On Tuesday 23^rd March, Laura Bates spoke with pupils in the Upper Fourth upwards about her most recent book, Men Who Hate Women, and her story behind the finding of the Everyday Sexism Project back in 2012. In light of recent events, this talk was particularly poignant and emotive and reminded us all that we should #ChooseToChallenge in 2021 and stand up for gender equality.

Laura was kind enough to share her own personal experiences of sexual harassment which led to her beginning the Everyday Sexism Project, which now has hundreds of thousands of stories from fellow women who have also been victims of harassment. After being ignored on a public London bus when she openly and explicitly stated that a man had inappropriately put his hand on her leg, without her consent, Laura found that speaking out about blatant sexism was not something that was as accepted in our social community as it should be. By forming the Everyday Sexism Project and being such a prominent voice for gender equality and women’s rights over the last decade, Laura has played a fundamental role in educating young boys and girls about what sexism and how to challenge it.

We are hugely grateful to have had Laura on Zoom with us and we cannot thank her enough for being such an inspirational role model.

Sophie Hudson 

President of the Feminist Society & Lower Sixth pupil