Founder’s Reflection | February – The Quiet Before the Rise

February has always felt like a held breath, not the celebratory inhale of January resolutions, nor the confetti-coloured crescendo of March, but a quieter, more introspective space that sits in between, suspended, watching, preparing. The world may speak of love in February, roses, heart-shaped boxes, carefully curated gestures, and there is beauty in that. But for me, more so this year, February has been a month of fierce preparation. A month of deliberate thought. A month of building something that feels aligned rather than reactive.

At the turn of every new year, when globally recognised publications release their most powerful, most influential, and ones to watch lists, from business and politics to culture and innovation, I find myself reflecting. I ask what those phrases truly mean. 

• Is power defined by the title someone holds?
• Is influence measured by accumulated wealth or by the size of a following in this new age of visibility?
• Are we equating reach with impact?

I am not dismissing success. Titles matter. Achievement represents hard work, resilience and discipline. Recognition is meaningful. But what I keep returning to is what happens next. What did you do with it? What did you do with the power you were given and the influence you gathered? Who benefited because you succeeded? Did your progress create movement for someone else? Did you open a door that had once been firmly closed? When you secured your seat at the table, did you look around and ensure there was space for another chair?

For me, achievement can be personal, but impact is always shared. Success can elevate one individual, but purposeful leadership shifts many lives.

It was within these reflections that the decision formed. 

If lists are shaping narrative at the beginning of each year, then we too would create a list, but one rooted in our ethos rather than hierarchy. Inspired by the format, yes, but intentionally different in spirit. We would not rank. We would not chase headlines. We would recognise impact.

One hundred women from within the She Inspires ecosystem, women who have been part of this journey in one way or another, women I have witnessed grow, women we have worked alongside, women our community has evolved with over the years. To honour impact, we must first learn to look around us. Sometimes the most powerful woman in your orbit is not on a stage. She is sitting next to you. She is mentoring quietly. She is volunteering her expertise. She is building something in her community long after the applause has faded. She is holding space. She is creating ripples without ever demanding recognition.

That is the spirit of this list.

Few years ago, during the centenary of women’s suffrage, I undertook a deeply personal project, 100 Women, 100 Stories. I interviewed one hundred women, listened carefully and documented their journeys, dedicating an entire year to preserving their voices. That experience transformed me and reshaped how I understood leadership and legacy. 

Visibility matters, but responsibility matters more.

Behind the scenes, my team and I have pored over names, titles, photographs and wording. We have cross-checked spellings, confirmed details, refined language and ensured alignment with our values. It has been meticulous and largely invisible labour, the kind that does not make Instagram stories, but ultimately defines the credibility of what is released.

On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, the list will go live.

Not as noise, but as narrative.

Because March does not whisper, it bursts. International Women’s Day arrives like a tidal wave: panels, events, campaigns, headlines, hashtags. A necessary and powerful noise. A global chorus of voices rising in unison. Every year, I have attended those spaces. I have spoken. I have sat on panels. I have applauded extraordinary women and celebrated the energy of it all. But this year, I did not want to simply add to the volume or join the bandwagon of what everyone else was doing. She Inspires has never existed to echo noise. It exists to shape narrative, to pause and ask deeper questions, to build something that endures beyond a single day in March.

March is coming. 
And, we are ready, not just to celebrate women, but to document impact.