YOUR NEXT FEMINIST INSPIRATION BASED ON YOUR UNIVERSITY COURSE 

On the 8th March every year, the world gathers to celebrate all of its incredible females on International Women’s Day. With almost four billion women around the globe, it is hard to select just one to learn more about.

Luckily, Yugo, the global student housing brand and operator, has taken a research deep-dive to find some of the most inspirational women for university students to look up to, based on the UK’s most popular chosen course subjects. From revolutionary scientists to code cracking engineers – these wise, witty, and wonderful women are sure to spark inspiring thoughts and share important messages.

Business 👩🏼‍💻

Being the most popular higher education course in the UK currently1, businesswomen up and down the nation are learning all about how to run their own company, innovate new ideas, and manage a team. With the lack of representation in the media regarding female businesspeople, it can be hard for young women on this course to source a relatable, recognisable source of inspiration. Well, look no further than the founder of Canva, Melanie Perkins. Melanie runs the worlds’ largest female founded startup, and is currently worth over 3billion dollars. Yeah, goals.

Melanie developed the design software alongside her co-founders, which now attracts 60 million monthly users across the globe. After realising that most design software programmes weren’t user friendly, she spotted a gap in the market and created a user-led platform for all ability levels to use – making design accessible to all. Icon.

Medicine 👩🏽‍🔬

With the NHS and healthcare overall becoming even more important in the past few years, it is no wonder that healthcare courses have become increasingly popular. Aspiring doctors, nurses, dentists, and even vets across the UK are working hard now to become the next generation of the British healthcare system – and for that we salute you all.

To give you the inspirational boost you needed, we’d like to introduce you to Rosalind Franklin. Rosalind was a British biophysicist who is now world-renowned for her revolutionary work discovering the structure of DNA. Originally her research was only claimed to have supported other (male) scientists’ conclusions, but now in the modern-day, Franklin’s work is celebrated as its own right. As it should be.

Law 👩🏻‍💼

If you study law, your passion for justice and order is super respectable. Alongside developing your knowledge of the subject, studying law is also a great way to improve your communication skills – which is a commonly undervalued talent in the modern day. So, our legally motivated friends, which female law professional should you have as your iPhone background?

Well, if you haven’t heard of this law legend before, we’d be pretty surprised. Introducing, the one and only, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ginsburg was selected by President Bill Clinton to serve in the Supreme Court of the United States, and up until 2009, was the only female serving in the court. Alongside her general badass-ery, she also campaigned for working women’s rights – famously quoting:

"It bothers me when people say to make it to the top of the tree you have to give up a family."

Well said, Mrs Ginsburg.

Psychology 👩🏽‍⚕️

Unfortunately, the findings of female psychologists only become valid considered information in the field of psychology in the late 1980’s. Due to the historical understanding

of the female psyche, any research, thoughts, opinions, or even proven conclusions from women in the field were often overlooked. Luckily, in the modern day, opinions are changing, and slowly, more amazing female-led research is being recognised.

Christine Ladd-Franklin, born and bred from a family of feminists, is now recognised as a leader in psychology. After completing her university course in 1869 (despite knowing the fact that women were not allowed to receive a Ph.D. at the time), Christine took to the wider world and developed a pioneering theory of colour vision, whilst also advocating for women’s rights in education. 44 years later, she was finally awarded her Ph.D.

Engineering 👷🏼‍♀️

In such a male dominated field (only 16.5% of engineers are women2), real female inspiration is hard to come by. Women often find that their skills and experience is undermined in the industry, discovering quickly that they are not treated equally to their male counterparts. So, where can you find some female inspiration in a male dominated field?

Look no further than Hedy Lamarr. Alongside her illustrious and glamourous film career, she also pioneered and co-invented the spread spectrum – a way of spreading radio signals to ensure that enemy camps could not intercept important messages during World War Two. Despite not being recognised at the time, her invention paved the way for modern day marvels including WiFi and Bluetooth. Talk about multi-talented.

So, which of these inspirational women will you be channelling this International Women’s Day? Whatever your chosen subject of study, there are thousands of fabulous females to admire and learn about. Who knows, maybe the person reading this right now will become a list-worthy wonder in years to come? Only time will tell…

To find out more about Yugo, please visit here.