Happy International Women’s Day! Today we celebrate the women in our lives, women who have enacted positive change, and women who have been working hard during the past year.

Today we celebrate the women who have been looking out for us during this pandemic: essential workers like those working in grocery stores, as cleaners and transit, education, and health care workers. We also celebrate women in leadership who have fought for workers’ rights and safety throughout this pandemic. Without them, there would be no end in sight for COVID-19.

We celebrate those who continue fighting for BIPOC and trans women, and women with accessibility needs while recognizing that there are still so many inequalities that we need to continue advocating for to see meaningful change.

Today we celebrate the women in the student movement who are leaders on campus. They inspire other women to join the movement and advocate for more accessible and affordable education for everyone.

Our Women’s Students’ Representative Melissa Chirino has put together a group of women who inspire her, tag your inspirational women below!

Dr. Bonnie Henry (@DrBonnieHenry) was appointed Provincial Officer since 2018 and is tasked with monitoring the health of all British Columbians. Dr. Henry is a specialist in public health and prevention medicine and is board certified in preventative medicine in the United States. Her guidance and reassurance during this pandemic have been a comfort for many British Columbians. She has continued to be the public face of the pandemic despite facing death threats and harassment online and in-person, showing the true challenge of being a woman in leadership.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) is an educator and organiser serving the 14^th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. She grew up experiencing the reality of New York’s rising income inequality and that inspired her to run for public office on a platform that rejected corporate PAC funds. Since being elected into office, AOC has been committed to serving working-class people and advocating for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.

Tia Wood (@TiaMiscihk) is a 21-year-old singer and creator based in Vancouver. She shares Cree and Salish culture on TikTok to educate others about her people’s history and tradition through singing, and educational videos. She grew up on Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta and performed with her family in powwows, she often sings songs her father composes or she wrote herself.

Kim Novak (@Kim.e.Novak) is the President of UFCW 1518, a union that represents over 25,000 workers in community health, retail, hospitality, industrial and professional sectors in British Columbia. She is a passionate advocate for social justice, who draws upon her experience as a Safeway clerk in fighting for what’s right for members. During this pandemic, UFCW 1518 has worked tirelessly to keep their workers safe and fight for increased pay. They have also helped unionise new worksites and negotiated a new contract for thousands of workers – all during the pandemic.

Raven Lacerte (@RavenLacerte) co-founded the Moose Hide Campaign with her father, Paul Lacerte. The Moose Hide Campaign is a national, grassroots, organisation of men and women working together to end violence against women and children. A Carrier from the Lake Babine Nation in central BC, Lacerte graduated from the Indigenous Studies program at Camosun and now studies political science at the University of Victoria. To learn more about the Moose Hide Campaign visit moosehidecampaign.ca

Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) is a social justice activist, educator and writer. Leading at the intersection of culture and justice, she builds platforms to activate everyday people to take transformative action for justice. She is an NBC News and MSNBC contributor, a fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, and host of UNDISTRACTED a news and justice podcast. She has been a lifelong activist and proud member of the Ferguson Uprising. Brittany leverages her broad skillset on wide-ranging justice issues from public education to racial justice on every committee and organisation she serves with.