What women can (actually) look forward to in 2026
Plus: 🗣️ Our Menopause Journey Survey 🏆 The Critics' Choice awards winners
The world can feel relentless sometimes, and being a woman in it can be… a lot. But we have good news. We’ve done the digging and there’s genuine hope to be found in the women who have created, contributed to and come together to offer us books, music, film, events, art and sport this year.
While the news cycle continues to deliver chaos, women are still writing, singing, directing, performing, competing and generally getting on with it. We’ve checked through culture calendars, release schedules and ticket drops to find the things that promise joy, catharsis and solidarity in 2026.
In this issue of Take The Lead, Jess Phillips - Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, shares how real progress on violence against women means believing survivors, holding institutions to account and finally shifting the focus where it belongs – on changing men’s behaviour, not women’s lives.
And finally, calling all peri and postmenopausal women! We want to hear YOUR experiences - take The Female Lead menopause survey and help us turn the reality of menopause (good and bad) into better support for all women, now and in the future.
Enjoy, share it with your friends, and please let us know what you think.
The Female Lead Team
Inspire me…
“We need to really shift around the idea that this is not a women’s problem, this is a men’s problem.” We spoke to Jess Phillips MP about the UK government’s new Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy.
What women can (actually) look forward to in 2026…
The start of a new year can feel overwhelming – but there’s reassurance in knowing there’s plenty to look forward to. We’ve done the digging, and across film, books, music, art and sport, there’s no shortage of feel-good feminist inspiration and brilliant women to support along the way…
Read more in the full article here
We’re also talking about…
🏆 Janelle James’ acceptance speech at the Critics Choice awards:
“Shoutout to me for remaining kind when it seems like I don’t have to be. I’d probably make a lot more money but I’d do it anyway.”
Other winners include Jessie Buckley, Amy Madigan, Erin Doherty, Rhea Seehorn and Sarah Snook. Congrats to all the brilliant women who won.
👩⚕️ The NHS is launching menopause care online – the UK’s NHS online hospital will offer virtual consultations and specialist support for menopause and other conditions from 2027, improving access and convenience for millions of women.
🗣️ Have you had your say?
If you’re in peri or postmenopause and feeling the signs and symptoms, we’d really love to hear from you. Take the short The Female Lead Menopause Journey survey and help us turn real life experiences into better support for all women, now and in the future.
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