"OFFICIAL FWR Women of the Year Awards 2020

[WarOnWomen]

Following on from @ErrolTheDragon's excellent thread on women whom we have admired and who have achieved so much this year ( www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4111315-fwr-women-of-the-year ) I welcome you to the "OFFICIAL" FWR's Women of the Year Award 2020.

These were the guidelines set out by ErrolTheDragon:

*No fictional women
*Women valued for something more than appearance or entertainment value
*Can (should?) include women who we don't all agree with or necessarily admire.

It could include:

A) FWR heroes, some of whom won't be widely known.
B) women who you might expect to see a women of the year list in a serious newspaper. If they might figure in a 'people of the year' list or, if they'd been a man, men of the year.

All category winners will be announced on 31 December. Category of “Courage Calls To Courage” is still open for voting. PLEASE VOTE or nominate someone if you do not agree with my nominations – I chose the most obviously courageous women.

Just to be absolutely clear, these categories are ones I came up with (after asking ErrolTheDragon), you may or may not agree with them. I've included up to 5 (6 in 2) women in each category depending on how many were nominated. I have only included women who were nominated more than once (except Science, Medicine and Health), otherwise it would have been a nightmare to manage. Hopefully, everyone is in the right category, if not, I’m sure you will let me know . I think I have got everyone who were nominated, my apologies if I haven’t but I did try my best. I have also included some quotes, if they were given. Finally, I really enjoyed researching the women whom I had not heard of. So without further ado:

Academia & Research
Alice Sullivan
Maintaining their commitment to intellectual rigour and rational debate under hostile questioning from the misnamed Women and Equalities Committee
Emma Hilton
for her relentless insistence on scientific truth in the face of a Twitter audience determined to avoid it
Kathleen Stock
Of everything I've read, I find Dr Stock's writing to be the most considered and coherent and to really challenge and further the GC school of thought. I also really admire that she always stays true to her principles, never makes sweeping assertions or judgements about people and never retaliates in the face of what has been really horrible bullying. I honestly don't know how she does it but she's a real asset to GC feminism.
Rosa Freedman
maintaining their commitment to intellectual rigour and rational debate under hostile questioning from the misnamed Women and Equalities Committee
Selina Todd
risking censure and worse for telling the truth

Tireless Campaigner
Hibo Wardere
Nimco Ali
Dr Nicola Williams
Posie Parker
for her persistence in the face of criticism from all sides and raising awareness through "controversial" publicity strategy
Stephanie Davis-Arai
for substantive intervention in the Keira Bell judicial review

Freedom of Speech
Allison Bailey
Kate Scottow
Maya Forstater
Sarah Phillimore

International
Angela Merkel
Senator Claire Chandler
Iseult White
Martina Navratilova

Law, Policy & Politics (Scotland)
Joan McAlpine
Johann Lamont
for protecting vulnerable women

Nicola Sturgeon
Joanna Cherry
Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn, Lisa McKenzie

Law, Policy & Politics
Baroness Emma Nicholson
Not sure the Baroness can be nominated enough. A) her decades of work for women and children and B) to think it was only earlier this year she turned her attention to this.
Jackie Doyle-Price
Karen Davis
Liz Truss
for spearheading an important political conversation
Rosie Duffield
for truth-telling despite abuse
Sarah Field
standing up for women in Leeds

Science, Medicine and Health
Ozlem Tureci and Sarah Gilbert Oxford Covid Vaccine
Ruth May (Chief Nursing Officer)
for refusing to say what Boris/Cummings told her too and getting banned from the press conferences
Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna - Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Writing and Journalism
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Helen Joyce
Her work at the Economist has been important in preventing a mainstream respected publication from switching its brain off like so many others have done
Janice Turner
Julie Bindel
Rachel Rooney
Suzanne Moore
deserves credit for sticking it out as long as she did at the Guardian and also fighting hard against the bullshit

Media and Entertainment
Alison Moyet
Dolly Parton

Courage Calls to Courage Award
For Outstanding Courage - VOTING STILL OPEN - PLEASE VOTE
Keira Bell
for taking a stand
Rosie Duffield
for truth-telling despite abuse
JK Rowling
for sticking to her principles and speaking up in the face of horrific abuse
Senator Claire Chandler
Mrs A

FWR WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2020 – tba on 31 December
We have a clear winner.

I wouldn’t know where to begin... and the International Award would be too large to handle...

Ok, I'll do one - Babdoc may have a nominee.

FWR Weasel of the Year - nominations now open www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4121251-fwr-weasel-of-the-year-nominations-now-open

Keira Bell and also the Brave Mother who's name we won't know.

@NeurotreeWenceslas

Keira Bell and also the Brave Mother who's name we won't know.

I'm going for them too. These are women who had no power or influence, who don't themselves benefit from what they achieved.

Sarah Phillimore for doing all her meetings publicly.

Keira Bell, because it takes genuine bravery to admit you made a mistake (were horribly misled).

And in general the list is fantastic. The only good thing that has come out of this sorry mess for me is being inspired by so many amazing women.

WarOnWomen

Babdoc
May I ask why Nicola Sturgeon is on this list? Given that she and her party are fighting to abolish both free speech and women’s rights to single sex spaces?
Or are we now honouring “enemies of feminism” with awards? Rather like Women in Industry giving awards to men.

Because she was nominated in the last thread, which included women whose views we don't necessarily agree with.

Law, Policy & Politics (Scotland)
Joan McAlpine
Johann Lamont
for protecting vulnerable women
Nicola Sturgeon
Joanna Cherry
Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn, Lisa McKenzie

NS - how is she protecting vulnerable women?

Surely the point is that - irrespective of her other politics which we may/may not agree with - all the other great Scots women included in the list are trying to undo exactly what NS is trying to implement - at great personal cost to themselves.

We have a whole Scots politics section because of her.

The biggest threat to women’s rights and freedom of speech in Scotland is on her

Keira Bell.

Keira gets my vote. She didn't have to do what she did - she got no personal gain - hopefully she and Mrs A have enabled the future generation of girls to benefit from thoughtful exploratory mental health care and watchful waiting rather than what happened to Keira. And if it means that the NHS has to finally face the consequences of taking instructions from lobby groups rather than providing ethical medical care then the outcomes will be even more immense.

On the eve of a new year what an outstanding group of women to see.

@ErrolTheDragon

Ok, I'll do one - Babdoc may have a nominee.

That new thread is filling up quick but you were the only one to mention NS!

On the eve of a new year what an outstanding group of women to see.

It is lovely and very heartening to see this

Keira Bell and JK Rowling for reasons already mentioned.

And I'm going to add Kate Scottow whose case was far more significant than I realised at the time, and who, despite what must have been an unbelievably stressful year, never once sounded sorry for herself.

What an amazing list of inspirational women

For the courage award I vote for Keira Bell. As many have already pointed out, she didn't have to do what she did and stood to gain nothing personally. Thank you Keira

Keira Bell.

Although special mention for JK, who has some cushioning that Keira doesn't, but has done what is right and not what is easy, and has opened herself up to some utterly appalling treatment because of it.

For the Courage Calls to Courage award, it would have to be JKR for me, as it was her bravery in coming out batting for women as she did that got me out on Twitter (before that, lurked only, never tweeted).

I think she took the whole debate public. Knowing the attacks she would face, as a woman in the public eye.

That said, in terms of whose actions have had the most tangible difference, and must have needed the most courage, as an ordinary young woman, I'd hand it to Keira.

Amazing women both.

And a fabulous list. What incredible women there are, doing great work.

Oh rats I'm too late to the game as I would have nominated the incredible Jenny Marra MSP. She put her head above the parapet to question the NHS's use of the language 'assigned at birth' and was (of course) flamed for it.

I have to agree with a PP that Nicola Sturgeon does not belong on a list of feminists but hey ho.

Thanks for the list. It's a heartening way to end an enormously difficult year for FWR.

I think it has to be JKR for the Courage win. She has redefined herself and her beloved work in the eyes of millions of people, all in the cause of furthering women's rights. The level of hatred and vitriol she has faced is terrifying, simply for pointing out the obvious.

Joking apart, it makes no sense to have Sturgeon and Cherry on the same list, when Cherry, at great cost to her political career, is trying to oppose Sturgeon’s destruction of women’s hard won rights to single sex spaces.
I’m autistic, and very logical minded. I fail to see any logic in this. Saying that Sturgeon was also (wrongly) included in a previous list is hardly a justification!

I suppose Babdoc she is a powerful woman of influence, excellent people skills, a strong leader, popular, a skilled orator and has not got where she is based on her looks/money/a man. For all of that I do respect her and can see that she is someone who is, in some ways, furthering the interests of women.

Her politics distress me to the point of having to force slow deep breaths, but I cannot deny the above.

Yes I agree Babdoc. I don't think NS should be on the list but she was nominated more than once and I was not going to leave her out just because of my own personal views. I've just collated the names and put them in various categories.

Thank you to all the amazing eloquent women on the FWR board. I only became fully aware of what was going on after JKR’s tweet..was extremely confused and aghast and came on these boards looking for answers. I found them and I found the information needed to argue my case with the young wokester relatives who patronisingly tried to slap my wrist for expressing my views. So thank you for that.
Since then I have spread the word amongst friends, dug, wrote emails to MP’s and remained so angry.
It is hard to choose amongst all these wonderful strong women but I’ll vote for JKR simply due to the sunlight she shone for me.

Ah well, it was a bit optimistic to hope the other thread would see out the year.

I see ‘The Weasles 2020’ thread has been deleted.

@ErrolTheDragon

Ah well, it was a bit optimistic to hope the other thread would see out the year.

I was surprised it got to 80 odd posts before it got deleted so kudos for that. Ah well errol, you tried. Most of the posts kept to your guidance which I take as a positive. Others, while inappropriate, gave me laughs. The Last Gasp Award is still making me giggle.

Best to move on I guess - don't want to accidentally get this thread nuked by association!