Celebrating February! Fantastic news for women around the world this month

News roundup by Lorah-Kelly Beard

It's important to celebrate the good stuff! And it's certainly important to celebrate our sisters achievements and wins across the globe, so here's our run down of good news stories this month! Be sure to share yours too ??

Saudi Arabia: 28,000 women apply for 30 train driver jobs

A rail company recruiting 30 female train drivers in Saudi Arabia says it has received 28,000 applications ???? It is the first time such roles have been advertised for women in the conservative Muslim kingdom. This is exciting to see!

Winter Olympics: Women's curling team claim Great Britain's only gold

Great Britain had a golden finish to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with Eve Muirhead's women's curlers crushing Japan 10-3 in Sunday's final.

Women outperform men in Japanese medical school entrance exams, years after testing scandal

Japanese women have outperformed men in medical school entrance exams for the first time since universities admitted they had?deliberately failed female applicants to inflate the number of male doctors.

UK Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford announces new British support for female entrepreneurs, SME's and renewable energy projects across Nigeria.

Africa has the highest concentration of female entrepreneurs, accounting for almost a third of all businesses on the continent!

Refugee Women of Bristol launch website to connect and empower refugees

As the city’s only multi-ethnic and multi-faith organisation fully run by refugees, the Refugee Women of Bristol team are aiming for the website to aid in amplifying more members and creating visibility and accessibility for women who need it most.

A hashtag in honour of the 2022 International Day of Women and Girls in Science dominated Colombian Twitter for three days

"The #SpamDeCientificas allowed us to visualise at once, in three days, the reality that thousands of women have been screaming for a long time: we are here, we are making it, we are being successful in our careers, we love science, but it isn't easy, and we need structural changes to increase representation, to respected and to be part of the building-blocks that structure our society,"

Saudi Arabia claims victory in its first ever women's international match

It was a historic day for Saudi Arabia as the women's national football team played, and won, its first official international match. The team was congratulated by Brazilian soccer legend Pelé, who called it an "historic day."

UK now second in international rankings for women’s representation on boards at FTSE 100 level, with nearly 40% of positions now held by women, compared with 12.5% 10 years ago.

Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, said:

"It is excellent to see the progress being made, but we know there is more to be done.This government is committed to levelling up all parts of our country, working to tackle inequality and promoting equality of opportunity, including at senior level, so everyone can thrive. We will shortly put forward a range of measures to advance equality for women at work, increasing opportunity, and tackling the issues that are holding women back as we look to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential."

Bella Hadid?is using her platform to raise awareness of?discrimination?against?Muslim?women?who wear the hijab.

“We need to change this mindset of immediate judgement. Teach our friends, children, parents, families that wearing a hijab, being Muslim, or being anything other than white in general, does not equal being a threat or different than anyone else.”