Who do you genuinely admire and why?

[puzzleofapuzzle]

I've been approached to take part in an International Women's Day event this year where the theme is Inspiring Women, and it's got me thinking about people I've looked up to over the years.

So I'm curious: who do you look up to and admire most, and what is it about them that draws you to them? Could be someone you know, or someone in the public eye, and doesn't have to be a woman.

I'm not talking envy or people who have lives you wish you had – more people who live their lives in a way you can learn from, or who give you hope / motivation.

For me right now it's a woman I share a co-working space with. She's a very successful freelancer, and she's got this amazing blend of deep humility and total authenticity. No pretence, no showboating, she's just completely honest and frank about who she is and how she's feeling, where she's winning and where she's messing up, and crucially, what she's learning about herself all the time.

As I think about it, I think there's something to it about how she's separated her sense of self-worth from what she's getting right and wrong, so she's free to do well, to do something badly, and to be curious and open about it in a way that lets everyone off the hook for being human.

Who is it for you?

The lady that you said! She sounds ace and aspirational. How lucky you both are to have found each other.

At the moment this woman Pip Hare who was in the Southern Ocean somewhere, sailing in a solo round the world yacht race. Her boat lost its mast hundreds of miles from anywhere and I love the way she dealt with it. I’m not even interested in sailing!

I am lucky to have worked with some incredible women over the years, but one that particularly sticks out to me is the managing office partner at my first firm. She started out in admin, then made the move into tax and worked her way all the way up. Her job must have been so incredibly stressful but she never showed it. She always took the time to help me as a clueless trainee and would get involved in the office “banter” and loved getting the gossip on the down low haha. She also had two children who were in their teens by the time I started but still I was always in awe!

Dawn French.
Amazing career. Struggle with her health and weight. Her ability to remain so utterly human when in the public eye. Her vit is amazing and I love he writing style
And oh she is so funny

Yes I admire her.

BTW I should add that I am aware.op said not people whose life you wish you had. I Dont wish I was or had DF life I just admire how she has moved through hers.

Wow, what a legend... that level of ability to stay cool in a crisis is remarkable.

A former boss/mentor who sadly died of breast cancer shortly after we both retired. She was honest, kind, professional and really good at her job. Nobody ever had a bad word to say about her. Eight years on I still miss her and wish I could talk to her.

JK Rowling for standing up for women, Melanie Brown for her campaigning against domestic coercion and violence.

Gisèle Pelicot: for being so brave. What a woman

Yvette Cooper and Jess Phillips, for being relentlessly 'out there' in public service in grim circumstances (and great personal risk) and also for just being so damn SMART all the time. They give proper thoughtful answers to stuff and are clearly all over it. I'm in awe of them, honestly.

My boss is incredibly inspiring. She has MS but she does not let this affect her, she does all her own DIY, builds walls, built an outside pizza oven, she grows and makes all her own foods, makes cheeses and cured meats, she's just an incredible powerhouse of a woman and embodies a can do mentality, I just think she's marvellous. And if I told her that she'd be so surprised, she's so humble. She's had so much struggle in her life and will ultimately have her life expectancy limited by her condition, and yet she never moans or lets it stop her, and she's fiercely independent.

Meghan Markle for her quiet dignity.

A friend of mine has had a difficult life, full of poor health and people who have treated her appallingly, yet she is endlessly patient, selfless and kind, always doing things for others and taking on waifs and strays. I truly admire her triumph of hope over terrible experiences.

Catching up on Woman's Hour and listening to Joan Smith. I studied the Ancient Greeks at school and am so pleased she has taken the time to re read (in Latin) the classical texts to show that the women in the stories have been very unfairly portrayed by male historians throughout the ages. So many similarities with women being sidelined, gaslit, abused and killed by men in their lives then the classic victim blaming still being broadcast as "history". Shocking that no recent publications of these educational books bothered to actually check the original sources and make amendments; hopefully a new dawn for females in History and schools will be coming as a result.

A woman I have known for most of my life. She is local to me and we are part of the same church. She is probably the most selfless woman I know. Doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone and is absolutely lovely to be around. She’s not saccharine nice though - like she has opinions and she’ll share them - she just genuinely sees the best in everyone.

She spends her life serving others - most significantly by making meals for people, inviting people into her home for meals, visiting people who are housebound, and taking people out who aren’t able to get out themselves. She’s no doormat or martyr though, while she is always willing to go above and beyond, she will say no to things if it’s not going to work for her or if she just doesn’t want to do it. She has raised 4 lovely children who are all now in their 30s, all still close as a family, and who are all following in her footsteps in their own ways - all generous, kind, humble people who are lovely to be around.

She has a quiet strength, she’s not cowed by people or situations, and like I said, she’s not a doormat or martyr, but just genuinely a wonderful woman. She is the epitome of a feminist for me - she’s not in some high powered career, and she hasn’t broken any glass ceilings, but she has chosen a life of using her gifts and skills for the benefit of others, and does it all with a joy and kindness that is rarely seen.

I would like to be more like her

JK Rowling. She’s not afraid to stand up for women, our rights, our feelings and, most importantly, our future. She’s sharp, bold & fearless while also being kind, extremely generous & selfless. She has so many qualities that I really admire.

I’m going to say Emma Barnett, mainly because I’ve just watched a video of her talking about her endometriosis. I’m just so impressed at how she does quite a high-profile media job often in terrible pain. I know thousands of women are in a similar situation, but women in those roles attract so much scrutiny so it’s an extra level.

Another vote for JK Rowling. She's endlessly brave and clear sighted in her support for women and girls, in the face of really horrifying abuse

After reading the initial post JK Rowling was the first name that came into my mind.

Gisele Pelicot absolutely took my breath away last year.

Also JK Rowling.

The two women I admire the most have devoted their lives to rescuing animals.

One is the founder of Animals Asia who rescues Moon Bears from bile farms and lives in China. The other is rescuing chimpanzees and other primates and runs Monkey World in Dorset?

I have deep admiration for anyone who goes beyond to help make the world a better place for animals, children and others wherever in the world.

Im sure their lives are not easy but I envy them that passion. I also met a wonderful woman who runs Cat Rescue near Amesbury. She’s very busy with normal life but still manages to find time (above and beyond) for the cats.

Just thought of another one! I hardly know anything about this woman because she doesn’t say much about herself, but she’s an American (Canadian?) who runs Kabul animal rescue. Not sure how she’s managed to continue at the moment tbh. She seems to still be in Afghanistan and carries on taking care of an endless stream of cats and dogs and doesn’t give up.

Gisele pelicot-she's suffered but given back so many survivors the courage to stand up,be counted and force shame to swap sides

In my own life,I have two

One is my friend nina
She was the product of an affair between her married mother and married father
Given up at birth,she suffered at the hands of her Foster mother
She grew up,married an utter arsehole,gave birth to 4 children and her ex threw her out and refused to allow her anywhere near her children
Made her out to be an abuser,that she was 'mental' and lots of other stuff,and he was belived-he had her where he wanted her and he was determined to destroy her
He almost managed it
She finally got them back as adults and by this time she'd had another baby-hes grown up to be a fine young man
She ran a support group for single mums and I've never met anyone so nonjudgemental,kind,fearless and supportive
Bastard cancer got her in the end-and to the end,she faced it with kindness,bravery and a strength I could never have found-I've never cried so hard in my life when I got the call to say she'd passed

The song 'you can't always get what you want' was played at her funeral and it was a fitting song for a woman who put others first and was the most amazing woman I've ever had the privilege of knowing

The second is my mother in law
She met and married my darling fil and had two children (my dp is her firstborn-hes 50 and still her pfb!)
Her second child was a normal little girl until she mentioned she was struggling to see the blackboard at school
Mil took her for an eye test,they told her to go straight to hospital and there,she was diagnosed with battens disease
From what I can make out,she slowly lost her memory,went blind and had endless fits
Fil couldn't deal with this so buried himself in work,booze and cigarettes
Mil kept the home going,looked after her dd,brought up dp,looked after her sister when she was diagnosed with breast cancer,looked after her nephews,worked just over part time hours and just kept going with a strength I could never have found
Dps sister finally died in 2000 and mil nursed her to the end with love,patience and dignity
Fil died of cancer and she did the same for him to the end-he was a very smart and lucky man to have found and married her

She is an amazing woman (after all she puts up with me!)

I've said it before,but when she finally dies,the lights in this world will dim-shes a true angel without wings (and shes so mild in temper,that when she tells me off(which is often!) It's like taking a bollocking from winnie the pooh!)

We utterly adore her

My mum. Don't want to go into detail but she really enjoys her life and works hard at happiness. Consequently, she attracts friends and family.

Is this sarcasm?