International Women's Day 2026: The women who make us raise our game

I've been lucky enough to interview many amazing women across a wide range of fields in my career as a journalist. But it’s a woman in my own industry who remains one of my greatest inspirations.

I don't remember when the late, great Marie Colvin first came into my orbit, but her brilliance was cemented after I read her biography In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin (written by another fabulous female journalist, Lindsey Hilsum).

Colvin spent three decades covering conflicts around the world, and was one of the bravest war correspondents—male or female—of her time. She lost an eye while covering the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2001—after which she donned her iconic black eye patch—and ultimately gave her life reporting from Syria in 2012.

Her mission was clear: "to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice”. Colvin’s writing gave voice to civilians caught in war and highlighted the human consequences of conflict—something we need to remember now more than ever. Her journalism drew global attention to neglected crises, held governments accountable and redefined war reporting. Colvin's work emphasised the power of frontline, on-the-ground reporting and why we must bear witness. As press freedom comes under increasing threat worldwide, her legacy continues to inspire, reminding us of the importance of protecting independent, courageous journalism.

— Rachel Duffell, regional content director, Power & Purpose

Jasmine Crockett has had enough: she has had enough mansplaining, she has had enough racism, she's had enough of old white men telling her (and other women and other people of colour) how she should live her life.

I think a lot of women, can relate.

I don't have much time for politicians, but I can't ignore Crockett. The American, who ran this week for a place in the US Senate, has spoken out—loudly and near-constantly—about gun reform, abortion rights, voter rights, racial inequality, LGBTQ+ issues ... When footage from the House of Representatives shows up on my feed, I'm struck by her passion, her eloquence and her ability to dismantle the stupidest of suggestions from people who will never actually be affected by the bills and bans they are discussing.

Her refusal to be intimidated, her machete-sharp repartee and lightning-fast comebacks, and her frequent side-eye may be interpreted by some as "disrespectful"; I think they are reflective of a woman who has reached an age where she knows herself and her worth, and refuses to be treated in a way that does not reflect that. There's a British word that I imagine many would apply to her: "bolshy", meaning argumentative or deliberately obstructive. I think she is simply unapologetic, unafraid to speak her mind and refusing to conform to the notion that women—especially those of colour—should be quiet.

That, right now, feels like an essential proposition.

– Karly Cox, editor at large

The daughter of Lord Byron—which already sounds like the start of a story—Ada Lovelace delivered for all us a future powered by logic.

In the 1840s, she worked alongside Charles Babbage, who was building a vast, hand-cranked mechanical calculator made of brass gears and levers. Most people saw an overcomplicated adding machine. Ada saw something far more radical: a device that could follow a sequence of instructions, process symbols, even create music or art, if only we learned how to write the commands.

She wasn’t simply crunching numbers. She was articulating the logic that would underpin modern computing—a century before the first real computers arrived. Take that, tech bros.

— Karen Vera, regional content director and executive editor, Hong Kong

I remember swearing in university that I would never become a hard news journalist—I found politics to be a dull, endless cycle of power plays. But one semester, I encountered literary journalism, and that was when I first discovered Joan Didion, who changed my mind. Her voice was startlingly refreshing compared with the conventional, fact-driven reportage I was used to reading in newspapers.

As a literature major, I’d always gravitated toward fictional storytelling rather than real-life reporting. Yet pioneering writers like Didion, Hunter S Thompson and Truman Capote made a compelling case for 'New Journalism'—a style that blends dialogue, personal perspective, and vivid scene-setting so that truth reads like fiction. I realised how deeply such writing could move readers, even across time and cultural context.

Didion’s Blue Nights, an aching meditation on the loss of her adopted daughter, remains one of the most painful yet beautiful books I’ve ever read. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, meanwhile, captures the pulse of 1960s California with haunting clarity. Among all the New Journalists, Didion resonates with me most profoundly. Her prose is sharp, precise, confident—sometimes witty and bitingly honest—all qualities I aspire to embody in my own writing.

— Zabrina Lo, senior editor, Arts & Culture