Yahoo Lifestyle Gillian Anderson and other notable women share advice ahead of IWD 2025
This year marks the 50th of anniversary of International Women’s Day, created by the United Nations in 1975 to advance and celebrate women. In 2025, the IWD committee asks us to “imagine a gender equal world – a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; a world where difference is valued and celebrated.”
We still have a long way to go, especially in today's tumultuous political climate, while the gaps in leadership, pay, pension and health remain wide open. But instead of dwelling on the doom and gloom, I choose to celebrate the good and great: the women who provide, in the words of Gillian Anderson, "the raw, audacious fuel" to drive change. Women who reinvent, who challenge, who break the rules, who give other women the power to rise. We salute your courage and your creativity, and the knowledge you willingly impart. As the Commonwealth secretary-generay Patricia Scotland put it: "Women are not footnotes in history – we are the authors of its next chapter."
Our real power lies in “embracing the full spectrum of our identities, with all the contradictions and passions,” Anderson believes. Our true autonomy comes when we stop waiting for permission. Leadership is about recognising authentic knowledge, sharing information and encouraging learning, making sure others rise with us.
So, to mark this special year, I turned to five remarkable women. Women who stand for something, who each represent something individually spirited, and together the collective strength of sisterhood. Women who are shaping what's to come. While many of the gaps that the United Nations set out to close 50 years ago firmly remain, as long as there are women like these five – who push forward, who reinvent, who challenge what’s possible – we will keep closing them.
One woman at a time with a collective intention is a powerful thing.
Gillian Anderson: "Break every expectation"
Gillian Anderson, the acclaimed actor, author and founder of functional beverage brand G Spot and G Ode, celebrates female empowerment and storytelling. As she shared with me, “It all started with Dana Scully, a character I played for a decade from when I was 24. She taught me about strength. Not just strength of character – no pun intended – but she had an intrinsic confidence and belief in herself that was, in the '90s, quite rare to see in a woman on television.”
Playing Scully shaped her own mindset. “She got me acting as if I could do everything she could do – and in acting as if I could, I began to believe it and in myself. Self-belief does equate to power.”
That belief in reinvention has guided Anderson ever since. Now, as an entrepreneur, she’s championing women’s strengths and contradictions. “My whole acting career — and what I’m building now – I’ve looked to celebrate and elevate the rawness of women. Where vulnerability meets strength. Where our messy, beautiful truths shatter the illusion of perfection.”
What’s next? Breaking every expectation. “We’re not here to fit into neat boxes or adhere to society’s expectations – we’re here to change them.”
Amber Vodegel: "Women need to shape the system"
Amber Vodegel is a women’s health pioneer who founded one of the largest global health apps; Pregnancy+ is now one of the world’s leading pregnancy communities with more than 150 million users across more than 100 countries.
After discovering that one of the world's most popular menstrual trackers is facing a class action lawsuit over data misuse, Vodegel has now turned her attention to tackling one of the most pressing yet overlooked issues in gender equality: women’s control over their own health data. She’s not just building another app – she’s building an antidote. If an unprincipled company (like the aforementioned menstrual tracker) is structured as a business first and a women’s health platform second, they are more motivated to sell personal data versus championing the needs to educate and protect. It's imperitive that we control the misuse of women's health data if we want to close the gender-based health gap.
For Vodegel, it all comes back to autonomy and trusting your instincts. “True strength comes from knowledge, autonomy and the belief that we don’t need to wait for validation to change the world,” she says. Her new not-for-profit, 28X, is about giving women ownership of their health – free from exploitation, free from barriers, free from requiring permission. In this, she’s giving women their power back and helping women shape the system, rather than just navigating it.
Patricia Scotland: "Find the force of transformation within"
Secretary-general of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland has built a career of firsts: the first Black woman to be appointed Queen’s Counsel, the first female Attorney General for England and Wales, the first woman to lead the Commonwealth. But her fight has never been just about breaking barriers – it’s also been about making sure that other women have the tools to do the same.
“I have championed security, education, financial independence and leadership development for women,” she says. “Because these are the tools that allow women to stand tall, make choices, and change the world.”
And she’s not done yet. “Each woman carries within her a force for transformation. My message is simple: find that force, nurture it, and let it shine unapologetically.”
What’s next? Women stepping fully into their power. “Women are not a footnote in history – we are the authors of its next chapter.”
Margie Pope: "Your body is your foundation - build your foundations strong"
The exercise specialist and physical therapist Margie Pope has spent 25 years standing beside and behind some of the most influential women in the world – including Stella McCartney, Anoushka Shanka and other industry icons. Whether it’s working with designers at Fashion Week, supporting artists on tour, or ensuring leaders can give their best, she’s been a quiet force keeping women at the top of their game. But she’ll be the first to tell you that power isn’t just about ambition or talent. It starts with something even more fundamental: the body you live in – understanding well-being and stepping-up to be the 'CEO of your health'.
Margie’s expertise encompasses exercise therapy, physical therapy and Ayurveda, helping women rebuild – through movement, rehabilitation, and a holistic approach that treats physical and mental strength as inseparable. “Your body isn’t something you’ve hired, it’s your foundation, so build it strong” she reminds me. “Nothing is possible unless you have your health.” Life is long, after all; it's important we live it well.
Dr. Jan Toledano: "Set yourself free"
Dr. Jan Toledano is an acclaimed expert in the field of women's hormonal health. She is on a mission to make hormones a women’s issue – not a women’s burden.
If you ask Dr. Toledano to name one of the key things that holds women back, she’ll tell you something few people talk about enough: hormones. Not because women are ‘hormonal’, but because for too long, women’s hormonal health has been sidelined, with many of us left to suffer in silence. Through history, women have been ridiculed or thought ‘unstable’ when hormones ‘play up’ – now, it seems these notions are finally being put to rest.
“Hormonal symptoms instil feelings of shame and failure,” she explains. “There is a pressure on women to carry on and persevere – to fit into a male-dominated world and workplace.”
Dr. Toledano has made it her mission to change that. Through the London Hormone Clinic, she’s giving women self-belief – the knowledge and tools to understand their bodies – so they don’t just survive, but thrive. “No woman should suffer the effects of hormonal imbalances,” she insists. “Restoring balance and health should be a right for all women – not a privilege.”
Tamara Gillan is a pioneer and advocate for social change.A passionate champion for women of all ages, Gillan has spearheaded initiatives that advance female empowerment and financial literacy, including FFinc.
In addition to her entrepreneurial work, Gillian is a dedicated mentor, advisor and fundraiser for charities supporting women. A single mother, Tamara is deeply committed to causes protecting the next generation, particularly girls, and continues to align her work with her passion for meaningful change.
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