The Female Lead

The Female Lead is an educational charity launched in 2015. It is dedicated to increasing the visibility of women's success stories in all walks of life and offering girls a wider selection of role models than those represented in popular culture.[1]

History

The Female Lead launched on International Women's Day in 2015. It was founded by data science entrepreneur Edwina Dunn.[2]

The Female Lead Book was published by Ebury Press in February 2017.[3] Within its 250 pages it profiles 60 women of all ages and professional backgrounds, including Meryl Streep, Christine Lagarde, Leymah Gbowee, Ava DuVernay, Lena Dunham, Karlie Kloss, Jo Malone MBE and Dame Athene Donald.[4] Portrait photography was provided by French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, and interviews were conducted by journalists Geraldine Bedell, Rosanna Greenstreet and Hester Lacey. Alongside the book, video interviews with each woman were made by film-maker Marian Lacombe, Brigitte's Lacombe's sister.

The book features women including politicians and artists, journalists and teachers, engineers and campaigners, firefighters and film stars. Each was chosen for their inspiring story.[5]

On 8 February 2017, the book, its accompanying documentary by Marian Lacombe and teaching resource, were launched at The Imax Theatre of London's Science Museum.[6]

The Female Lead is donating 18,000 copies of the book to schools, colleges and universities in the UK and USA.[7]

Work

In addition to the book, The Female Lead conducts a programme of schools’ outreach.[8] The programme speaks to secondary schools and university students about role models and career aspirations.[9] In 2018, it also began a research project, led by Dr Terri Apter, to discover the impact of role models on young women's aspirations.[10][11] The research launched in October 2019 encouraging young girls to follow positive role models.[12][13]

Activities

The Female Lead hosts events and workshops showcasing female role models to women and girls in their network.[14] In March 2019, The Female Lead partnered with Disney for the UK premiere of the movie Captain Marvel.[15][16] It surprised a young Marvel super-fan, Illie, with tickets to the premiere and the chance to conduct red carpet interviews with stars of the film including Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson.[17][18]

In 2017 and 2018, The Female Lead partnered with Women in Data UK (WiD UK) to launch "20 in Data & Technology", an initiative designed to showcase outstanding stories of female achievement in data and technology across the UK.[19][20]

Awards and nominations

In 2018, Edwina Dunn, through The Female Lead, was awarded the ‘Women’s Empowerment Award’ by Fashion 4 Development, and the Evening Standard Changemaker Award.[21][22]

In 2019, The Female Lead was shortlisted for the National Diversity Awards.[23]

References
  1. "Why Everyone is Talking About The Female Lead: An Interview with Edwina Dunn". Shout Out UK. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  2. Crockett, Moya (12 November 2018). "Woman of the Week: Edwina Dunn, The Female Lead founder". Stylist. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  3. Dunn, Edwina (9 February 2017). The Female Lead. Retrieved 24 November 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. "Meryl Streep". The Female Lead. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  5. "Edwina Dunn". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  6. "THE FEMALE LEAD". MARIAN LACOMBE. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  7. "Ten Women Who've Changed The Conversation This Year". Grazia. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  8. "Ten Women Who've Changed The Conversation This Year". Grazia. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  9. Johnston, Lucy (12 October 2019). "New social media scheme encourages girls to follow positive figures such as Michelle Obama". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  10. "Keeping up with the kids". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  11. "Teenage girls' social media use: a project to facilitate positive effects | The Leverhulme Trust". www.leverhulme.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  12. Tanaka, Atsushi; Takemura, Hikaru; Tajima, Keishi (2014). "Why you follow". Proceedings of the 25th ACM conference on Hypertext and social media. New York, New York, USA: ACM Press. pp. 324–326. doi:10.1145/2631775.2631790. ISBN 978-1-4503-2954-5. S2CID 2753645.
  13. nytimespost (12 October 2019). "New social media scheme encourages girls to follow positive figures such as Michelle Obama". Ny Times Post. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  14. "'On the Basis of Sex' with 'The Female Lead' by Millie Adams, Surbiton High School". Surrey Comet. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. "Brie Larson has heartwarming interaction with mini Captain Marvel at premiere: 'She's my hero!'". The Independent. 28 February 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  16. America, Good Morning. "Brie Larson signs a little girl's comic book and stuns at 'Captain Marvel' premiere". Good Morning America. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  17. Shaffi, Sarah (28 February 2019). "Brie Larson met a mini Captain Marvel, here's why that's important". Stylist. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  18. "Brie Larson Meeting a Mini Captain Marvel Will Make Your Day". E! Online. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  19. "Major initiative to inspire women in the data industry - DecisionMarketing". Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  20. "20 in Data & Tech reveals female industry role models - DecisionMarketing". Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  21. "First Ladies Luncheon". Fashion 4 Development. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  22. "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2018 - The Changemakers". Evening Standard. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  23. "The Female Lead". National Diversity Awards. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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