Dare to… make history

At our latest Pearls of Wisdom event – “Dare to Make History” – we were thrilled to be joined by Cathy Newman, who spoke to us about her bloody brilliant new book, “Bloody Brilliant Women – the pioneers, revolutionaries and geniuses that your history teacher forgot to mention”.

Channel 4’s Cathy regaled stories of the often sidelined, diverse women throughout the UK’s history who have fought for change and championed equality for women. Drawing parallels between modern society and 20th century life in Britain, Cathy described the incredible lives of a few of the political pioneers and female advocates that are showcased in her book.

Before beginning her account of each woman’s tale, Cathy asked the floor if we had ever heard of these women and their formidable achievements. Only a few proceeding murmurs from the audience said it all; proving the important role this book plays in celebrating these lesser known women and the humbling truth that these stories would be lost if books such as this didn’t document them.

Although she would never say it, Cathy too is a bloody brilliant woman. When answering questions from our panel, Cathy told the audience how she juggled her career as the first female main presenter of the Channel 4 news, her role as wife and mother to two young children, and becoming a published author all at the same time. An astonishing achievement that is both awe-inspiring and empowering. Cathy spoke about how she has always been fascinated in history, and as a hard-hitting journalist has always loved to write, yet never thought she would successfully finish writing a book. “Hearing the word ‘author'”, she said excitedly, “I still can’t really believe it”.

Thank you to Cathy who was an incredible guest, and thanks to all who came along to our special event. If, like us, you love a trailblazer, a disruptor or a champion for change – you really don’t want to miss out on reading this book…

With just two months left of this year, at WICT UK, we’re keen to close the year out in style with two more events that will ensure you end the year on a high! At November’s event we’ll have double the Pearls of Wisdom as we’re joined by Lessons for Life, a children’s charity that funds education projects in Africa, and Ria Hebden, who was recently nominated as ‘Presenter of the Year’ by the 2018 Diversity in Media Awards. You can check the “coming up” section for more details and a link to register for your tickets. Hope to see you there!