Agents Of Change

We’ve all sat on the sofa and thought about changing the world , but what does it take to actually do it? Meet the women who went beyond armchair activism to make serious global waves.

- Salma Haidrani

People say a lot of stuff about our generation. That we’re lazy. That we’re pissing away our salaries on bottomless brunch. That we’re vain, selfie-taking time wasters. But here’s the thing: we are also shaping the world around us in a way that’s not been seen since the ’60s. Because now, anyone with a laptop, an idea and a complete inability to let sleeping fat cats lie can, theoretically, effect global change at the click of a button. But what makes the difference between a cause that gets 105 petition signatures and one that mobilises the world? We asked the women who did just that to tell us…

THE WOMEN’S MARCH MOBILISER

WHO: Breanne Butler, 28.

WHAT SHE DID: Co-organised the Women’s March, which took place on every continent in January 2017.

WHAT SHE WAS: A pastry chef.

THE IDEA: When Butler heard about Trump’s presidency (in November 2016), she threw up. “I was just so upset,” she says. “I ran off the train and joined three other women who were also being sick in a trash can. We just stood there afterwards, hugging each other and crying. I thought, ‘What now? What can I do?’”

Logging into Facebook later that night, Butler stumbled on a post from her friend Bob Bland looking for help in setting up a protest march in Washington. They wanted to time the event for Trump’s first week in office – meaning they had less than two months to organise it.