control. That is why Tourette’s can feel like the worst thing: because you are constantly learning how to exist in a body that doesn’t always listen to you.

But Tourette’s is also the best thing that has happened to me - because it gave me purpose.

It pushed me toward filmmaking, toward storytelling, toward creating spaces where difference is not hidden but celebrated. I don’t want people to just understand Tourette’s - I want them to understand people. All people. It is also freeing in the weirdest way possible as I don’t have the option to be anything but myself. There is no “perfect,” polished version of me to hide behind. Tourette’s strips that away. It forces me to be myself, unapologetically, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when I wish I could disappear into silence.

And somehow, in that lack of control, I found a different kind of control - the choice to own it.

I’m now 17 and have turned my experience into action. I wrote Tic, Tic, Boom, a story about a girl who sees her Tourette’s as a superpower. Writing it helped me process my diagnosis, but more importantly, it gave me a way to reach others. I am also developing a documentary, Tic by Tic, where people with Tourette’s can share their stories in their own voices. In the hopes of filming it soon I want to reach a global audience to help educate others on the condition and create a comforting and supportive community.

If you’re living with Tourette’s - or anything that makes you feel different - my advice is this: don’t make yourself smaller to make others comfortable. You are not the problem. Having a disability isn’t the problem but the way people treat you is.

You will spend so much time thinking, “What if people stare? What if I tic? What if I’m too much?” But the truth is, people will stare sometimes. You might tic a lot. And yes, you might be “too much” for some people - but you will be exactly enough for the right ones.

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It’s easy to say, “You shouldn’t care what others think,” but in reality, that’s one of the hardest things to do. So start small - care less. Choose one moment where you don’t shrink yourself. Then another.

Use what makes you different. Don’t hide it - shape it into something. Whether that’s art, film, writing, sport, or simply existing loudly in your own space, let it become yours.

Also, find your people. Even if it’s just one person who understands, that connection matters more than fitting into a crowd that never tried to understand you anyway.

I’m determined to educate as many people as possible. It’s not always a great conversation starter insulting someone or calling someone a “bitch”. But it allows me to say, “I’m sorry for calling you that but this is why”. That’s my way of starting a conversation - making people aware of it so it doesn’t come as a surprise and people know from the beginning but don’t feel obliged to do it. That’s just me.

Sometimes people are cruel, unjustified and rude because they are either uneducated, insecure or just miserable. So I will take a page out of my own book and - in my head, of course - stick a middle finger up to them. I don’t believe we should ever apologise for something you cannot control. You don’t see them apologising for something they can.

An example of this is the 2026 BAFTAs where John Davidson ticced a racial slur as Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the first prize of the ceremony. That whole situation made me realise how the media and society treats disability and how powerless it made me feel. It fuelled me to advocate more than ever.

For anyone else living with Tourette’s I say this: You are not behind. You are not broken. You are building something different - and that takes strength most people will never have to find. You are fighting a battle no one else can imagine going through because they aren’t living your experience so don’t compare yourself to others whose challenges are different to yours.

Tourette’s is my biggest challenge and my greatest strength, equally a curse and a blessing. Yes, I swear a lot, and I’m weird even without my tics. So I will embrace every bit of myself no matter how hard it is. And I will keep using it - through film, through storytelling, through visibility - until no one with Tourette’s, or any difference, ever feels as alone as I once did.

You can follow Lucy on Instagram here.

Stress has an insidious way of creeping up on us, like a cloud covering the sun, and before we know it, we have tipped from perhaps low stress levels into complete and utter overwhelm and even burnout if we don’t notice and act fast to change things.

And it’s more common than you think - research shows 85% of us experience stress at some point and 63% at least on a weekly basis, with women 10% more likely to experience stress than men daily. In 2026, research shows 66% of women experience stress at least weekly.

If you are tired of feeling stressed out then Dr Radha Modgil has 7 ways to tackle it.

Read the full article below.

Welcome back to Take The Lead, the fortnightly newsletter from The Female Lead.

Here’s a roundup of the articles you loved this month.

Christina Koch made history at the beginning of April as mission specialist on NASA’s Artemis II mission as she took off with her fellow astronauts to become the first woman to fly around the moon. Historically, nearly 90% of astronauts have been men so Christina’s role as a leader in STEM is crucial for inspiring young women and girls.

The sell-out play John Proctor Is the Villain, now set to return to the West End in 2027, follows a group of teenage girls in a 2018 Georgia classroom as #MeToo reshapes how they see The Crucible - and their own lives. What begins as literary analysis turns into a sharp, funny, and devastating look at power while keeping teenage girls - and their experiences - firmly at its centre.

Years ago, Jaqui Rhule-Dagher believed that coming out would “ruin her career” as one of the few Black employees at her firm, and she did not want to add her sexuality to the mix. Now out at work, she says LGBTQ+ visibility in law is still limited, with few senior role models, and founded Legally Queerly in 2023 to amplify queer voices across the profession.

Research shows that women are less likely to receive life-saving CPR in a cardiac arrest, with a third of UK women not given any help before emergency crews arrive. Studies also suggest hesitation plays a role, with many bystanders worried about touching a woman’s chest or using a defibrillator, despite the fact that immediate action is critical in those first minutes after collapse.

And pregnancy and baby charity Tommy’s has launched a Pregnancy Health Information Questionnaire to understand how pregnancy health information is shared across the UK and whether it’s reaching people when they need it most, with findings set to improve future guidance. Participants can also enter a £250 voucher prize draw.

Enjoy this issue, share it if you like it, and reply directly to let us know what you think.

You can also catch up on our most recent full newsletter here.

The Female Lead Team

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The Female Lead is a charity on a mission to empower women.

In the last 8 years, we have given access to books and teaching materials to 2.5 million students in 25,000 schools around the world. We carry out research that reframes our understanding of women’s experience, such as our Fulfilment Finder survey which reveals what matters most to women at different life stages. It has now been completed by 150,000 women globally.

We can’t run the charity without your support.

For just £3.50 a month or £25 a year, you can make a huge difference.

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Stress has an insidious way of creeping up on us, like a cloud covering the sun, and before we know it, we have tipped from perhaps low stress levels into complete and utter overwhelm and even burnou…

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By Dr Radha Modgil

If you haven’t heard the Twenty One Pilots track Stressed Out, then take a listen - it encapsulates feeling completely overwhelmed and the longing to return to a time when we felt a bit freer. It’s the perfect track to put on your playlist during April’s Stress Awareness Month.

Stress has an insidious way of creeping up on us, like a cloud covering the sun, and before we know it, we have tipped from perhaps low stress levels into complete and utter overwhelm and even burnout if we don’t notice and act fast to change things.

And it’s more common than you think - research shows 85% of us experience stress at some point and 63% at least on a weekly basis, with women 10% more likely to experience stress than men daily. In 2026, research shows 66% of women experience stress at least weekly.

Stress, in itself, is not the problem. It’s actually a normal physiological response to a threat.

Back in the days when we were at risk of being attacked by wild animals our ‘stress response’ was absolutely on point. And even today, if we are in acute danger, our bodies go into a made to measure ‘fight or flight ‘mode and we have a surge of adrenaline and cortisol (our stress hormone) that allow us to either tackle the threat or to evade it. When the perceived danger has passed, these chemicals and hormones go back to their baseline normal levels.

The problem is that we can fall into the trap of perceiving all kinds of things that make us feel threatened psychologically or emotionally, rather than being in actual physical danger. These ‘mis-triggers’ are things we might frequently encounter in all of our life zones: work pressure, moving home, family disputes, financial worries, relationship breakdown, friendship conflicts, bereavement or illness.

Even with these everyday triggers, stress can actually be useful in small, short doses because adrenaline and cortisol can help us perform better, be more productive and make us more motivated to take action and solve problems.

The issue comes when it’s chronic with no resolution, excessive in amount and pervasive in nature. In addition, it has a damaging impact on us physically, mentally and emotionally when we don’t notice it, ignore it, or don’t try to reduce it.

Chronic stress keeps cortisol and adrenaline persistently high and that impacts our bodies and brains in all kinds of ways. We’re then at higher risk of mental health impacts: anxiety, depression, irritability, memory issues, poor decisions, difficulty concentrating and insomnia. It also contributes to a higher risk of physical health problems: high blood pressure, weakened immunity, digestive issues, muscular tension and weight gain. And finally, there’s a higher risk of relationship breakdown, of isolating yourself, using things like alcohol or smoking to ‘escape’ how we feel and of neglecting self-care.

If you are tired of feeling stressed out then here are my 7 ways to tackle it:

Acknowledge your stress

It’s all too tempting to just carry on because we are busy and because we just ‘haven’t got the time’ to deal with it. Avoid going into denial. Are people noticing you’re getting more irritable? Are you finding it difficult to relax? Are you sleeping badly? Have you started getting tension in your shoulders or jaw? Have you stopped going for that regular coffee with a friend or to that gym class that makes you feel better? Name it because when we do, we can then take control of it. Stop, take a breath and tell the people around you who love you what is going on.

Identify the cause

Often, we can pinpoint the problems in our lives that are making us feel so stressed, but sometimes it is not always so easy. Write down what is happening right now in each zone of your life and score how you are feeling in each. This can give you some clues. If it’s still tricky then ask a close friend to talk things through with you. It can be helpful when you have written the things that are making you worry, to list them in order of impact out of 10. You can then tackle maybe a combination of lower scoring issues, or alternatively one high scoring problem, depending on how easy they are to tackle. Be honest about what is causing you to feel stressed; people, situations, relationships, work. No one and no thing should be pushed away just because there is some fear in naming them.

Set boundaries

Before we can move into problem solving, we need to create some space and energy from somewhere - not easy when we are so worn down and tired. One way to do this is to set some boundaries. Start saying ‘no’ to things - other people’s demands and activities that are taking away unnecessary energy and time. Look at your day, week and month ahead in advance and start freeing things up in your diary. Only plan to do a certain number of things in any week, and only go to a certain number of locations in one day. Prioritise the time you go to bed and how much sleep you will have. These things will give you enough reserve to start the next step.

Problem solve

Some things can improve and it’s helpful to put your energy into what you can control and what you can change. Avoid metaphorically banging your head against a brick wall trying to change people, things and situations that are out of your control. Break down the problem into smaller issues and next to each one write down some ideas you could take, or actions you could delegate to someone else to support you with. Begin small, but be determined and persistent because once you start seeing progress and improvement, you will feel less stressed and much more motivated to keep going.

Related articles

Find your strategies

We all have certain things that make us feel less stressed; what are your top three go-to strategies? Science shows moving our bodies helps by releasing dopamine and serotonin which boost our mood; meditation and mindfulness help us relax; deep breathing activates our parasympathetic nervous system which reduces stress; being out in nature lifts our mood;, and eating well, sleeping well and reducing screen time can also support us. You might find music, art, crafting, baking, gardening, writing, films, books and hobbies help. And don’t forget to laugh, see people who make you feel good and hugs help too. List your strategies and use them regularly.

Accept life can be stressful at times

There are challenges in life that we cannot change and that we have to accept or we just remain stressed our whole lives. We cannot control other people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We cannot control certain sudden life events. We cannot control world events. In fact, when you think about it, the only thing we can control is ourselves - our thoughts, our feelings and our actions. This realisation can sometimes bring a huge sense of relief. You can drop the other stuff because it is not yours to hold. Acceptance of some of the stress-inducing stuff actually helps to reduce the stress itself.

Walk away

It is not always possible, but if you can walk away, then do so. We sometimes believe we have to struggle through problems, that we are trapped and not allowed to say ‘no more’. But, we can. Each of us deserves peace of mind, love, respect, good health and to put ourselves first. What is the alternative? When you next feel stressed, remind yourself that you are important too, and decide that even if the problem is not going away, maybe you either walk away - literally or mentally.

Dr Radha Modgil is an award-winning medical doctor and GP, TV presenter and author of Know Your Power: Inspiration, Motivation and Practical Tools For Life. You can read more about her here drradha.co.uk and follow her on Instagram.

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You know your own body best during pregnancy. But knowing when something might be wrong depends on having high quality, clear information at the right time.

When pregnancy health information is clear, timely and evidence based, it helps women make informed decisions, recognise potential risks earlier, and seek care when it is needed. In turn, this can help support safer outcomes for both parent and baby.

That is the focus of a new initiative from Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, which has launched the Pregnancy Health Information Questionnaire to better understand how key pregnancy health messages are shared across the UK, and whether they are reaching people when they are most needed.

The survey will explore how pregnancy health information is accessed, how well it is understood, and whether women and birthing people feel they have received enough guidance to support a healthy pregnancy. It also aims to highlight gaps in communication, with the findings set to inform how future messaging is developed, targeted and delivered.

Tommy’s goal is to ensure that important health information is not only evidence based, but also clear, consistent and available at the right moment. By running the questionnaire regularly, the charity also hopes to track progress over time and build a stronger evidence base on what makes pregnancy information effective.

Women and birthing people who are currently pregnant or who have been pregnant in the last three years are invited to take part, including those who have experienced baby loss.

Take part in the Pregnancy Health Information Questionnaire and share your experience to help ensure everyone has the information they need, when they need it.

Participants will also be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 Mamas & Papas voucher or a shopping voucher as a thank you.

By Jaqui Rhule-Dagher, Lawyer and Founder of Legally Queerly

I am at a Pride lunch under the guise of being an ally. The event is being held by the law firm where I work. Feeling nervous, I try to stay calm and composed. But no sooner has the food been placed on my plate, than I leap up. Fleeing the room, I rip off my rainbow lanyard and discard it in a nearby plant pot.

Why the extreme reaction? Although nobody has explicitly said to me, “If you come out it will ruin your career”, I am already hyper aware that I am one of the few Black people at my firm. I don’t want to add my sexuality to the mix too.

Flash forward to today, more than a decade later, and I am now proudly out at work. But the journey to get here has not been easy. The reality is that there are not huge numbers of out lawyers. In 2025, 2.6% of lawyers identified as lesbian or gay, just a slight increase from 2.1% in 2015, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

The absence of out senior leaders can leave junior lawyers feeling isolated and excluded.

While 3% of partners in larger firms (50+ partners) are gay men, only 1% are lesbian women. Many people also feel pressure to conceal their sexuality to fit into a heteronormative framework. I have heard of people being too afraid to announce their engagement to colleagues, for fear of being viewed negatively. Research by the Trades Union Congress found that 34% of LGBTQ+ legal professionals still face microaggressions in the workplace, such as offensive “banter”.

Challenges are compounded when a person exists at multiple intersections. Characteristics such as class, race, religion and gender can interact to create unique experiences of privilege or oppression.

The importance of visibility cannot be overstated. If you don’t see people who look like you, you can start to think there is something wrong with the way you look. Representation impacts attitudes and culture. When people see lesbians and queer individuals working authentically, it challenges perceptions. If I had seen diverse role models from the start of my career, it would have made a massive difference.

Related articles

If all that is not enough to persuade you of the importance of inclusion, lesbian and queer visibility also makes business sense, enhancing innovation and problem-solving.

Remembering the dearth of role models when I entered the legal industry, I founded Legally Queerly in April 2023. This initiative involves lesbians and queer individuals in the legal industry, or in-house lawyers, writing about their careers and the power of visibility, in a feature published by DIVA magazine. 

To date, over 100 individuals have taken part in Legally Queerly. Consistent visibility acts as “profound advocacy”, directly disrupting harmful stereotypes and unconscious biases.

My advice to aspiring and junior lesbian and queer lawyers? Establish a “Personal Board of Directors” at the outset of your career. Seek out a group of trusted mentors, including senior lawyers, who can offer guidance on early years in practice. Reverse mentoring senior lawyers can also be a brilliant way of sharing your lived experiences and positively impacting your firm’s inclusion efforts.

When applying to firms, search for meaningful initiatives, such as inclusive parental leave and trans-inclusive health benefits. Try to unearth whether the firms have openly LGBTQIA+ lawyers and active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

If you’re an ally, then participating in ERGs is powerful, showing that inclusion is a firm-wide concern and not just a minority issue. You can also make a difference by calling out microaggressions or offering sponsorship – using your political capital to ensure opportunities are distributed equitably.

Although being lesbian and queer in the legal industry can present specific challenges, it can also offer unique opportunities. Two years after that disastrous Pride lunch, on starting my training contract at another firm, I made the decision to be out at work. Since then, I have had the pleasure of meeting incredible people I may not have otherwise encountered. I have been able to help shape policies and strategy. Significantly, the Legally Queerly contributors are now positive role models for others. The biggest lesson I have learned is this: being out is not always easy, but it’s always worth it.

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By Freja Love, Social Producer at The Female Lead

I went in knowing very little about John Proctor, Is The Villain (and about The Crucible, sorry!), but I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Written by Kimberly Belflower, John Proctor Is the Villain drops us into a small-town Georgia classroom in 2018, where a group of 16-year-olds are studying The Crucible as the fallout of #MeToo hums in the background. As their awareness of what’s happening - both globally and within their own community - sharpens, the girls begin to question things. Beth, an enthusiastic high-achiever, is spurred on by new student Nell to set up a feminist club, with their attentive and outgoing teacher, Mr Smith, stepping in to support it. What starts as literary analysis quickly spirals into something far more personal: a messy, funny, devastating interrogation of power and belief that dares you to reconsider something you thought you understood.

But if the play interrogates power, it centres something else entirely: teenage girls. And crucially, without trivialising their problems.

“One of the biggest takeaways is to take teenage girls seriously,” Director Danya Taymor tells me. “To really listen to what they’re saying.”

It sounds obvious, but apparently it isn’t.

Dónal Finn, who plays the charismatic teacher, Carter Smith, points out just how rare it is.

“Other dramas that are about that time in your life can make it seem quite trivial,” He says “Problems that you have as a 15 or 16 year old are treated with a kind of flippancy, like, ‘it’s not that important’ - but they are really formative years of your life. Things that happen to you absolutely shape your worldview.”

Clare Hughes, who plays privileged Ivy, puts it just as clearly: “It’s really easy to dismiss how big your feelings are at that age… but they’re going through completely life-altering moments.”

The play refuses to trivialise what the young women have to say. Instead, it treats their experiences with the same weight you’d give any “serious” drama - something Danya was intentional about from the start.

“I approached it like it’s Shakespeare or Chekhov,” she explains. “When you treat the text seriously, you take the characters seriously too.”

Lauryn Ajufo, who plays new girl Nell, describes it as watching a group of girls try to make sense of something they know isn’t right: “There are things happening in the play that are not normal, but society has allowed it to be… and what you see is a group of girls who discuss and debate that, and try to find the right within the wrong.”

“It’s a really beautiful, messy portrayal of young women,” Clare adds, explaining how every character makes mistakes, but isn’t reduced to them.

Belflower’s dialogue perfectly captures the way young girls talk to each other with humour, vulnerability, and an undercurrent of everything they’re absorbing about the world around them.

These girls aren’t perfect feminist archetypes - they contradict themselves and get things wrong. And it’s this refusal to simplify things that gives the play its edge.

Instead, it becomes a brilliantly accurate reflection of teenage girlhood: the intensity, the certainty, and the lack of language for what you’re actually feeling. They’re figuring things out in real time - feminism, identity, friendship, love, anger - and, in doing so, begin to find their voices.

“It’s about finally being able to say, wait, I have opinions,” says Molly McFadden, who plays their well-meaning guidance counsellor Miss Gallagher, “I can disagree with what I’ve been told is right.”

That gut feeling - when something doesn’t sit right, even if you can’t fully explain why - came up again and again.

Holly Howden-Gilchrist, who plays naive but eager Beth, described it as a physical feeling before it was a verbal one: “I remember being 14 and not having the words to express how I felt… it was just a full-body feeling of, ‘this is injustice.’”

Clare shared something similar. She described that time in her life as the first moment she felt truly fired up by what she believed in - particularly when it came to defending her friends. “Some men were being truly awful,” she said. It wasn’t about standing up for herself yet, but “batting for your friends” - an early, instinctive feminism built on loyalty and anger.

I asked the cast what they want audiences to leave with.

“I’d like people to leave with more questions than answers,” Lauryn said.

“When the system fails, you turn to your community,” Sadie Soverall said. She plays Shelby - witty, sharp, and awkward - who returns to school halfway through the play carrying more than her fair share of emotional baggage. “That’s a really important message right now.”

Danya echoes that same complexity when she talks about the play. There is no singular message, because there can’t be.

“Things are not black and white. There are no absolutes. Real life is complicated and messy and hard to unpack.”

“I just hope audiences feel,” She says.

I don’t doubt that for a second.

John Proctor Is The Villian runs at the Royal Court Theatre in London until 25th April

The ensemble cast include: Sadie Soverall (Saltburn), Holly Howden Gilchrist (I Swear), Lauryn Ajufo (Boiling Point), Clare Hughes, Miya James, Dónal Finn (Hadestown, Young Sherlock, The Other Bennet Sister) , Molly McFadden (Finding Joy), Charlie Borg and Reece Braddock, directed by Danya Taymor.

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We’re told a lot of things over the course of our lives, but sometimes you get a piece of advice so good, it can shape who you become. At the 2026 Olivier Awards, we asked nominees and winners to share the best piece of advice they’ve received from a woman - the kind that’s guided their careers and helped get them to where they are today. Their answers were thoughtful, unexpected, and far too good to keep to ourselves…

In this issue of Take The Lead, we’re spotlighting two long-overdue milestones for women. First, the creation of a 3D-printed anatomical map of the clitoris - an organ that has been historically overlooked and under-researched in medicine. Then, a look at groundbreaking changes to women’s workplace rights in the UK, set to have a significant impact, particularly for low-paid women.

We also sat down with Gugu Mbatha-Raw ahead of her new Amazon Prime Video film Fuze, where she spoke about finding agency and making a difference, even when the world feels overwhelming. And Kerry Washington opened up candidly about her abortion, and the wider fight for women’s health rights, on an episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and let us know what you think!

The Female Lead Team

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We’re talking about…

🧬 Mapping the clitoris properly - For the first time, scientists have created a detailed 3D map of the clitoris - a breakthrough led by Ju Young Lee at Amsterdam University Medical Center. Using high-energy X-rays on donated tissue, the study reveals the full network of nerves linked to sexual pleasure.

For decades, the clitoris has been overlooked in medical research, with understanding trailing far behind male anatomy (which was mapped properly nearly 30 years ago). This new mapping will help to correct outdated ideas and change how surgery is done, helping doctors avoid nerve damage during pelvic procedures and better protect sexual function.

⚖️ Stronger rights at work - New protections under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are set to make working life fairer for women across the UK, with changes rolling out through 2026 and 2027. Big shifts include mandatory menopause support plans in larger companies, stronger protections during pregnancy and after returning to work, and tougher expectations on employers to prevent sexual harassment - including from customers. Employers will also have to show how they’re actually closing gender pay gaps, not just reporting them.

Inspire me…

The Female Lead attended the Olivier Awards with Cunard Green carpet on Sunday, 12th April, and while there was plenty of talk about performances and nominations, we were more interested in something else - advice that actually works.

We asked nominees, winners, and guests about the best piece of advice they’ve ever received from a woman - the kind that’s guided their careers and helped get them to where they are today. Their answers were thoughtful, unexpected, and far too good not to share.

Read the full article here

Final thought…

Become a paid supporter

The Female Lead is a charity on a mission to empower women.

In the last 8 years, we have given access to books and teaching materials to 2.5 million students in 25,000 schools around the world. We carry out research that reframes our understanding of women’s experience, such as our Fulfilment Finder survey which reveals what matters most to women at different life stages. It has now been completed by 150,000 women globally.

We can’t run the charity without your support.

For just £3.50 a month or £25 a year, you can make a huge difference.

Your donations allow us to continue to provide teaching resources and education to girls and women around the world, conduct groundbreaking research, and share science and stories online.

By pledging to make a donation, you get a host of other benefits like:

• Access to our full archive of content on everything from advice from CEOs, to early menopause, to the brain impact of the mental load

• Get the first look at our research reports busting myths around women

• A virtual supporter badge to share and display online

Subscribe now

Share

We’re told a lot of things over the course of our lives, but sometimes you get a piece of advice so good, it can shape who you become. At the 2026 Olivier Awards, we asked nominees and winners to sha…

Read more

The Female Lead attended the Olivier Awards with Cunard Green carpet on Sunday, 12th April, and while there was plenty of talk about performances and nominations, we were more interested in something else - advice that actually works.

We asked nominees, winners, and guests about the best piece of advice they’ve ever received from a woman - the kind that’s guided their careers and helped get them to where they are today. Their answers were thoughtful, unexpected, and far too good not to share.

Rachel Zegler (Best Actress in a musical Nominee and Winner)

Before picking up the Olivier award for Best Actress in a Musical, first-time nominee Rachel Zegler told us about some truly special advice she had received from Dame Helen Mirren.

“Helen Mirren has given me all of the best advice. So has Lucy Liu, who is an angel… they’re both my angels sent from above. And it really is to just stay true to yourself. And the noise doesn’t matter, it just doesn’t matter. They’re going to tear down a woman for anything. They’ve also been through it the way that I have, so I have learned so much from them. And I just love them madly.”

Corbin Bleu (Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical nominee)

“I went to Debbie Allen Academy when I was a young boy, when she first opened the academy. And, I don’t know if it’s a specific piece of advice as much as the value of discipline. That was truly the groundwork, I think that was built at that academy. And to this day, I mean, if it’s time to buckle down, it’s in my blood.

Adjoa Andoh (presenting awards for Best Actress and Best Lighting)

Adjoa Andoh took it right back to her very first experience on camera.

“The first film director I worked with was a woman called Jackie Duckworth. And, we made a drama documentary about what it is to have multiple sclerosis. Jackie came to my house - I’d never done camera work before, I didn’t go to drama school - and she brought her video recorder, because it was those days. She said, ‘Sit on the sofa.’”

“I sat on the sofa, and she just filmed me talking. Then she put the tape into my recorder and played it back.”

“It was horrific.” At this point, she flaps her arms and twists her face to show just how bad it was.

“Anyway, she said, never do that in front of the camera. I’m sure I have on occasion. But I try to remember not to.”

It’s hard to imagine someone so calm and commanding on screen ever feeling that unsure in front of a camera - which makes her honesty all the more brilliant.

Elaine Paige (honoured for the Special Award)

For someone so synonymous with the stage, Elaine Paige’s advice might surprise you.

“A good friend of mine, Diana Riggs, the late, great Diana Riggs, towards the end of her career, sort of where I’m at now, said to me, “You have to realise that as marvellous as acting and this industry is, there are more things to life than just this. Don’t let [work] take over your whole life so that you don’t enjoy other things.”

“And, and it’s sort of where I’m at at the moment in my life. I’m going to travel, and I’m going to see my friends and go out for dinner and play tennis and all the things that I wasn’t able to do when I was devoted to the theater for so many years.”

An important reminder that even the most dedicated careers shouldn’t come at the cost of everything else.

Arlene Phillips

“The piece of advice my mother gave to me, who passed away when I was quite young, said to me, “Always be kind and when someone’s upset, put your arms around them.”

“It’s helped me as a mother - I remember thinking, how am I going to grow up without my mum giving me hugs? So with my children, with my grandchildren, I just feel a hug can make anything better.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Hayley Squires (Best Actress in a supporting role nominee):

Rather than specific advice, Hayley picked up on a feeling.

“I’ve just worked with Marianne Jean-Baptiste on All My Sons, and that woman is full of wisdom. And the way that she looks at life is inspiring. I can’t even nail it down to one thing, but as a woman, she’s incredible.”

Matt Henry (Devil Wears Prada, guest of Cunard):

Matt shared the kind of advice that feels especially necessary right now, but will ALWAYS hold true.

“My mum taught me so much about respect, respecting women, respecting yourself. You need to be able to respect yourself before you can respect anybody else. And I think I carry that through in so many of my working relationships with women and with men.”

Sue Perkins:

“The best piece of advice is one I’ve learned, which is to make mistakes. And don’t be frightened of making mistakes. Everybody great has made a mistake or two, and it’s a learning tool. It’s your attitude towards the mistake. Mistakes are inevitable, but the attitude that you view them with determines whether you can really surmount them or not. And I think being creative and trying to live a life that’s more irregular is going to be fraught. So just enjoy the ride.”

It’s a refreshing antidote to perfectionism, and something that we all need to remember from time to time. Getting it wrong can be essential in getting there altogether.

Vanessa Williams (Presenting award for Best Actor/Actress in a Musical)

For a second time, Helen Mirren got a shout-out. And for good reason.

“I worked with Helen Mirren, and she said Follow your skill set. What are you good at? Start from there.’”

“And I remember when my youngest was trying to figure out what she should do about college, and I said, ‘You have been videoing every play date that you’ve had since you were seven years old.’ She’d set up the shot, she’d edit it, sync the music. You’re a filmmaker. I said to major in filmmaking for now, and that’ll be a start, and you can do whatever. You know that can offshoot from that. But like, you’re good at it, and you love it and follow your skill set.”

Not only advice Vanessa has held onto, but something she’s passed on to her own children, too - which suggests it’s worth paying attention to.

Different voices and very different advice - but all of it offering something to hold onto. Whether it’s discipline, kindness, resilience or learning to let go, hopefully there’s something in here that will stay with you.

Millions of working women are set to benefit as new UK legislation brings long-overdue improvements to workplace rights.

The reforms will be introduced in stages across 2026 and 2027, with some measures already in effect and are expected to significantly strengthen protections and support for women at work.

Employers will be required to update contracts and internal policies in line with the new rules.

Key changes affecting women under the Employment Rights Act 2025 include:

Menopause support
Large employers (250+ staff) must publish plans showing how they support menopause at work - from appointing champions to offering tailored adjustments.

Gender pay gap
Companies must not just report pay gaps, but set clear, practical plans to close them.

Pregnancy and maternity protection
Stronger safeguards against dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave, and up to six months after returning.

Sexual harassment
Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment - including from customers. NDAs that silence victims are no longer valid.

Family and health leave

• Bereavement leave - new right to unpaid leave after a loss

• Pregnancy loss - specific leave and protections for loss before 24 weeks

• Day one rights - paternity and unpaid parental leave available from the first day

Working conditions

• Zero-hours contracts - right to guaranteed hours for eligible workers

• Shift security - compensation for last-minute cancellations and fair notice of shifts

Stronger sick pay and parental leave

Up to 9.6 million workers are set to benefit from improved statutory sick pay under the first wave of reforms, according to new TUC analysis.

Around 1.2 million people - the majority low-paid women - will qualify for statutory sick pay for the first time, as the previous £125 per week “lower earnings limit” is removed.

A further 8.4 million workers will now receive sick pay from the first day of illness, instead of waiting four days.

The changes are expected to disproportionately benefit low-paid women, as well as disabled workers and those at the beginning and end of their careers.

Women’s employment ambassador

Women’s health campaigner and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup has been appointed as the Government’s Women’s Employment Ambassador, a newly created role to to help employers better support women’s health at every stage of their careers and support working women across the country.

A government spokesperson said: “The Employment Rights Act is a huge boost for women in the workplace – introducing enhanced protections for pregnant women and new mothers, menopause action plans for large employers and rights for parental leave from day one.

“Women thriving in the workplace is not just important for equality but for boosting economic growth.”

Society has a tendency to talk about girls as future leaders, future innovators, and future change-makers. But across the world, many of them are already doing the work - often in ways that are practical, specific, and rooted in everyday experience.

For Maegha Ramanathan, the catalyst was sport. After facing sexist comments from male teammates as a young athlete, she realised how widespread the experience was among girls around her. At 13, she founded Girls4Sports to challenge the inequality, creating a global organisation that has since reached more than 1,000 participants, building confidence alongside opportunity.

In Australia, 16-year-old Jayashruthi Palanisamy designed the Echo Glove, a wearable device that translates sign language into speech and spoken words into text. Inspired by the limitations of existing communication methods, it proposes a more immediate, intuitive way for deaf and hard of hearing people to connect.

At age twelve, Rebecca Young designed a solar-powered blanket that stores energy during the day and releases heat at night, after first developing the idea at a school engineering club. Motivated by seeing people experiencing homelessness in Glasgow, she wanted to create a simple source of warmth that did not rely on power. The blanket is now being used by homelessness charities in Scotland, turning a straightforward idea into an immediate, practical impact.

In India, 14-year-old Vinisha Umashankar reimagined a familiar sight after noticing a street vendor discarding charcoal on her way home from school. Curious, she began researching its impact, uncovering links to lung disease and deforestation. Her solar-powered ironing cart replaces charcoal with clean energy, reducing harmful smoke while keeping the same function, offering vendors a more flexible, practical way to work.

Other changes can start with something as ordinary as a school uniform. At eight years old, Georgia from Ipswich questioned why the girls’ trousers in Sainsbury’s did not have proper pockets. She wrote to them, receiving a reply saying her feedback would be considered: “I’m sorry, currently girls’ school trousers do not have pockets. I agree they should,” a representative for the store said. She also organised a petition at her school, and later found pocketed designs in stores. Whilst Sainsbury’s has not commented on whether Georgia’s campaign influenced this, her actions are a reminder that even small voices can spark change, and that noticing what’s missing is often the first step toward fixing it.

Sometimes the starting point is even more personal. At 11, Millie, from Salford, designed colour-changing glasses to make reading easier for people with dyslexia - an idea she first had at eight after struggling with visual stress herself. The glasses use interchangeable lenses to reduce discomfort and improve focus, turning her own experience into something that could help others read more comfortably.

Many of these ideas have been recognised beyond their local contexts. Publications like Time and The Guardian have increasingly highlighted young innovators tackling issues from climate to accessibility, often before they have finished school. What links these stories is not scale, but clarity - each begins with a problem that is seen, felt, and understood.

Taken together, these young women show that change does not always start with expertise or authority. Sometimes it can start with noticing what is missing, and deciding to fix it.

Christina Koch made history this week as mission specialist on NASA’s Artemis II mission as she took off with her fellow astronauts to become the first woman to fly around the moon.

The astronauts – three Americans and one Canadian – took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 1 April on the 10-day voyage, the first time in half a century that humans returned to the vicinity of the moon.

Christina, 47, an engineer and physicist who became an astronaut in 2013, spent 328 days aboard the International Space Station back in 2019, a record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a woman. She was also part of NASA’s first three all-female spacewalks alongside Jessica Meir.

Historically, nearly 90% of astronauts have been men so Christina’s role as a leader in STEM is crucial for inspiring young women and girls. “It feels like an incredible privilege and responsibility,” Christina has said of being part of the Artemis II crew. “We are at a time when everyone who has a dream gets to work equally hard to achieve it.”

On the Artemis II mission, Christina has taken handwritten notes from people close to her for her personal item, a “tactile connection” to loved ones back on Earth.

Surprisingly, the mental load doesn’t seem lighter even when there’s zero gravity. In an interview before takeoff, Christina told reporters that her husband Bob would have to fend for himself at home and not be able to call to find out where lost items are.

“He’s not going to be able to ring me and ask where something is in the house,” she laughed. “He’s going to have to find it.”

In ancient Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo, who was the namesake of the last Nasa missions that went to the moon. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wild, and - mostly importantly - the moon itself.

And Christina isn’t the only woman shaping the future of space exploration:

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson made history as NASA’s first-ever female launch director, leading the 90-strong Exploration Ground Systems Program. She made the final call, delivering the electrifying “GO!” that sent the mission into the sky. Charlie previously commanded the historic first test flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, Artemis I, guiding the mission all the way to launch.

Laura Poliah, Lander Ground Operations Expert, is part of the Lander Ground Operations team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and previously served as a lead test engineer for the Orion spacecraft. Her role was to oversee rigorous testing across the crew module, service module, and launch abort system which are vital in keeping the Orion astronauts safe. Laura and her team have been working on testing for Artemis II and Artemis III.

Erica Sandoval is the Program Manager, Abort Motor, Orion Launch Abort System, After completing a degree in mechanical engineering, she worked in rocket motor manufacturing and now leads the team that builds the abort motor for the Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system (LAS). “I had a roundabout path into the space industry, but I love it here,” she said. “I would’ve never imagined that this is where I would end up, but it is an exciting industry and humbling to be a small part of the space industry team.”

Vanessa Wyche is the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, overseeing spacecraft development, astronaut selection and training, and the iconic mission control room. The centre is home to NASA’s astronaut corps and programs such as the International Space Station, Orion, and the Lunar Gateway, with Vanessa guiding missions to the Moon with Artemis, and laying the foundation for future journeys to Mars.