IWD 2022: 7 women leaders without kids who've helped change the world

Happy International Women’s Day to you! This year, in addition to sending a little love to all people who identify as Women everywhere, I also wanted to celebrate the achievements of one of the sometimes forgotten, but ever growing groups of Women; those without children by choice or circumstance. There is an unfortunate stereotype that exists for this group of Women, (for the whole group of people of all genders who identify as childfree by choice or circumstance really) that inherently impacts on the open participation of this group of Women in today. One that says that if you are one, you’re inherently narcissistic, selfish and contribute nothing of value to society by doing so.


This notion, as a self professed Women without kids by the combination of choice and circumstance, who is friends with, works with, runs programs for, speaks and writes now about how to thrive in career love and life as a Women exploring life beyond the traditional life path of biological Motherhood, I feel the emphatic, compulsive obligation to, with love, call bullsh*t on.  So much so, that I spent the last few days navigating through hundreds of wikipedia linked articles and digging up lists of at least 400 famous people of various occupations who didn’t go on to have children of their own, yet are household names you would likely recognise, and then shortly after also likely realise have more than likely been a frequent part of your reality, growth and enjoyment during the course of your time on our humble planet, wherever upon it you reside.


Granted, this is a little Western White Privileged Middle Class born White Woman who identifies as slightly more bisexual than cis gender heterosexual centric in my compilation. But if you’re in this group of people yourself, I want you to know, especially today, that I see you! I see how often, how very purpose oriented and driven, how extremely dedicated and just how hard-working for your causes that you are. I see you struggling with your own version of creating work life balance, wealth and sustainability, while you’re managing and juggling all your professional projects, relationships, businesses, side hustles…and trying to squeeze in time to date or be present for friends and family at the same time. I see you feeling second to the hard working, high achieving Mums and feeling like it’s not ok to honour you in comparison, to ask or to celebrate all that you are and bring to the world, out in public. But you know that you really do deserve your time today too, right? There are so many millions of Women without kids of their own out there doing life changing, world impacting work out there that is absolutely a legacy to the world that deserves to be seen and celebrated, openly and with pride, today of all days, and every day.


So if you are one, please join me in taking just 5 minutes some time today to sit somewhere quiet, close your eyes, list at least 3-5 reasons that the world is so damn lucky to have you. To affirm that what unique gifts you bring to the world are so very needed in the world, right now of all times. And to reaffirm to yourself that you are needed, your belong here and it is your time to not just shine in the world, and to build your legacy. But to thrive in being happy, in creating a life you truly love,  and expressing your fullest potential, in a thousand other ways (other than having achieved the miracle of growing a life and squeezed a baby out your ………. That is an EPIC achievement that deserves a whole lot of celebration…..and so too is the reason your were born to this planet, and you living this next phase of your journey is a needed part of your unique life purpose…and the very reason you’re here. For the little and big differences you will make in the world, we thank and celebrate you today. Bless and thank you. Massive love and huge hugs to you.


Nat xx


P.S. For inspirational and educational purposes this International Women’s Day, here is a list of 7 well-known Women who didn’t have children of their own (+ at least 1 Step Mum), that you might know of, that I think are pretty epic, who’ve made a massive positive impact in society in various ways too. (Big thanks and acknowledgement to the countless contributors to the wiki resources and articles linked below and paraphrased or quoted above, from which I’ve compiled the below achievements and bios.

Oprah Winfrey

American television personality, actress, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Oprah undeniably has one of the most popular daily talk shows in the genre not just in the United States, but is undeniably influential across the world in shaping the conversation and trends of modern day life, not to mention in promoting numerous causes. Plus has been a role model and highly influential in breaking down many of the glass ceilings that exist for Women of colour, in not just the US, but numerous other countries where she is aired, or her content is accessible. Her compassionate, but honest interview technique is brilliant in the quality of honest human sharing she makes it safe for her guests to engage in…and many of us are undeniably better off for the personal journeys we’ve been on, watching her work. She also happens to not have had any children of her own, but is undeniably one of the world’s most prominent nurtures, in a whole host of ways, and so makes our list of Women who’ve made a massive contribution to humanity, despite being “without children.”[1]​

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Ellen Degeneres
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After surviving coming out on national television, her sitcom being dropped by the Network and advertising sponsors shortly after, navigating 2 years of proverbial “dark night of the soul” in the contemplation of “What now?” and then rising a few years later into the amazing public presence that Ellen is today, American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer Ellen De Generes is widely regarded as having been massively influential in opening up the LGBTIQA conversation in America (and Internationally, given the global reach of media) and was publicly praised by President Obama for her contribution to the gay rights movement during his term in office. Not to mention has also won numerous awards for her charitable contributions to the world. How many lives the world over has her good humour, with and kindness touched the hearts of? What an awesome legacy she and Spouse Portia De Rossi leave to the world….but yep their legacies also extend beyond having had or not having had children. [2]

Bell Hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins)

Gloria Jean Watkins, pen name Bell Hooks, was (as she put it) a “queer-pas-gay” American author, professor, feminist, social activist, and academic, who taught at institutions including Stanford University, Yale University, and The City College of New York, before joining Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, in 2004,  where a decade later she founded the Bell Hooks Institute. [3]


Having published around 40 books, plus a range of essays, poetry and children's books, published numerous scholarly articles, appeared in documentary films, and participated in public lectures, the focus of Hooks's body of work has been summed up as the exploration of the intersectionality of race, capitalism, gender, and what she described as their ability to produce and perpetuate systems of oppression and class domination. It is undeniable that her legacy of work and contributions to feminist theory and activism have positively influenced whole generations of women, men and non-binary people seeking to abolish gendered violence, misogyny, discrimination, exploitation and oppression, in order to achieve the gift for each individual of freedom and bring about a better world. And it just so happens that she never formally married or had children. Yet her work is still rippling onwards and outwards, continuing to positively influence the globe, beyond the state she set out to help change. [3]

Shabana Azmi

​At age 66, Shabana Azmi, is widely celebrated for her career achievements as a Hindi film, television and theatre Actress, known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres.  Having received the National Film Award for Best Actress five times, making her the overall most-awarded actor in the function and numerous other industry awards, in 1998, she was also honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour of the country, and in 2012, she was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour. In addition to acting, as a Psychology graduate and recipient of numerous honorary doctorates, Azmi is also a social and women's rights activist and a United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) Goodwill Ambassador, promoting reproductive rights for Indian Women through greater access to contraception and abortion in India.  In appreciation of Azmi's life and works, the President of India also gave her a nominated (unelected) membership of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament. Married to poet and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, she also has never had children of her own. Yet, in entertainment and activism, is creating a wonderful legacy in the world. [4]

​Fatema Mernissi

Fatema Mernissi, a Moroccan sociologist and feminist writer, who was one of the founders of Islamic feminism, is known for her sociopolitical approaches towards discussing gender and sexual identities, specifically those in Morocco and other Muslim countries. Throughout her career, Mernissi was an avid spokesperson regarding women's rights and equality, while also embracing the Islamic faith. Mernissi's works focused on providing a voice for oppressed and marginalized women, tackling issues such as Eurocentrism, intersectionality, transnationalism and global feminism in her publications and public lectures.  She has also brought to light the contributions of Muslim women to the economy and politics and acknowledged many factors that affect how females are viewed within Islamic cultures. As well as externally by Western Feminism.  She apparently studied political science at the Sorbonne in Paris and later at Brandeis University in the US, where she gained her doctorate in 1974.  And then returned to work at the Mohammed V University in Rabat and taught at the Faculté des Lettres between 1974 and 1981 on subjects such as methodology, family sociology and psychosociology. She was also apparently a research scholar at the University Institute for Scientific Research there. [5]


In addition to her most influential publications, she received several awards for her work. “In 2003, Mernissi was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award, along with Susan Sontag. Mernissi's acceptance speech, The Cowboy or Sinbad?, covered the topic of globalization, and was recognized for her pensive take, considering both the issue and effects of culture. In 2004, she was awarded the Erasmus Prize, alongside Sadik Al-Asm and Abdolkarim Soroush.” “For this award, she was recognized for her sociocultural impact since it was dedicated to "Religion and Modernity". “In 2017, The Middle East Studies Association created the Fatima Mernissi Book Award to recognize outstanding scholarship in studies of gender, sexuality, and women’s lived experience ”. [5]


Mernissi, I believe, never had children, but her legacy is the scholarly and literary contributions  she made to the early Islamic feminist movement and the undeniable impact they have had and continue to have in the world. [5]

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Frida Kahlo

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a world famous Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts  of Mexico, as well as for her famous self portraits. [6] Given how they were painted, she has also become a role model for generations of artists and  people with disabilities, having overcome multiple disabilities including childhood polio, spina bifida and pelvis damage from a car accident, to became a world-renowned self-portrait painter, using special devices created to mount her canvas and equipment, while she lay in bed. [7] Given the barriers for Women with disabilities in obtaining employment or achieving entrepreneurial success, she is iconic within both the art and disability communities for her achievements . [7] Do I really need to say any more than that? Oh, no wait, I do. Married to artist Diego Rivera, she was also bisexual and a person of influence within the LGBTIQA community. [7] She didn’t have children of her own, but again, has widely influenced the evolution of the global art community and the world with her perspective, determination, dedication, technique and contribution to art and culture.

Amelia Earthart
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Then there was this powerhouse. Amelia Mary Earhart, was an American aviation pioneer, author and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. [8] “She set many other records, was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.” [8]

“Ranked ninth on Flying's list of the 51 Heroes, decades after her presumed death, Earhart was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1968 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973 for her career achievements.” She also apparently achieved all this, with respiratory complications; having (while working as a nurse at Spadina Military Hospital during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, contracted it herself and faced 2 months of hospitalisation, followed by a year long recovery from the flu itself pre antibiotic era.  [8] While she went on to train at medical school and leave to instead pursue flying lessons and her career as a pilot, Chronic sinusitis significantly affected Earhart's flying and activities in later life, and she sometimes wore a bandage on her cheek to cover a small drainage tube.  [8]

​Known as one of the most inspirational American figures in aviation from the late 1920s throughout the 1930s, for both her competitive flying, world record attempts, early promotional activities of the safety of aviation, her legacy also involved the Women's causes she and friend Eleanor Roosevelt collaboratively worked towards.

While she never had children of her own, she was apparently step Mum to her partner’s children too. [8] And continues to inspire global explorers, high achievers and Women seeking non traditional career paths to this day.

Thats just seven stories of millions and millions the globe over of people without kids creating an awesome legacy in the world, beyond just that of passing on their genes. Wherever they are, and how visible or not, please do join me today in sending them a little acknowledgement and thanks for all that they do in the world too, in countless little and big ways in which they do it.


P.P.S. If you’d like to celebrate and discuss the achievements of these and other awesome Women and people of all genders and walks of life without kids, talk self care practices that help us be our best selves and connect with some other awesome Women who are working on thriving and creating their legacy in life without kids due to choice or circumstance, feel free to join us this Saturday 12th March 1:30pm Sydney/Melbourne AEDT for our next WELCOME Women’s Virtual Gathering. More info and register below:

REGISTER HERE

References:
​Image credits to Wikipedia
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabana_Azmi
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatema_Mernissi
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo
[7] https://www.respectability.org/2019/03/women-disabilities-frida-kahlo/
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart