Caryl Hart's Blog, page 5

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Author (Nigeria / USA)Winner o...

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Author (Nigeria / USA)Winner of the MacArthur Genius grant
I was never all that good at history.  The school curriculum in the late 70s and early 80s left a great deal to be desired, being mostly either about the first and second world wars, or medieval medicine - a course of leeches anyone?  If you are a teenager, or parent of teens, you won’t be surprised to learn that these are still hot topics on the whiteboards of today’s GCSE students.  To be honest, I found most of the history I learned about in school at best irrelevant and at worst, downright boring. (Sorry Mr O’ Shea).
It wasn’t that the events themselves were uninteresting, but that the whole of history teaching was based around dates and fighting and the things that men did.  There was nothing about the lives of real people which made the subject completely non-relatable to me.  But the lack of even a GCSE to my name left me sadly lacking in knowledge and understanding of world events.
Luckily, as an adult I’ve discovered a new approach to learning about history and politics - through the words of contemporary modern authors from around the world.  I’ve learned more about the Chinese cultural revolution and the troubles in Pakistan and Afghanistan through reading novels than I have from any history book.  This is because the novels I’ve read, novels like Half a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Adichie, are about real people living through these historical times.  They may be fiction, but they are based on a deep understanding of those cultures and the experiences of real people living there. For me, this gives far greater insight into the impact of political systems and military regimes than a load of dates and statistics.
Chimamanda Adichie is a Nigerian author who lives part time in the United States. She’s won numerous prizes for her work including the Commonwealth Writers prize 2005, the Orange Prize for fiction in 2007, The McArthur Genius Grant in 2008 and the PEN Pinter Prize this year.
I wanted to feature her in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women because she is one of a growing number of voices from across the world that are contributing to a deeper understanding and appreciation of other lives and cultures. 
The Guardian fiction awards 2008
Chimamanda Adichie on Wikipedia

Chimamanda Adichie on Twitter 

COMPETITION TIME! 
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.


Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.

Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Malala Yuousafzai

Malala Yuousafzai - Human Rights Activist (Pakistan/UK)
Youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
The Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women would not be complete without a portrait of this incredible young woman.
Malala Yuousafzai captured the attention of the world when she came to the UK for medical care following an assassination attempt in Pakistan when she was just 15 years old.  This was no random shooting. Malala had been speaking out about life under Taliban rule since she was eleven years old. She wrote a blog under a pseudonym and was featured a New York Times documentary in 2010.  She gave interviews and speeches in print and on television and was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize.
She was shot in the head, alongside two other girls, while on a school bus. Amazingly, she survived and was brought to the UK for further treatment following life-saving surgery in Peshawar. Since then, she has continued to speak out about the right to education and is the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, aged just 17.
Malala Yuousafzai is probably one of the most iconic young people of our time. Her courage and determination to make a difference provide an outstanding example of the potential that every single one of us holds within us, to make positive changes to our world. 
Sources:
MalalaFoundation website
Malala Yuousafzai on Wikipedia

COMPETITION TIME! 

Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.


Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.

Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspirational Women - Josephine Reynolds – Firefighter

Josephine Reynolds – Firefighter (UK)First female British firefighter
Girls Can Do Anything, written by me and illustrated by Ali Pye, is a celebration of all the things girls can do. It attempts to demonstrate to very young children that there is no job or hobby that cannot be enjoyed by those of us who were born in female bodies. One of the verses says:


Girls can be brave like this firefighter here,Rescuing people when danger is near.
But is it true? I wanted to not only tell children that anything is possible, I wanted to prove it to them, which is why we created a gallery of inspirational women on the back end papers of the book. One of these is Josephine Reynolds, who is a firefighter. In fact, she was Britain’s very first female firefighter, and made history when she joined the service way back in 1982 when she was just seventeen. Since then, many services have worked to recruit more women, but according to the UK Government Fire and Rescue Service Equality and Diversity Strategy 2008-2018, only 3.1% of firefighters in the UK today are female. Still, they ARE out there, so if your child is interested in joining the fire service – or any other rescue service for that matter – they can!And in remembering to use the non-sexist terms for these brave women and men, we are further demonstrating to our children that these careers are open to everyone, regardless of gender. For a fun list of non-sexist terminology, check out this page.It’s amazing what you find when you’re researching online. 
TheGuardian on Josephine Reynolds
Wikipediaon women in firefighting
TheGuardian on tackling sexism in firefighting
COMPETITION TIME! 
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.


Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.

Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspriational Women - Peng Lei

Peng Lei (Lucy Peng) – Businesswoman (China)Co-founder and CEO of Ant Financial Services 
I chose Peng Lei, otherwise known as Lucy Peng to appear in the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women, because she’s a highly successful business woman who founded her own company that has recently been valued at around $60 billion. That’s a lot of money she’s made.  Personally, I’m not massively into profit or commerce as such, but I wanted to include someone like Peng Lei in the gallery of inspirational women, because she is, I guess, a classic example of a successful woman.
She is a clever woman who has made her own fortune and has created jobs for thousands of people.  She was listed as the 34th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2017. On that list, Angela Merkel was first, followed by Theresa May and Melinda Gates. Oprah was 21st and Beyonce was 50th. Incidentally, over half of the top 50 are from the United States and our own Queen only ranks 26th. So the Queen is less powerful that Oprah.  Well, I guess that makes sense.
I’m not  quite sure how Forbes decides who is the most powerful, but Peng Lei is definitely up there with them.  So for all those children out there who want to make a packet, who are interested in business and commerce, this it to show that there are lots of women out there doing very, very nicely, thank you very much!
Forbeslist of most powerful women
Lucy Peng on Wikipedia


COMPETITION TIME! 
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.

Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.

Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Sirimavo Bandaranaike

In our Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspirational Women, we've tried to pick out mainly contemporary figures who are relevant to our lives now.  But one or two historic women have made it to the gallery, including Sirimavo Bandaranaike.  

Here's why we chose her:

Sirimavo Bandaranaike – Politician (Sri Lanka)The world's first female prime minister 
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was prime minister of Sri Lanka on three separate occasions: 1960-65 1970-77 and 1994-2000. She was the world’s first female prime minister and took the country through major socialist reform that resulted in the island becoming a republic.
You might be surprised to learn that there have been over 113 female prime ministers and presidents and several more acting up to the role since the 1940s.  Something I find quite amazing given the reluctance of many nations to allow women to occupy other positions of responsibility or power.  
Saudi Arabia have only just lifted a ban on women driving cars and in many countries girls still don’t have the right to attend school.  According to The Guardian, in South Sudan nearly three quarters of girls still do not attend primary school. So the fact that across the world we’ve had ANY women in the ultimate position of power is a bit of a miracle.  Of course the UK didn’t get a female Prime Minister until 1979 and the United States has never had a woman at the helm, so I guess there’s still some way to go yet.
If you’re interested, there’s a full list of female heads of state here
The Guardian on education for girls
Sirimavo Bandaranaike on Wikipedia

COMPETITION TIME! 
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Sue Wimpenny

Not all the people featured in our Girls Can Do Anything Gallery of Inspirational Women are famous.  Some are just ordinary, extraordinary people going about their daily lives.  They are women who are busy making a living doing the jobs they love. People like Sue Wimpenny.  She's not famous, she's not on telly (though she was in The Independent once) but she IS  doing a job that many of us would not expect a woman to do.  
So if you have a child who's interested in something different, get online and find someone like them, who is doing it too. Show your kids that they can do whatever they flipping well want, regardless of the bodies they were born into!
Anyway, here's why we chose Sue Wimpenny:

Sue Wimpenny - Builder and CEO (UK)I mean, how many women builders have you ever met?  I haven’t met any and, I’m ashamed to say, had not even considered that women builders were even a thing until recently.  Interior designers, yes, painters and decorators - well I’ve seen a few now, thanks to DIYSOS. But actual builders? 
Then, while doing some research for the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women,  I discovered Sue Wimpenny.
In the book, we tell young readers that girls can be and do anything they choose. We tell them girls can be good at science or writing or music or maths. We tell them girls can be firefighters, lawyers, sports people, lorry drivers and builders. So I thought I’d better find some examples of real women who really ARE doing these things and doing them well. 
Enter Sue Wimpenny. Not only is she a builder, she has built (pardon the pun) her own construction company called The Lady Builder.  It’s a successful building company that does everything you’d expect… they build things and refurbish things and no doubt make a lot of dust in the process. In itself this is not remarkable.  But the fact that this company was founded and is run by a woman - IS.  I don’t know much about Sue but I do know that she’s a successful woman operating in what is a predominantly male world and for me, that is what makes her outstanding. And for children to know that there are real women doing this kind of work - well I think that’s incredibly empowering.
The Independent on Sue Wimpenny
SueWimpenny website

COMPETITION TIME! 

Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Serena Williams

Girls Can Do Anything by yours truly and Ali Pye is NOW OUT!   

And to celebrate, here's our next totally incredible and supersonic inspirational woman, Serena Williams.  She's one of 15 women featured in our Gallery of Inspirational Women at the back of the book. Here's why we chose her:


Serena Williams – Tennis Champion and Icon (USA) 
Many of the women I’ve chosen to appear in the Girls Can Do Anythinggallery of inspirational women, are not high profile. They are not especially in the public eye, and some are not even famous at all. But Serena Williams is, most definitely, smack bang in the middle of the public eye and rightly so.  I think it’s safe to say she’s an icon of feminine power and physical prowess and probably, in fact, as close as you can get to an actual goddess.
Six-times champion of the US Open, seven-times winner at Wimbledon and with many other wins to her name in singles, doubles and mixed doubles tennis, Serena Williams is a complete master of her game and outstanding sportswoman. She is also a philanthropist and supporter of disadvantaged young people in the states and abroad. 
So if you’re looking for a strong female to look up to… well, she’s the real deal.
Wikipedia
Serena Williams on Twitter

COMPETITION TIME! 

Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Arunima Sinha

Girls Can Do Anything publishes TOMORROW! 

Hip Hip Hooray!

And what better way to celebrate than with our next totally awesome and hugely inspiring woman, Arunima Sinha.  She's one of 15 people who feature in our Gallery of Inspirational Women at the back of the book.  Here's why we chose her:



Arunima Sinha – Mountaineer (India)
First female amputee to climb Mount Everest
The next inspirational woman to appear in our Girls Can Do Anything gallery is Arunima Sinha.  Here's why we chose her:

Lots of women climb mountains. Quite a few have even summited Everest. 

Between the first summit, in 1953 and 2014, over 4,000 people attempted the trip in over 6,000 climbs.  Of these, 418 - around 10% - have been women.
The first was Junko Tabei in 1975. The youngest, at just 13 years old, was Malavath Purna in 2014.
And then there’s Arunima Sinha.  In 2013, she became the first female amputee to summit the mountain.  So not only did she climb the highest mountain in the world, she did it with a prosthetic leg, just two years after the accident that caused her injury.  Now if that doesn’t warrant respect, I don’t know what does.

I wanted to include Arunima Sinha in our Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women because not only has she overcome the huge blow of losing a limb, she has used her misfortune as a driver to achieve something amazing.  Arunima is a great role model for any child who faces disadvantage.  Be that physical, social or whatever, she is proof that it is really only your imagination, commitment and self-belief that determine your ability to succeed.
Do you have a sports enthusiast in your family?  Does your child have a disability?  They need to know that, with the right help and support, their dreams can be achievable too!

COMPETITION TIME!
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and
published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Nicola Adams

Nicola Adams – Boxer (UK)First female and openly LGBTQ person to win a boxing gold at the Olympics
If you've been reading my blog posts, you'll know by now that I have a new book out soon. It's called, Girls Can Do Anything and is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August by Scholastic.

In it we tell children that girls can basically do whatever they want and that their gender does not have a bearing on achieving their dreams.  You'd think that in 2018 things would be pretty equal but in reality, children still perceive some interests, careers and vocations as largely "male" or "female."  Our book aims to show children that this does not have to be true, and that there are plenty of women out there doing what some might perceive as men's jobs.  At the back of the book we've created a Gallery of Inspriational Women to prove to children that there's no such thing.  And in that gallery, we have the amazing Nicola Adams.  So why did we choose her?

Well, boxing is a men’s sport, right?

Err, nope. 
Just like football, tennis, basketball, wrestling, tae-kwan-do, fencing, swimming, athletics and any other sport you can name, women do it too! And women like Nicola Adams do it rather well.  She was the first woman to win an olympic boxing title and won gold in the 2012 and 2016 olympics.  She is also black and openly bisexual. 
I wanted to include her in our Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women because she is proof that nothing is out of reach because of your gender - or your ethnic background or sexuality.  Nicola Adams is walking proof that you can be yourself and achieve your dreams.  You don’t have to sacrifice your personal integrity and identity to do well in a world that is not traditionally yours. You just have to be committed and work hard. 
So if your child has a dream, whatever their gender or ethnic origin, whether they are able bodied or disabled, do them them the biggest favour of their lives.  Get on the internet and find someone just like them, who is doing the thing they want to do.  
Unless, of course, they want to be a unicorn.  Oh, hang on... How to Become a Unicorn (That's for you, @Mellie_Green )
Nicola Adams on Wiki
Nicola Adams Twitter

COMPETITION TIME!
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anythingis illustrated by Ali Pye and
published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.
Find out more 

Girls Can Do Anything Inspirational Women - Maryam Mirzakhani

Maryam Mirzakhani - Mathematician (Iran)
Nobel prize winner for maths, 2014
Girls Can Do Anything is a picture book written by me and illustrated by Ali Pye, publishing on 2 August this year.  

It is a book about all the things that girls can do and about some of the things they might aspire to do when they grow up.  It is a book about dreams and, to demonstrate to children that their dreams are achievable, the book includes a Gallery of Inspirational Women - women who are living the lives that our children may dream about.

In the book, we tell children that some girls like maths, but how many female mathematicians have you heard of?  

OK, you may not have heard of many mathematicians at all, but I’m fairly sure the ones you have heard of are male. Come on, let’s do a quick google search and see…OK, we have Archimedes, Newton, Einstein, Pythagoras, Fibonacci…you get the picture.  

Amazingly, a couple of women do come up in the search.  I’ve found Ada Lovelace, arguably the first person to realise the potential of algorithms in computing in the 1850s and the world’s first computer programmer.  Then there’s Sophie Germain, who did some pioneering work on Fermat’s last theorem. But they’re both historic figures and for the Girls Can Do Anything gallery of inspirational women, I wanted to find someone who represents mathematics today. Someone young and funky that children could identify with and look up to.

I first heard about Maryam Mirzakhani just after her death from cancer in 2017. She was only 40, which struck me as a terrible waste.  Of course, any death, especially at a young age, is a waste, but she stuck in my mind.  Maryam Mirzakhani was a brilliant Iranian mathematician who worked at Stanford University in the USA. The photograph that accompanied the article was of a confident, bright woman who looked...well.. normal.  It was her normality that struck me, I think. She wasn’t a fusty old relic from the past, or a socially-inept academic. She was a normal human being who happened to be brilliant at maths.  So brilliant that she was the first woman to win the Fields medal in maths for her work on super-whizzy things like hyperbolic geometry, Ergodic theory and other brain boggling stuff that only the super-mathsy clever people will understand.  I am not one of those people, but I did like maths at school and perhaps  I’d have had more confidence that maths was a great thing to enjoy, if I’d had someone like Miryam to look up to. 
And that's why Miryam Mirzakhani deserves a placed in our Gallery of Inspirational Women.
TheGuardian on Maryam Mirzakhani
Wikipedia 

Check back tomorrow to see who else is on our list!

COMPETITION
Who inspires you?
We want to create a gallery of people who inspire you!
Download a competition entry form and you could win a hardback copy of the book, an awesome art set, and your entry in the online gallery. Competition closes 31 August, 2018. Entries sent after this date can still be included in the online gallery but will not be eligible for the prize.
Girls Can Do Anything is illustrated by Ali Pye and published on 2 August 2018 by Scholastic. Pre-order your copy here.

Find out more