Case study - Vicky Fowler supports International Women's Day
Vicky Fowler from Nuneaton is a 19 year-old politics student at Warwick University.
Despite her young age Vicky has made great strides in her political career having recently stepped down as Warwickshire Member of Youth Parliament (MYP) where she campaigned for concessionary transport, lowering the right to vote to 16 and compulsory political education. Last year she ran for election as a Warwickshire county councillor.
She also writes a regular newspaper column in the Nuneaton Weekly Tribune, using it as a platform to share her views on politics and life through a young person’s eyes with readers.
International Women’s Day offered an opportunity for Vicky to talk about her inspirations and how she hopes to influence other young women to help them be more active players in political matters that affect them.
Vicky was head girl at her secondary school and was inspired to get into politics by one of the governors who encouraged her to take politics as an A-level option and put her in touch with her local parliamentary candidate. She got stuck into her course and her term as MYP which afforded her opportunities to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury and top ranking Government ministers. It was a natural step to continue her studies at university.
She has faced challenges from others both for her age and her involvement in a male dominated arena but she remains resilient and determined to continue. Her advice to other young women draws on advice she herself received:”It’s not enough to get to the top in your chosen field, you have to be able to throw the ladder to help other women too.”
She continued: We all have a responsibility to help other women to overcome sexism. Girls and women should believe they are as good as anyone else can achieve great things if they put their hearts and minds into it.
Vicky also advises her peers not to put themselves down or get hung up on the perceptions of other people adding: “It’s not worth being down on yourself because of someone else’s discriminatory attitudes, be strong and do what you want to do. If you need support there are loads of women’s networks out there where you can get advice from like-minded, successful people.”