So. 2020, huh?

It’s been a Year, and as I write this – New Year’s Eve, watching the sun go down – I can’t help but think about how different things were this time last year. We’ve all had to deal with everything that 2020 has thrown at us, and many of us have lost things and people who we love.

It’s been hard. Even getting through the year is an achievement, and we should all feel proud of managing that. 

I don’t want to spend too long here thinking back on 2020, because I don’t think I’m alone in being glad that it’s over. Sure, January 1st is just another day and nothing will be magically fixed, but it’s nice to draw a line under such a devastating year. It’s nice to take a breath and turn a leaf and say Things will get better. 

There are, however, some things to be celebrated – speaking specifically about women’s rights. 2020 was the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the United States; also in the US, Kamala Harris became the first woman, and first woman of colour, to be elected Vice President. Scotland recently became the first country to provide free, universal access to period products. And just the other day (30th December) Argentina legalised abortion up to fourteen weeks, a huge achievement which was the culmination of a years long fight by Argentine activists. 

Women have also hit the headlines for responses to the pandemic – many of the countries who handled it best have been led by women, notably New Zealand (Jacinda Ardern), Iceland (Katrín Jakobsdóttir), Germany (Angela Merkel), Denmark (Mette Frederiksen), and Taiwan (Tsai Ing-wen). This has brought up questions about female leadership, especially as women lead only about 10% of countries, for example, should more women be in positions of power? (Answer: yes.) 

It would also be remiss of me not to include a note about some of the amazing women we lost this year – notably, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Supreme Court Justice), Diana Rigg (actress), Katherine Johnson (NASA mathematician), and Saroj Khan (celebrated Bollywood choreographer). 

Moving on, I want to look now towards the future. I started this blog back in August with no real expectations – I just wanted to have fun, learn a thing or two, and maybe share it with a few people along the way. 

I’ve said it so many times by this point, but I really am grateful to everyone who follows me on social media and/or reads this blog. You’re all incredible, and you’ve certainly made my 2020 that bit better. 

I’ve made 21 posts and covered so many fascinating women. Some of my personal favourites were Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Duleep Singh, and Anne Bonny – though I’ve loved researching every single article. I hope you’ve all enjoyed it as much as I have!

My (current) plans for 2021 are as follows:

• Blog articles will move to fortnightly for the next few months – hopefully I’ll get back to weekly posts later in the year
• I will still be active on socials and Instagram will continue with a weekly Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule
• On the blog, I’ll be doing an A-Z series of women’s history – some of these will be biographies as I’ve already done, others will cover events or concepts

I’m also attempting to reorganise the website and add a directory of women I’ve covered to make navigation easier. I’m not the most technologically competent, so we’ll see how this goes!

Thank you all once again – I really cannot say it enough! Here’s to a better 2021, and I hope you all have a fantastic New Year!