Stick with me, because this post takes a little bit of explaining.

October 11th (2021, in case you’re reading this far into the future) is International Day of the Girl. A day dedicated to promoting the empowerment of girls and giving them the opportunities to fulfil their human rights, whilst also highlighting the challenges that girls all over the world face.

It’s also the date of this year’s Women of the Year Lunch.

In the run up to the 11th, an organisation called Inspiring Girls International, which aims to raise young girls aspirations worldwide, has been running a campaign called #thislittlegirlisme. The aim of the initiative is to give girls inspiring women role models, from all walks of life, that they can learn from and follow on social media.

Since this pocket of These Are the Heydays is all about introducing you to inspiring women - and men of course! - and since lots of the team at Women of the Year have been putting up their own #thislittlegirlisme posts, I thought I’d share some of them with you in the hope that you find them inspiring too.

You might recognise this first one!

“This little girl wanted to be a fashion designer or a writer like her heroine Enid Blyton. She becamse a journalist and broadcaster, presenting television and radio programmes, and the editor of magazines, spending 10 years as editor of Woman’s Weekly.

This little girl is me.

The advice I would have given myself is stop comparing yourself to other people. You will learn more from your inevitable failures than you will from your successes and there will always be a way forward. You are braver than you think.”

This is Women of the Year president, the brilliant Julie Etchingham

“This little girl wanted to be a journalist and a ballet dancer. She decided she couldn’t be both, but ended up as a reporter and news anchor and proud President of Women of the Year.

This little girl is me.

My advice to other girls around the world is dream big, work hard and be kind. “

Meet Leonie

“This little girl, the daughter of refugees from Nazi Germany, didn’t know where she fitted in, and always empathised with outsiders. Quiet and watchful, she found her release through performing. Graduation from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she had a wonderful time acting. She started her own business in 2003 coaching people to be impactful communicators, connect with others and find the courage to speak.

This little girl is me.

My advice to my younger self would be: you have a right to be here. Own your space. Empathy is an important skill. Remember the wise words from Maya Angelou “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Now say hi to Jane

“This little girl was convinced she was a teacher at the age of three so headed along the traditional education route towards a life in a classroom. She became a leading education mentor, a writer, a BBC radio broadcaster, a national project leader, the Chair of the London Philharmonic Choir and the founder and director of a global peace project.

This little girl is me.

The advice I would have given myself is: listen to your intuition and don’t limit yourself with what you think your role might be. You can teach in so many ways and be a leader to many varied and global audiences. Keep your mind and heart open and be brave in stepping into things you never considered you might be destined for.”

Meet Women of the Year administrator, Gill

“This rather serious looking little girl loved ballet and comics. As a teenager it was ballet and the arts and she wanted to work on magazine and organise parties. As a grown-up she worked for Prima Ballerina Assoulta Dame Margo Fonteyn and The Arts Council and then organised parties for Cosmopolitan magazine before starting her own events company.

This little girl is me.

My advice to girls would be: if you can do something you love and get paid for it, life doesn’t get much better.”

And this is Lisa

“This little girl coloured in everything she came across from ‘The Monkeys’ (Mickey Dolenz was her crush) colouring books to drawing houses on the lovely onion skin paper in the South African telephone directories. Age 11 she broke both her legs riding and after months staring at pea green hospital walls in Durban she became determined to make the world better with colour.

She graduated from the brilliant Hornsey College of Art, followed by Middlesex University and became a successful interior designer, but fate changed her path with another life-changing accident, which triggered Cervical Dystonia, a chronic, disabling neuromuscular condition. Not one to roll over, she eventually got her paint brushes out and began patterning all the dreary, colourless items in our homes. She won Elle Decoration Print and Pattern Designer of the Year and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She is passionate about supporting women and children and runs a South African project called Ubuntu - ‘I am because you are’.

This little girl is me

My advice to girls everywhere would be: don’t be afraid to ask. They can only say no!”

You can find hundreds of other inspiring women sharing their stories and advice by searching the hashtag #thislittlegirlisme on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and more of the Women of the Year posts at @womenofyear on Instagram where, from Monday (Oct 11th) you’ll also be able to see lots of great images and videos from this year’s lunch, plus news of an exciting new launch which I’ll also be telling you about next week.