Seventeen inspiring women we’ve spoken to in seventeen issues of Ethos magazine
Although we share stories of inspiring women in good business in every issue of Ethos, today is the perfect day to celebrate them. It’s the 8th of March — it’s International Women’s Day — and here’s our list of inspiring and powerful women we’ve spoken to in 17 issues of Ethos magazine.
Issue 01: Tessa Gerlach, co-founder of Elephant Gin
Tessa Gerlach is the co-founder of Elephant Gin. Capturing the spirit of Africa with every bottle, Elephant Gin is a distillery with a difference. By donating proceeds to African elephant sanctuaries, the company supports the fight against illegal ivory poaching, which still prevails across the continent. Find out more about Elephant Gin here.
Issue 02: Lucy Fleming, co-founder of Chaa Creek
Lucy Fleming, alongside her husband Mick, own and run Chaa Creek. The Lodge at Chaa Creek was a pioneer of Belize ecotourism back in the 1980s, and its community-first approach continues to shape tourism development in the Central American nation today. The ‘wildly civilised’ lodge features jacuzzi and plunge pool villas; boasts the Gold Green Globe sustainability certification; and attracts ethically-minded travellers from all corners of the world. However, its biggest achievement — which in 2017 won it a National Geographic Traveller World Legacy Award — is how it’s included the community in the lodge’s daily life, ethos and evolution. Find out more about Chaa Creek here.
Issue 03: Claire Wasserman, founder of Ladies Get Paid
Claire Wasserman is a coach, author, speaker, and founder of Ladies Get Paid. Ladies Get Paid is an organisation that helps women advocate for themselves at work; through community, education and activism. Advocating for yourself at work could come in the form of a salary negotiation, but it could also be communication — if you’re having a tough time speaking up for yourself; if there’s something uncomfortable happening at work; or becoming a manager. Ladies Get Paid teach classes around those things and have a private Slack group — which is used as a community-building tool. Find out more about Ladies Get Paid here.
Issue 04: Robyn Dooley, founder of OH Liverpool
Robyn Dooley was the founder of OH! — an exploratory education for creative individuals and organisations. OH was focused on design hands-on experiences taught by industry leaders to build in-demand skills. We caught up with Robyn in issue 04 of Ethos to talk about education and ethical inspirations. Robyn Dooley is now a strategist at Super Hi! Find out more about Super Hi! here.
Issue 05: Andrea Keay, Managing Director and Founder of Silicon Valley Robotics
Andrea Keay is the managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, an industry group which supports the innovation and commercialisation of robot technologies. The leading non-profit robotics cluster has more than 600 robotics startups and 50% of the global robotics investment activity. Andrea spends a lot of time publicising the amazing women that are working in robotics. Find out more about Silicon Valley Robotics here.
Issue 06: Karen Okonkwo, Co-founder TONL
Karen Okonkwo is the co-founder of TONL, a stock photography business that provides diverse images of people from around the world. Created to ‘challenge the stale, homogenous look of traditional stock photography’, TONL launched with a mission to educate and inspire. TONL, a modern twist on the word ‘tonal’, refers to different skin tones and the cultural, social and racial diversity it showcases. Find out more about TONL here.
Issue 07: Kate Raworth, co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab
Kate Raworth is an economist known for her work on the ‘doughnut economy’, in which she balances the economic benefits of meeting basic human needs, with planetary boundaries. Having spent decades working with the UN and Oxfam, Raworth now works as a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford. Find out more about Kate and her work here.
Issue 08: Jo Jones, beauty PR & co-founder of Beauty Banks
In January 2018, Jo Jones along with beauty journalist Sali Hughes, started a social movement — beauty banks — powered by the belief that being clean is a human right. Providing sanitary products and cosmetics to those unable to afford them, Beauty Banks are like food banks, but with beauty essentials and toiletries, instead. Find out more about Beauty Banks and how you can get involved here.
Issue 09: Thinlas Chorol, founder of the Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company
The mountainous region of Ladakh is a popular trekking destination. Thinlas Chorol dreamed of being a trekking guide there, but local organisations refused to employ a woman. So, in 2009 she founded the Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company, which is now the region’s most highly regarded trekking organisation. Find out more about Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company here.
Issue 10: Thalia Mavros, founder of The FRONT
Thalia Mavros founded The FRONT to give a voice to the kinds of women Thalia admires. The FRONT is a female-led documentary production studio and creative think tank that was founded with the belief that compelling stories have the power to make us relish in our humanity and reaffirm our ability to affect change. The FRONT produce films and tv that bring underrepresented perspectives to the forefront, while celebrating human connection. Find out more about Thalia and The FRONT here.
Issue 11: Tracey Wise, founder of Safe Gigs for Women
Tracey Wise, is the founder of Safe Gigs for Women, a volunteer-led organisation working with the music industry to combat sexual harassment and assault at music events. Safe Gigs for Women is a volunteer-led organisation, made up of a small team, who work with all those involved in the live music scene to actively change the attitude that allows sexual assault to happen. Safe Gigs for Women are currently crowdfunding for a space at festivals this summer, find out more here.
Issue 12: Sarah Beydoun, founder of Sarah’s bags
In Beirut, luxury fashion brand and social enterprise Sarah’s Bag employs female prisoners and underprivileged women to make designer handbags. As both a fashion label and social enterprise, Sarah’s Bag works to empower underprivileged women. The signature hand beading and embroidery the bags are known for is meticulously crafted by a team of over 200 women, among whom are female prisoners, ex-prisoners and underprivileged women in Lebanon. Find out more about Sarah’s bags here.
Issue 13: Staney DeGraff, CEO of the Innovatrium Institute for Innovation
Staney DeGraff is CEO of the Innovatrium Institute for Innovation, a laboratory and consulting firm specializing in creating innovation culture and capabilities. Alongside her husband Jeff, the pair have worked with over half of all Fortune 500 companies on ways to make innovation happen. They’re the authors of a new book, The Creative Mindset, designed to help people transform their creative thinking. Find out more here.
Issue 14: Wing Sze Tang, writer & founder of Wayword Media
Writer Wing Sze Tang is in the business of smart storytelling. Wing Sze Tang is an award-winning writer and editor with a focus on lifestyle journalism. She is also the founder of Wayword Media, a boutique content agency specializing in smart storytelling. Find out more here.
Issue 15: Karmen Tang, founder of Another Start-up story
Karmen Tang creates meaningful digital solutions for brands with purpose and authenticity. Another startup story is a consultancy and business coaching platform. It serves as a daily source of inspiration and education for creatives, entrepreneurs and freelancers. Learning from the industry’s leading business leaders, brands and startups, through workshops, events, storytelling, and a podcast series. Find out more here.
Issue 16: Abi Adamson, founder & DEI Director of The Diversity Partnership
Abi Adamson is the founder and DEI director of The Diversity Partnership (TDP). TDP delivers game-changing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) culture strategies and training sessions for some of the world’s best-known companies, including Spotify, Slack, Fiit and Papier. Find out more about Abi and The Diversity Partnership here.
Issue 17: Nasrin Mohamed Ibrahim, head of Bilan Media
Bilan Media is a media organisation with the refreshing voices of female journalists reporting on women’s issues in the country and establishing the first all-female media house in Mogadishu, the nation’s capital. Bilan has made a splash already, with unique stories distributed online in both English and Somali, accessible not only to readers in the country itself but also outside of Somalia. Before Bilan Media, Nasrin was one of the directors in a media house in Mogadishu, and prior to that she worked in radio. She studied mass communication in Mogadishu and did a bachelor’s degree in economics and business, as well as studying an English programme. Find out more about Bilan Media here.
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