Let's all stop waiting for permission
Plus: 🛡️Viking advice 🤖 AI anger 💍 Divorce secrets
She got behind the wheel at seven, without seeing anyone like her on the grid. By 12, she was making motorsport history. The Female Lead spoke to Lisa Billard – the teenage driver racing into spaces that still weren’t built for girls. From sacrifice and funding fears to world stages and wild cards, her story is about speed, belief and not waiting for permission.
Read the full article below.
Welcome back to Take The Lead, the fortnightly newsletter from The Female Lead.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the articles you loved this month.
Helen Russell explores why the Nordic countries continue to top the World Happiness Report – and what living among them reveals about trust, stability and everyday wellbeing.
Elon Musk’s Grok AI got an update and men rushed to digitally undress women and girls without consent. We spoke to Jess Davies, who has been tracking deepfake abuse for years and was targeted herself after criticising Grok. The images may be fake, but the power play certainly isn’t.
Divorce coach Rachanaa Tulsyan outlines the most common mistakes women make during divorce, and how greater clarity can lead to a stronger, more secure next chapter.
And activist and founder of Behind Our Screens, Roxy Longworth shares her experience of being groomed at 13, revealing how coercion can begin quietly, long before harm becomes visible.
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
Be more Viking: Seven Nordic keys to happiness for women today
After more than a decade living among Danes and a career spent rummaging around the happiness habits of the world’s most contented nations, I have come to a conclusion: we could all do with being more Viking.
Elon Musk’s Grok scandal: exposing AI’s misogyny problem
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing international scrutiny after it emerged that men have been using the tool to generate sexually explicit images of women and girls without their consent. Campaign…
7 mistakes women make during divorce — and how to avoid them
By Rachanaa Tulsyan, Breakup and Divorce Coach
“I was groomed to send intimate images aged 13”
TW: This article contains references to sexual exploitation, self-harm, and suicide.
What women can (actually) look forward to in 2026
This year there’s plenty for us to delve into for feel good feminist inspiration and supporting women across film, books, music, art and sport...Empowering women through stories and science 💪 Get ou…
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This is such powerful framing around taking initiative. The part about Lisa seeing no one like her on the grid but still pushing forward really underscores how waiting for "ideal conditions" can beecome a permanent excuse. I've seen this irl when my cousin kept delaying her startup for years untilshe finally realized no one was gonna give her approval anyway.