Reverse, Reset, Restore

Women Who Accelerated Societal Shifts - International Women's Month 2025 - Part 7

• Season 1 • Episode 123

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Speaker 1:

You're listening to Reverse, reset Restore, a podcast about action, progress over perfection and challenging the limits placed on us, even when they are self-imposed limitations. I'm, sally, a recovering perfectionist and I've learned that waiting for the right moment is the fastest way to stand still. This is episode 7 of our International Women's Month series, where we're looking at the theme for this year's International Women's Day Accelerate Action, because every movement forward, big or small matters, change comes from within. Some women don't just participate in history, they change its course entirely. Now, that's a big statement and it would be easy to attribute it to a few select women, like the ladies we've been talking about in this special series. But while I've been highlighting a few historical babes, as Ted Theodore Logan called them in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, I personally believe that there lies the capacity to change the world within each one of us and, in fact, every single one of us has done so in at least some small way. In today's final episode in our series, we'll celebrate Harriet Tubman series will celebrate Harriet Tubman, eleanor Roosevelt, rosa Parks and Mary Wollonstonecraft four women who accelerated some of the most significant societal shifts in history. Through her position of privilege, eleanor Roosevelt called for action for human rights, while experience inspired action for Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, let's explore a little bit of these ladies in further detail. Imagine risking your life again and again, not just for your own freedom, but for the freedom of hundreds.

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This is the story of Harriet Tubman. This is the story of Harriet Tubman. Born into slavery in Maryland, she suffered immense hardship and physical abuse. When Harriet was a child, she sustained a traumatic head injury which led to lifelong seizures and visions which she interpreted as divine guidance. Harriet escaped slavery in 1849, but instead of seeking safety, she returned repeatedly to lead others to freedom through the Underground Railroad, rescuing approximately 70 people in 13 missions. Through her own lived experiences, harriet was determined to free as many enslaved people she could from a fate worse than death, which slavery definitely is. In our modern day thinking, we like to think that slavery is far behind us, that repugnant reminder of a less civilized society who didn't know any better. Sadly, slavery is worse now than it has ever been in our history, with over 13 million people, mostly women and children, around the world still in shackles to this inhumane practice. It's just not as obvious a practice as what we see in America's history. Instead, now it moves in the shadows or under headings like sweatshops or human trafficking. Harriet's relentless bravery reshaped the fight for evolution and human rights and cemented her in the history books as a symbol of resistance and liberation. Look up the definition of fearless and you might just see the name Harriet Tubman etched right beside it.

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What if the First Lady of the United States didn't just stay in the White House but instead became the world's most influential advocate for human rights? Eleanor Roosevelt did that. Born in 1884 to a prominent but troubled family, eleanor Roosevelt faced personal hardships, including the death of both of her parents at a young age. Despite those hardships and her initial shyness and low self-esteem, she grew into one of the most influential public figures of the 20th century. I love that for her. Eleanor transformed the role of First Lady into a position of activism. She was a driving force behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, advocating for social justice and equal rights for all. Her influence extended far beyond the White House. No-transcript Rosa Parks.

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America was a vastly different experience to that of Eleanor's White House and privilege. Born in 1913 in Alabama, rosa faced segregation from an early age. Working as a seamstress, rosa seemed to be living the expected reality of a black woman in the segregated South. But what happens? When you take an ordinary woman with extraordinary courage, you get a power move that ricocheted around the globe. Rosa took a simple but powerful stand. By refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, alabama, in 1955, she sparked a nationwide movement for civil rights. Her quiet defiance became one of the most defining moments in the fight for racial equality and became an international symbol of resistance. Throughout her life, rosa continued her activism, fighting for racial justice and forcing the end of segregation.

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And for our final lady, let's head back in time to London 1759, where Mary Woollenscraft was born and bred. Mary came from a troubled background, with an abusive father and a mother who struggled to care for her children. She faced tremendous social and economic challenges, with few opportunities for women to pursue education or careers. Sounds familiar, right? That's because it's really own in modern day times that women have had those opportunities to be educated, to have a career, to pursue something other than wife, mother, in-house, free labor. Mary's ideas on women's equality and education were revolutionary, sparking societal shifts that continue to influence our world today.

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Despite the societal hurdles, mary defied the norms of her time, becoming one of the first women to advocate publicly for women's rights and equality and is regarded as one of the founding figures of feminist philosophy. In 1792, she wrote a radical work, a Vindication of the Rights of Women, in which she argued that women were not inherently inferior to men, but were instead made to appear so due to a lack of education and opportunity. She championed the idea that women should have access to the same educational opportunities as men, as education was the key to women's independence and empowerment. And, just as a side note, that still holds true today, education is always the key to independence and empowerment. Her ideas were controversial for the time, especially her advocacy for women to break free from traditional gender roles and marry for love, not economic necessity. Though her ideas were not widely accepted in her own time, her work became a cornerstone of feminist movements in the 19th and 20th centuries, and today she's celebrated as a visionary whose advocacy for women's rights continues to shape discussions on gender equality.

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All of these women didn't just witness societal shifts. They accelerated them. They challenged oppression, they demanded something more, and their courage and tenacity paved the way for generations to come, you and me included. The lesson here is clear Real change requires action. Whether through resistance or advocacy or policy. These women show us that transformation starts with those who dare to challenge injustice. As we wrap up the series, let us remember that the women we've explored were more than pioneers. They were forces of change. They shattered barriers, redefined possibilities and created pathways that continue to shape our world today. Their courage and determination and strength of will was not just for themselves, but for future generations, including us.

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Yet, standing here in 2025, we must acknowledge that that fight is far from over. Many of the rights and freedoms these women fought for are under threat, and progress is not always linear. In times of political and social regression, like the times we're in at the moment, we cannot afford to be passive observers. Honouring these women is not just about remembering their stories. It is about carrying their work forward with renewed urgency. We own the now. This moment belongs to us, and it belongs to the future generations of women who are relying on us to hold the line. No, not just hold the line, but keep pushing it forward, whether in culture or education or science or activism, politics or beyond. We must continue the momentum they built. We must uplift the women in our own lives. Our mothers must uplift the women in our own lives our mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues and ensure that the struggle for dignity, equality and justice never falters. The future is ours to shape, but only if we take action.

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So I leave you with this challenge. How will you accelerate change today? How will you honor the legacy of the women who have come before us? How will you honor your own legacy? Let's continue the conversation, amplify the voices that need to be heard and keep pushing forward, because the fight for equality is not just history, it is now. It is us.

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As you can tell, I'm pretty passionate about this, so we'll finish out this episode in our 2025 International Women's Month series with another timely quote from Mary Wollstonecraft. Everything that makes the world good starts when we recognize each other as equals. If we can strip away our prejudices, our purchased hate and our fear-driven belief systems, we just might begin to come to a place where we look out for each other instead of living out this weird landscape of justified resentments and hating people for being something other than ourselves. Mary said there must be more equality established in society, or morality will never gain ground, and this virtuous equality will not rest firmly even when founded on a rock, if one half of mankind be chained to its bottom by fate, for they will be continually undermining it through ignorance or pride.