March 8 is International Women's Rights Day. A special day when women around the world make their voices heard to denounce the inequalities they face and assert their rights. Because the fight must continue all year round, here are 11 inspiring women who work every day for a better world.
Clover Hogan
26 years old, founder of the organization "Force of Nature"
©Clover Hogan official website
At just 22 years old, Clover has spent the last decade saving the planet. It was at the age of 11 that she realized the need to act. The trigger? Documentaries on climate change and wildfires, which caused her frustration, sadness and anger. In 2019, she founded "Force of Nature", an association whose ambition is to transform the eco-anxiety of Generation Z into a lever for climate action. She knows what she's talking about: the fires that ravaged Australian forests in 2020 caused her great distress. Highly committed, she took the stage alongside international change pioneers such as Jane Goodall, an ethnologist and anthropologist who dedicated her life to the study of chimpanzees, and Vandana Shiva, an Indian feminist environmentalist writer. She also participated in a TED talk entitled "What to do when climate change seems unstoppable" (« What to do when the climate change feels unstoppable ») which garnered over a million views.
Instagram: @cloverhogan // @forceofnature.xyz
Camille Étienne
27 years old, environmental activist
©Téo Jaffre
A student and activist, Camille fights for social justice and the climate emergency. Determined, she does not hesitate to speak out to political figures such as Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a 2022 presidential candidate. She has become one of the spokespeople for engaged youth in favor of climate and social justice.
Since December 2021, she has been the editor-in-chief of the "Ecology or Death" special issue of the magazine Socialter, dedicated to ecology, democracy, and the social economy.
Instagram: @graine_de_possible
Sheryline Thavisouk & Philippine Soulères
32 & 31 years old, founders of Papondu
@Press kit, Le Papondu
These two bio-industry engineers founded "Le Papondu" together, a plant-based alternative that replaces eggs on our plates. An adventure that began in 2017, after realizing the importance of plant-based meals for ethical and environmental reasons… But that's not all. Egg allergies are very common, especially among young people.
Their project won the PEPITE award from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and is part of the FUTURE 40, a ranking that includes the 40 most promising startups at Station F.
Instagram: @LePapondu
Clarisse Merlet
34 years old, founder of FabBRICK
©Dorian Prost
What was just an architecture final project is finally a big step for the environment!
Clarisse thinks and acts for a waste-free future. Passionate about decoration, she founded "FabBRICK" in 2018. The concept is to reuse fabric scraps to make building bricks in different sizes and colors. The company has already worked with ready-to-wear brands such as "Jules", for which it made the display furniture for the items.
Her idea earned Clarisse numerous awards such as the FAIRE Paris award (2017), the Petit Poucet Competition (2019), Start’in ESS (2019), and the Gabriel award from Live For Good (2020).
Instagram: @merlet.clarisse // @fab.brick
Lucie Basch
34 years old, engineer and creator of Too Good to Go
©Too Good To Go
Horrified by the number of food products thrown in the trash, Lucie developed "To Good to Go" in France in 2016. This app offers consumers discounted baskets of unsold items from certain merchants and restaurants. The goal? Raise awareness about food waste and fight misconceptions, by showing that you can consume slightly damaged products or those whose best-before date (DLUO) has passed.
In 5 years, the app has brought together more than 10 million people in its fight against food waste and has saved nearly 100 billion meals worldwide.
To Good To Go allowed Lucie to win the Margaret Award in 2018, being named "Female Entrepreneur of the Year".
Instagram: @lucie.basch// @togoodtogo.fr
Orlane Paquet
34 years old, artist-photographer and YouTuber
©Orlane Paquet / Instagram
Orlane has been living an eco-responsible life for a few years. Every day, she favors second hand, zero-waste, and minimalism - she doesn't have a fridge, that says it all! She owes her awareness to a video on YouTube. This video showing how to wash your hair using an egg pushed her to completely rethink her lifestyle.
Fighting the climate emergency, Orlane helps the planet on her scale and invites everyone to do the same.
On her YouTube channel, she shares moments of life, tips for living more simply with yourself and nature. She also released a planner, where she shares her tips to adopt a minimalist, ethical, 100% natural, and zero-waste lifestyle.
YouTube: Libre et Sauvage
Julie Chapon
38 years old, co-founder of YUKA
©Alice Prenat
In spring 2016, Julie participated in a hackathon with the goal of developing a computer project in one weekend. Yuka was born from this challenge, which she deployed alongside her two co-founders. Yuka is this mobile app that allows you to understand the impact of consumer products on our health. How does it work? You just need to scan the food or cosmetic product to see what it contains.
With 25 million people using Yuka across 12 countries in 2021, the app is a huge success.
Julie received the Bold Future Award by Veuve Clicquot in 2019. This award rewards boldness and technology in women. In 2021, she won the trophy for committed personality at the EKOPO Awards.
Instagram: @julie_chapon
Wangari Maathai
Photo @John Mconnico
Environmental activist
Wangari Muta Maathai (1940-2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She is best known for founding the Green Belt Movement in 1977, which encouraged women to plant trees to fight deforestation and erosion. For her efforts in sustainable development, democracy, and peace, Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, thus becoming the first African woman to receive this distinction. Throughout her life, she fought tirelessly for women's rights, environmental conservation, and democracy.
Kelly Massol
42 years old, founder of Les secrets de Loly
@ Forbes France
It was in 2009 that Kelly Massol created Les Secrets de Loly, a natural hair care brand dedicated to wavy, curly, coily, and kinky hair. Self-taught, she started in her kitchen with 1,500 euros and homemade recipes, fueled by her personal experience and the desire to offer a healthier alternative to classic products. Very quickly, she gathered a community around a strong message: learn to know, care for, and love your natural hair.
Les Secrets de Loly gradually became a leading brand for textured hair in France, present online and in specialty stores. Through her products and her voice, Kelly defends the representation of textured hair, the pride of her identity, and the empowerment of women who have long been invisible in beauty standards.
Instagram: @lessecretsdeloly
Maud Caillaux
32 years old, founder of Green-Got
© Wikipédia
In 2020, Maud Caillaux co-founded Green‑Got, a committed neobank that aims to reconcile finance and climate. After an experience in banking in New York and the realization of the weight of financial investments on climate change, Maud chose to create an online account designed as a full-fledged tool for citizen action.
With Green‑Got, she highlights transparent and committed finance: customer deposits are used to finance concrete ecological transition projects, selected for their real impact on reducing carbon emissions and protecting biodiversity.
Maud's goal? To give everyone the power to act on their scale, by transforming an everyday action – where you leave your money to sit – into a strong choice for the climate, and thus shaking up the codes of a banking sector that is often opaque.
Green‑Got now has tens of thousands of users and is establishing itself as one of the most visible faces of impact finance in France.
Instagram: @green_got_
Marion Lopez
Founder of the Studio Lausié school and the BAGA collective
© Studio Lausié
Marion Lopez is a stylist and founder of Studio Lausié, an eco-responsible fashion school based in Marseille, committed to more circular and sustainable fashion. After fifteen years spent in the industry (notably at Eleven Paris and Daily Paper) in positions as a stylist, collection manager, and production director between Europe and Asia, she became aware of the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion and decided to return to the South to pass on differently.
In 2021, she founded Studio Lausié, an alternative school that trains students in the creative and technical professions of fashion (fashion design, product development, etc.) with a common thread: textile reuse, upcycling, and the design of collections through an ethical approach. Marion's goal? To give new generations the skills to invent a more responsible, inclusive, and local fashion industry, by teaching them to "create with what we have" rather than always producing more and more new material.
In addition to running Studio Lausié, Marion Lopez is also president of BAGA, a Marseille-based collective that brings together responsible fashion professionals. BAGA notably organizes major events such as Slow Fashion Week in Marseille and aims to structure the entire local ecosystem around a more sustainable, circular, and inclusive fashion industry.
Instagram: @__studio_lausie_
Not forgetting also the creators of the Meanwhile Boutique collective, who inspire us every day with their motivation and dedication to the environment.
And you, which women inspire you?
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