The Conversation

When you are involved in the race to shed light on some of our biggest scientific questions, does your gender matter? Kim Chakanetsa brings together two successful female life scientists at the new world-leading Crick Institute in London. They are both leading ground-breaking research in their respective fields, and are joined by young women from Camden School for Girls who are considering a career in science. Dr Vivian Li grew up in Hong Kong and completed her PhD there, and says it was only when she went on to conduct research in Europe that she noticed any gender divide in science. She found that male colleagues did not take her expertise seriously as a young woman, and so she had to work twice as hard to prove herself. Vivian now leads a molecular biotechnology research team, and is pioneering a technique to create human intestines in the lab, to then transplant back into patients. She says she used to work seven days a week, but since having a family she has learnt to prioritise her work differently and get her weekends back.British virologist Dr Kate Bishop's research focuses on HIV and other retro-viruses, and she hopes her work could contribute to stopping HIV in its tracks at an earlier stage. Kate was the first in her family to go to university, and says she was always encouraged by her parents, who never put boundaries on her ambition. Leading a research group means she is less likely to be sitting at the bench conducting an experiment herself, but she now gets the satisfaction of passing her knowledge on to the next generation of scientists.(Photo: The Conversation team and guests at The Crick Institute, London)

Kim Chakanetsa is in candid and intimate conversation with two women who have made the life altering decision to enter a religious order. Mother Hildegarde is a nun in a silent, cloistered Catholic convent that overlooks London's Hyde Park. Originally from Australia, she entered religious life at 35, giving up her family, friends and name. She says she wanted to wear a habit, but found obeying the monastic 'rule' very hard to begin with, and as a self-confessed chatterbox she also really struggled with not talking! Fifteen years on she is comfortable leading a life spent in prayer and contemplation, and says although this life involves sacrifice, it is worth it.Sister Tracy Kemme is 30 and took 'first vows' with the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in the US last year. Tracy made the heart-wrenching decision to break up with the love of her life to pursue her vocation, because even though he was everything she wanted, she realised that still was not enough for her. She says that society portrays religious life as giving up a lot of things. "I think people have unease with the fact that we don't have sex. We take a vow of celibacy, we take a vow of poverty and a vow of obedience and that's pretty counter cultural. But who would do that if that's what it's really all about?".(Photo: Mother Hildegarde (L) and (R) Sister Tracy Kemme)

Siphokazi Mdlankomo comes from South Africa and Marissa Begonia from the Philippines but they have plenty in common. They have both dedicated a great deal of their lives to taking care of other people's households and children. They are Kim Chakanetsa's guests on this programme and they are discussing life as a domestic worker.Marissa Begonia left her three young children to work overseas. It was a tough decision for her but she couldn't bear to see them going hungry at home in the Philippines. She found work initially in Hong Kong and then Singapore and finally London. Her choice has worked out for her, after years of providing for her children back home, she was finally able to bring them to join her in London. But the separation has taken its toll on all of them, and so has the work. Melissa has seen and heard of so much mistreatment among domestic workers that she decided to set up an organisation to protect the rights and welfare of others in her profession. The organisation is called Justice for Domestic Workers.Until very recently Siphokazi Mdlankomo was working for a family in Johannesburg, South Africa but she's had to leave her job to focus full time on her new role on television and writing cookery books. She came to fame when she was runner-up in the South African reality TV show Master Chef. Her cooking has come a long way since she started her working life. She looks back fondly at the young Siphokazi, just starting out in her career, back then, she didn't know what garlic was, or fresh herbs or how to make a piece of toast.Siphokazi and Marissa share their intimate, moving and sometimes funny stories of running someone else's household.(Photo: Marissa Begonia (L) and (R) Siphokazi Mdlankomo)

Growing up in Santiago Melissa Aldana learnt to play the tenor saxophone or 'horn' at her father's knee, though he took some convincing that she would stick with it. She did, and went on to become the first ever female instrumentalist to win the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Award in 2013. Melissa is now the leader of a successful jazz trio based in New York, and loves her work, but is concerned that a musician's life on the road will be hard to square with starting a family when the time comes.South African musician Nomfundo Xaluva is winning awards for putting a new twist on her country's very strong jazz tradition. As well as singing and composing, Nomfundo says she is one of very few female black pianists in South Africa, and so feels responsible for being a role model to young girls. Being Xhosa, from the Eastern Cape, music forms a huge part of her culture, and she tries to incorporate this into her work, often singing in her mother tongue. Nomfundo reckons jazz is slowly becoming hip again, and she is excited to be a part of that.L-Photo: Melissa Aldana. R-Photo: Nomfundo Xaluva.

Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who are taking on the challenge of combating bullying in Pakistan and the US. Zainab Chughtai says the bullying she endured as a young girl inspired her to go into schools to try and stop other school children experiencing what she did. The emotional impact was so severe on Zainab, she says it's affected her personal relationships as an adult. Her campaign, Bully Proof, travels across Pakistan providing workshops to school children which create a safe space for them to open up about bullying - whether they are the victim, or the perpetrator.Lauren Paul was the target of bullying by a group of girls at school in California. It was so traumatic it led to depression, an eating disorder and even an attempt to take her own life. She says every single woman can recall a moment when their relationship with other girls had a negative effect on them. This is why she co-founded 'Kind Campaign', an organisation which goes into schools across the US working with girls of all ages in the hopes of spreading a positive message, and stamping out girl-against-girl bullying.(Photo: Left to right, Zainab Chughtai. Credit: Hamza Bajwa. Lauren Paul. Credit: Brandon Kidd)

Sapna Bhavnani is one of India's most celebrated hair stylists and is known for her own cropped hair and tattoos. Her Mumbai based salon, Mad-O-Wat, is the go-to place for Bollywood's A-list when their hair needs some attention. Clients include actors, politicians and sports stars like Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sapna says her hair appointments can often turn into therapy sessions as her clients want to get their problems off their chest when they're sitting in her chair. Charlotte Mensah developed a passion for hair styling while she looked after her little sister's hair after their mother died. Charlotte, who has twice been named British Afro Hairdresser of the Year, (by the British Hairdressing Awards) grew up in Ghana and moved to London when she was 11 years old. She goes back and forth to Accra and says it gives her a lot of inspiration for the styles she creates in the Hair Lounge, her Portobello Road salon, which specialises in afro hair. Charlotte promotes natural hair and says women are embracing this look.Photo: (L)-Sapna Bhavnani. Credit: Sheetal Sherekar. (R) Charlotte Mensah. Credit: John Rawson.

Two women whose aim is to make sex work safer in Uganda and New Zealand join Kim Chakanetsa to exchange experiences.Daisy Nakato is the founder of WONETHA, a sex workers' rights and support organisation in Kampala, Uganda. She says she chose to go into sex work at 17, but did face many challenges including violence from clients and running from the police. She is now building a better relationship with the police, which she hopes will lead to a reduction in violence against sex workers, but for her decriminalisation is the ultimate goal. Daisy is also HIV positive, and her project encourages sex workers to get tested and then supports them in controlling the spread of the disease. New Zealander Catherine Healy went from teaching in a school to sex work in a massage parlour in her thirties. She says this was an empowering choice for her, but she was appalled at the lack of any protections for her profession, which was then illegal. So she formed the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective and led a long campaign to decriminalise all forms of sex work. This law was passed in 2003 and gives full employment rights to sex workers, and Catherine says the police are now partners in keeping sex workers safe.

Kim Chakanetsa gets into the driving seat with two female truckers from Sweden and Australia.Elin Engstrom test drives heavy haulage trucks for Swedish transport company Scania. The 26 -year-old has been in the business for six years and started out operating forklift vehicles, which had to be loaded manually. When she saw that the big trucks had rollers she realised that was the job for her. Elin has driven oil tankers and double trailers and describes driving as an art form. Despite the snow storms, and high winds in winter, she says you get a sense of freedom when you are sitting in your cabin high above the other cars on the road. Heather Jones is from western Australia and runs Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls, which trains women to handle big trucks. She has worked in this industry for 25 years and got into it because as a single parent she needed a job where she could take her two little girls along with her. She describes the trucking industry in Australia like a big family, but even though it is welcoming, Heather says women have to work 200% to prove themselves. She can drive up to 17 hours per day, in trucks that are up to 60 metres. In summer it can reach 55 degrees and Heather says melting tarmac can be tough to deal with.(Photo: Elin Engstrom (L) and Heather Jones)

Kim Chakanetsa finds out what it's like to run a ship in South Africa and the Philippines. Zimasa Mabela is the first African woman to command a navy vessel. Commander Mabela is in charge of a de-mining ship based in Cape Town, South Africa. She grew up two hours from the sea, but only saw it for the first time aged 18. A few years later she felt compelled to join the navy so she could see the world. Zimasa was recruited as a radio operator and has travelled around the world to countries like India, Canada and Uruguay. She says she's very happy to have shown that a woman can not only join the navy, but that she can end up in charge.Jasmin Labarda is the first woman, and Filipino, to become the Chief Mate and a senior Dynamic Positioning officer of an offshore ship. She is currently navigating Technip's flagship vessel, the Deep Blue, which lays pipe along the ocean floor. Having first served on a tanker vessel at the age of 17, Jasmin worked her way up the ranks and in 2010 passed the Master Mariner's exam, which means that she is a licensed ship's captain. Jasmin is looking forward to the time when she finally can take up that sought-after Captain's position. Image Left: Zimasa Mabela (Credit: South African Navy) Right: Jasmin Labarda (Credit: Alecs Ongcal/Rappler taken in IMOSTI)

Kim Chakanetsa brings together two women from the US and UK, who have been at either end of the adoption process, to reflect on their choices.Judith Fleming is an actor and writer based in the UK who decided to adopt a child, on her own, at the age of 40. We are using a different name to protect Judith's and her son's privacy. Judith looked through many profiles, but says when she saw a picture of her son she knew he was the one and she had to be his mum. Judith's open with her little boy about his identity and he knows that she didn't "grow him in her tummy". Amy Seek is an architect from America and got pregnant at the age of 22. She made the difficult choice to give her child up in an "open adoption" and went through a painstaking process of trying to find the right family for him. Sixteen years on and Amy still lives with the pain of her decision, but she does have a relationship with her son. She reveals that they haven't had an in-depth talk about the circumstances of his adoption and hopes one day he will understand how hard it was for her to make that choice.Photo: Judith Fleming and Amy Seek with Kim Chakanetsa in the studio, Credit: BBC

Kim Chakanetsa brings together two athletes from the UK and Egypt who know what it's like to stand on the start line and have the whole world watching you.Dame Kelly Holmes became the first British female athlete to win a double gold at a Games when she won the 800m and 1500m in Athens, in 2004. Her talent was spotted by a PE teacher at school and her Olympic fire was sparked at the age of 14 watching Team GB win in Moscow. Kelly's fought the physical and mental strains of injury to become the best in the world at her sport and since retirement has tried to support other athletes achieve their dream. Modern pentathlete Aya Medany made her Olympic debut in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, aged 15. She was the youngest on the Egyptian team and youngest to ever compete in her event, which is made up of fencing, running, swimming, shooting and horse riding. Aya also took part in the Beijing 2008 Games and London 2012. She's now retired but has travelled to Rio with the Egyptian team to stand in the IOC Athletes Commission election and mentor some of the young sports stars who are competing at their first Olympics. Image: left Gold medallist Kelly Holmes of Great Britain (credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images) right Aya Medany of Egypt riding Udea at the 2012 London Olympics (credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Ekaterina Dobrokhotova was born in Moscow, and moved to Quebec when she was eight. She learnt magic as a teenager via the internet, practised every day for hours, and soon began to perform in public. Ekaterina is now the most watched female magician on YouTube. She specialises in the art of card manipulation, and believes the true secret of magic is not how good you are, but about how you make people feel.Adeline Ng is the only practising female magician in Singapore. She incorporates elements of her Chinese culture into her illusion stage show, which she has performed across Asia and Australia. When she started out, she struggled to get respect from the male theatre technicians, so took courses in sound and lighting and now feels more confident to say what she wants. (Photo: Ekaterina Dobrokhotova (L), with permission from E. Dobrokhotova. (R) Adeline Ng. Credit: Arron Teo)

Presenter Gemma Cairney gets behind the decks with two female DJs who get dance floors pumping in America and South Africa. DJ Lady Lea got hooked on house music and the Cape Town dance scene as a teenager in the early 1990s. She started taking her record box to clubs and playing early morning sets. Now rated as one of South Africa's top female DJs, Lea plays electro, funky, deep, tech, minimal and progressive house. She started an all-women DJ agency called Divas on Decks, which promotes up and coming talent and dishes out essential advice for being a success in this industry. DJ Tatiana Alvarez was obsessed with making mix tapes and cutting tracks growing up near Los Angeles. But her DJ career got off to a rocky start when her agent said he could not promote her to the serious underground clubs she wanted to play in, because she is a woman. So with the help of a make-up artist friend, some shoulder pads and breast tape Tatiana decided to pose as a man for a year to see if she could get bookings. The promoters loved her music.(Photo: DJs Lea Barrett (left) and Tatiana Alvarez (right). Credit Robert John Kley)

A celebrity nanny from Australia and a Brazilian nanny who works in the US tell Kim Chakanetsa what it's like to look after other people's kids 24/7.Australian nanny to the stars Philippa Christian has worked for actors, singers and Middle Eastern royalty. Even though she won't name names the 'Nanny Confidential' author reveals what it's like to work for Hollywood employers. Philippa loves the challenge of helping 'difficult' children, and there are definite perks, including the pay, but the downsides include rarely getting a day off, being routinely spied on, and having to avoid being 'papped' holding the baby on family outings. Tatiane Dias de Oliveira who is from Brazil chose nannying over teaching, because she says it is far more satisfying to watch one child grow with her full attention, than try to divide herself between a class full of kids. Thaty has now been a nanny for the past 17 years. Currently based in Boston, she is passionate about training and advising other nannies, who she says can often be in vulnerable situations with their employers, and lack the confidence to negotiate good terms and conditions.Image: Tatiane Dias de Oliveira (l) and Philippa Christian (r)

Clothes designers from Trinidad and Greece get together with Kim Chakanetsa, to talk about the killer combination of creativity and business sense you need to make it in the competitive world of fashion.Anya Ayoung Chee is from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Always interested in fashion, but too scared to study it at college, she started making her own outfits when competing to represent her country at Miss Universe. Anya later entered the US reality TV show Project Runway, and came out the surprise winner, having only learnt how to sew weeks before! She's had her own labels, but is currently leading a collective of 30 local designers with the aim of putting the Caribbean region firmly on the global fashion map. Christina Economou is a rising star of the European fashion scene. She studied in Paris and won the 2011 International Award at London Graduate Fashion Week, then returned to her home city of Athens to fulfil her dream of launching her own luxury label. Christina has a love of bright colours and bold prints, and sources much of her production and fabric locally, for example in the historic Greek silk town of Soufli. She says fashion school did not prepare her for how to combine her design skills with running a business, so she's had to learn the hard way.Image: Anya Ayoung Chee (l) and Christina Economou (r) Credit: Joey Rosado (l) and Yiorgos Kaplanidis (r)

Kim Chakanetsa brings together top female football referees to discuss their passion for the game, the demands of rigorous fitness training and how they handle aggressive players.Melissa Borjas Pastrana was inspired to follow in her uncle's footsteps to become a referee. Melissa, who lives in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, referees men's games in Honduras and women's games at Fifa level. Melissa reveals how you have to be good at psychology to succeed as a referee, because you are managing 22 players on the pitch as well as the support staff and the fans in the stadium. Sandra Serafini grew up in a football obsessed household in Canada and from a young age was a keen player. When she discovered that her talents lay more with officiating rather than playing she began to referee at men's and women's games at an amateur level, until eventually she turned professional and joined Fifa in 2006. For much of her career she has combined refereeing football matches with neurosurgery, her work as a neuroscientist helps her to understand why things can go wrong in a game and how to try and fix them. She now works with the Professional Referee Organisation where she coaches the next generation of female referees.(Photo: Melissa Borjas Pastrana (L) Credit Omar Martinez. Sandra Serafini (R) Credit Dominic Chan)

Women make better city traders than men according to research, but most trading floors are dominated by men. Kim Chakanetsa explores why this might be and meets two traders from Russia and the Philippines who are helping to redress the balance.Currency trading is Louise Dispo's area of the market. Originally from the Philippines, Louise work's in London now. She says she's used to being one of the only females on the trading floor and thinks it's the high pressure, risk and unpredictable hours that put other women off choosing this as a career. Chocolate, coffee and nuts get Louise through the day and she says the office is filled with high screens, people shouting and phones ringing.Lucy Shitova has traded base metals, such as aluminium and steel, for 10 years. She began her career in Russia and also works in London now. Lucy says she was drawn to this profession because of the buzz, the "pay-off" and the fact it's like getting paid to gamble in a casino with someone else's cash. Lucy admits that it hits hard when you lose money, but you've got to be confident in your decisions and move on.Image: City Traders Louise Dispo (L) and Lucy Shitova (R) Credit: Louise Dispo & Lucy Shitova

Kim Chakanetsa brings together leading women vets from Uganda and Sri Lanka to talk about their careers and their trickiest challenges.As a new vet graduate, Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka was made chief veterinary officer of the Ugandan Wildlife Service. She set about restocking her country's national parks with giraffes and lions following years of civil war, but it was the endangered mountain gorillas that really captured Gladys' heart. She now leads her own charity Conservation Through Public Health, which looks after both the health of the gorillas and the people who live near them, who are crucial to their survival. Sri Lankan vet Dr Nalinika Obeyesekere prefers to treat smaller creatures such as cats and dogs. Nalinika grew up looking after her parents' adopted animals, everything from fish to a leopard cub! But she soon decided that working with wildlife was not for her, and instead started up her country's first multi-doctor veterinary practice. Nalinika is passionate about improving training and education around animal care, and she uses a portion of her profits to provide free treatment for Colombo's huge stray dog population. (Photo: (L) Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. (R) Dr Nalinika Obeyesekere)

Patrice Banks says she was an 'auto airhead' before she fell in love with fixing vehicles. She was an engineer for a big chemicals company, but despite her passion for problem solving she avoided her own car maintenance and preferred to pay a man to do it. The Philadelphia born mechanic discovered that many other women felt the same way and decided to do something about it. Patrice started work in a garage, went back to school and set up Girls Auto Clinic to help women feel more connected with their cars. Nigerian Sandra Aguebor got her first job in a car repair shop aged 13 and has never looked back. Sandra did not let the jokes and jeers about being a girl doing this job get to her. Now Sandra is famous for being Nigeria's first female mechanic and has run her own garage, Sandex Car Care, for 20 years. She also leads the Lady Mechanic Initiative, which trains women to work with cars. (Photo: (L) Patrice Banks. Credit: Girls Auto Clinic. (R) Sandra Aquebor. Credit: Lady Mechanic Initiative)

Kim Chakanetsa travels to the Global Philanthropy Forum conference in California to speak to two philanthropists and finds out why they give so much money away.Amy Rao grew her Silicon Valley tech company, Integrated Systems Archive, during the dotcom bubble of the 1990s and says she started giving large amounts of money to causes close to her heart as soon as she launched the business. Amy grew up in a household where helping others and entrepreneurship were a priority, even when they were broke her parents still helped those less fortunate in the community. Today, Amy's philanthropy is focussed on human rights and the environment and she is the chair of the Human Rights Watch Voices for Justice events in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and is on the board of the Schmidt Family Foundation, as well as being the president of the 11th Hour Project.It took determination and defiance for Tsitsi Masiyiwa and her husband Strive Masiyiwa to build their telecoms empire following a lengthy legal battle with the Zimbabwean government who had a monopoly. Tsitsi also grew up in a community where helping others was important. She says as soon as she realised they might make money with their company, Econet, she committed to giving some of it away because "you can only sleep in one bed, drive one car and have one home". Today Tsitsi is the co-founder and co-chair of the Higherlife Foundation, which has sent tens of thousands of children to school and university in southern Africa. (Photo: From left, Amy Rao, Kim Chakanetsa and Tsitsi Masiyiwa. Credit: Noah Stout of Stout Film)

Kim Chakanetsa quizzes two heavy metal bass guitarists about their roles in their bands, how they learnt to head-bang, and juggling the music with their day jobs.Doris Yeh tours all over the world with best-selling Taiwanese metal band Chthonic. She says she only got into heavy metal by accident, but now loves it. Being the only woman in the band can have its down-sides - at performances her male colleagues used to expect her to get changed in the toilet while they occupied the one dressing room! However, Doris learnt to assert herself, and says when she gets on stage and starts playing, she is just excited to be able to treasure that moment with the audience. Slovenian Sasha Zagorc formed the heavy metal/hard rock band Hellcats with her sister ten years ago. She's always been a metal-head so just wears her own black leather clothes in their videos and on stage. Initially the band had to deal with quite a lot of criticism as the first all-female band on the Slovenian metal scene, but they just kept going and now have fans all over the world. For Sasha having a band provides much needed relaxation, and she loves going on tour with her best friends.(L) Photo: Sasha Zagorc. Credit: Simon Podgorsek. (R) Photo: Doris Yeh. Credit: CHTHONIC.

When Australian mechanical engineer Marita Cheng got to university, she was shocked to discover that only five out of 50 students on her course were female. She responded by starting Robogals - an organisation that goes into schools and teaches robotics to girls as a way of encouraging them into choosing engineering as a career. Having won multiple awards and starting her own robotics company, Marita is now an inspiring role model herself, and has developed a robot arm that can aid people with mobility issues.Lebanese civil engineer Nisrine Chartouny oversees miles of tunnelling on London's ambitious Crossrail project. Her work requires precision, skill and very long hours. Nisrine joined her company Bechtel 10 years ago, and says she and her husband put off having babies for five years because she was enjoying her job so much. Now a mum of one, she was able to go back to work four days a week and wants the rest of the industry she is so passionate about to embrace flexible working, so that it can hold on to women like her.(Photo: Marita Cheng (L). Credit: University of Melbourne, Australia. Nisrine Chartouny (R). Credit: Bechtel)

Cat Hulbert started gambling for a living 40 years ago. A blackjack player in her 20s, she became so skilled at winning money from casinos, she was soon very unpopular with them all around the US. Cat took up poker in the 1980s, and was one of the first women to break into the ranks of professional card players. The Game Show Network called her "the best female gambler on earth." Now retired, Cat says she is not sure that she would legalise gambling in a state that did not have it, as it can ruin so many lives.Celina Lin, who has been described as 'China's Queen of Poker', was born in Shanghai and moved to Australia as a child. Always a gaming enthusiast, she got into poker by accident, but quickly became a skilled online player and has been employed by the company PokerStars for the last eight years. She is now based back in China, playing high-level poker tournaments in the casino city of Macau. Celina has won the prestigious Red Dragon cup twice, and views poker not as a game but as an extremely demanding mind sport.Image: Celina Lin (L) and Cat Hulbert (R) (Images courtesy of Celina Lin and Cat Hulbert)

Megan Harrington-Johnson doesn't let worry and doubt stop her when she wants to complete a 13km open-water swim. The South African endurance swimmer has swam in shark infested waters, even though she's petrified of them and has had a close shave with a Great White. Megan says she's often the only woman on the team, but thinks it's fear rather than ability that holds other women back from doing what she does. Sweating in the water is an issue and Megan talks about the importance of staying hydrated and eating lots of calories to get through a big swim. Manu Vilaseca started by running 5km races and now does 160km ultra-marathons. The lengthy courses are rarely on flat terrain, they're normally up and down mountains and the conditions can be unpredictable, but Manu, who's from Brazil, says even when her mind is telling her to stop she knows how to talk herself round and get through. The competitions might be punishing on Manu's body, but she says she loves the feeling of total exhaustion and almost craves the pain she will feel afterwards so she knows she's pushed herself to the limit.Photo: (L) Megan Harrington-Johnson. Credit: Charl Rorich. Photo: (R) Manuela Vileseca. Credit: Bernardo Rodrigues.

Cathy Bramley is the UK author of best-selling romantic comedies such as Appleby Farm and The Plumberry School Of Comfort Food. Cathy has spent most of her working life in marketing, however reading has always been a passion of hers, and she says one particular book inspired her to take up writing herself. Four years ago she went for it and self-published her first novel. She was then taken on by a publisher and was able to give up her day job to write full-time in 2014.Cheryl Ntumy has written 11 books, including romance novels for a South African audience and young adult fiction. She grew up surrounded by books and has been writing stories since she was very young. Originally from Ghana, Cheryl now lives in Botswana and her characters often reflect her feelings and experiences of being an outsider. She says writing isn't really taken seriously as a career in Botswana, so it has been a challenge to keep going at times. Photo credit: (L) Cathy Bramley and (R) Cheryl Ntumy

Jacquie Davis began her career with the British police, but soon moved into security and close protection. This was in the 1970's when Jacquie says it was "very lonely" being the only woman in the industry. Today Jacquie runs the security and risk management firm Optimal Risk and her clients include the ultra-rich and famous; she's dealt with everything from hostage situations to screaming fans and celebrity tantrums. Denida Zinxhiria grew up in Albania during a time of social upheaval where it was commonplace to hear bombs and bullets in the street. As a child she remembers her grandmother covering her to protect her from gunfire and says that incident sparked an interest in keeping people safe. Denida worked her way up through private security in Greece and now runs Athena Academy, a security company that trains female bodyguards.Photo: Jacquiee Davis. Credit: Aaston Parrot. Photo: Denida Zinxhiria. Credit: N/A.

Maria Toorpakai grew up in the traditional tribal region of Waziristan, and from an early age decided she would rather play with the boys than stay inside with the girls. So she burned her 'girly' clothes and cut her hair short so she could run and jump and wrestle outside. When her family moved to Peshawar Maria picked up a squash racket for the first time, and by the age of 16 was Pakistan's number one player. Her success led to death threats however, and she was forced into hiding and playing only in her bedroom. Maria now lives and trains in Canada. Her book A Different Kind of Daughter: The Girl Who Hid From the Taliban in Plain Sight (with Katharine Holstein) is out now.Malaysia's Nicol David has dominated women's squash since 2005. She was the World No 1 woman player for an unprecedented 9 years. Nicol says her greatest win was her first world title when she was 22 in Hong Kong, which came as a complete surprise. She started playing squash with her sisters to work out her hyperactivity, and quickly became a junior champion. She says squash is like 'physical chess' - you are always thinking ahead by two or three moves.

Michelle Payne is the first ever female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup­ and is the youngest of ten children of Paddy and Mary Payne who grew up in central Victoria, Australia. Mary died in a motor vehicle accident when Michelle was only six months old, leaving Paddy to raise the children as a single father. Michelle entered racing aged 15, the eighth of the Payne children to do so. She won in her first race at Ballarat, riding 'Reigning' a horse trained by her father. Michelle’s book “Life as I know it” is published by Melbourne University Press. Jadey Pietrasiewicz grew up in a small town in The Netherlands and started horse racing by accident at 14. Jadey started off as an amateur and turned professional in 2013. She won the HH Sheikha Fatima Ladies World Championship in Abu Dhabi in November 2014 and has ridden worldwide on both Thoroughbreds and Arabians (100+ wins). She is currently riding in Australia, based with Ellerton Zahra Racing.(L) Michelle Payne. Credit: Racing Victoria. (R) Jadey Pietrasiewicz. Credit: Wouter Tijtgat.

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers is an award winning South African writer and performance artist. Phillippa, who is mixed race, was adopted as a baby by a white couple but did not learn of her adoption until she became involved in anti-apartheid politics whilst attending University. Negotiating this newfound racial identity has informed much of her writing. She discusses her inspirations and the journey to becoming a writer, why she found it hard to initially call herself a poet and how South Africa is a country blossoming with poetry.Imtiaz Dharker is a poet, artist and film maker. Born in Pakistan, Imtiaz was brought up in Scotland before she eloped to India aged 20, becoming estranged from her family. She feels that it is important that poets don't get too comfortable in any one place and describes forging her life in 'the cracks in-between'. Imtiaz picks up words that inspire her poetry from her surroundings, sometimes overheard, she jots these down on a paper napkin or whatever is to hand. She now lives in the UK and in 2014 she was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Her advice to aspiring poets is to read a lot and find your own voice.Image credit (l) Imtiaz Dharker (Melanie Brown/BBC) and (r) Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

Sandra Magnus is a US astronaut with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is now the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Sandra always wanted to become an astronaut and has had a lifelong passion for science and exploring how the world works. On the space station she says that every day is about trouble-shooting, and sometimes it doesn't seem very organised, there is a lost and found plastic bag, "I always thought that was rather amusing because that means there were things on the station that were missing parts".Samantha Cristoforetti made history when she became the first person to make an espresso in space. "We got to try the first freshly brewed espresso coffee in space" she says proudly. Born in Milan and raised in the province of Trentino in Itlay, Samantha speaks four languages including Russian. She has a second degree in aeronautical sciences and a masters in mechanical engineering. She is a captain in the Italian air force, a qualified jet-fighter pilot and has been an astronaut with the European Space Agency since 2009, the first Italian woman to take the role. (Photo: Sandra Magnus: NASA, Samantha Cristoforetti: ESA-S. Corvaja)

Hafsat Mohammed is a Nigerian peace activist who survived a Boko Haram attack on a bus and works to combat violent extremism in the country by engaging young people at the grassroots level. She brings Christian and Muslim communities together to find ways to stop young people joining radical groups. Hafsat says when she was growing up this was a peaceful part of the world and it makes her sad that there is so much hate and violence there now, so she's made it her mission to stop it, despite threats made against her. Gulalai Ismail remembers being young and seeing graffiti chalked on the walls of her home town Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan, calling for young men to join violent extremist groups. As a teenager Gulalai started campaigning for the rights of women and today has broadened her activism out to include anti-radicalisation programmes, and projects dealing with HIV/AIDS education and safe abortion. Gulalai, who has won many awards, has been threatened because of the work she does and had to flee her home after an attack a few years ago. (Image: Hafsat Mohammed on the Left, Gulalai Ismail on the Right)

Hasmik Asatrian runs the Basen Hotel in Sisian. The business was owned by her husband's family, but Hasmik took over the management and day-to-day running in 2010. She transformed a rundown, Soviet-style complex with communal bathrooms and a leaky roof into a modern hotel that attracts tour groups and independent travellers who come to Armenia to discover the country's ancient history and culture. Hasmik's success won her Armenia's Young Businesswoman of the Year award in 2013.Yin Myo Su runs the Inle Princess hotel, located on the shore of Inle Lake, in Myanmar. Su was raised in the hotel industry and says she was trained to work in it from an early age - her earliest memories are being taught how to cook, clean and entertain the guests. She says her strangest request was when a guest asked for his wife to be woken up by a flock of ducks quacking outside her window. Su won the Goldman Sachs & Fortune Global Women Leaders Award in 2013. Left: Hasmik Asatrian / photo credit Sirun Snetcunc Right: Yin Myo Su / photo credit Moethida Aye

Al Beli Afifa is an Additional Superintendent at Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the largest unit of the Bangladesh Police. Al Beli joined the police partly to serve the women in her community as she felt they were less able to access justice. She has specialised in combating crimes against women, in particular sexual violence. In 2013, Al Beli became the first woman in Asia to receive the International Association of Women Police Excellence in Performance Award.Rebekah Jones is an Inspector with the Royal Grenada Police Force. Since joining the force in 1997 Rebekah has been involved in a wide range of operations including a lengthy investigation that required her to go undercover to bring down a group involved in financial crime. She specialises in tackling domestic violence, a crime she says is prevalent but still too little understood in Grenada. In 2014, Rebekah received a scholarship from the International Association of Women Police.

Dr Madhurita Gupta grew up in a research institute in Rajasthan. Her father was a scientist and she was exposed to different species of wildlife from an early age. She held her first snake, a sand boa, aged 15 and describes the experience as 'divine'. She says she still gets goose bumps when she holds one of the reptiles because of excitement, not fear. Madhurita is now the chief vet at an animal clinic in Mumbai and runs a snake rescue service. She says she can get up to 10 calls a day, but only goes out to relocate a snake if it is inside someone's property.Julia Baker grew up in England and Germany before settling in Australia in her 20s. She started her career as a five-star pastry chef, but a life-changing experience led Julia to follow her passions and become a snake catcher. Julia has her own reality TV show called Snake Boss, or Snake Sheila, which follows her as she rescues snakes from people's properties and relocates them in the bush nearby. According to Julia fear is the biggest threat to snakes, as it can quickly turn to hatred and lead to people mistreating them, so she does what she can to educate people about the reptiles. (Photo: Dr Madhurita Gupta (L), Julia Baker (R) Credit: Deb Nash)

Maysoon Zayid is an Arab-American actor and writer with cerebral palsy. Brought up by parents who believed that nothing was impossible, she learnt how to walk by placing her heels on her father's feet. Combating unequal treatment in her profession, Maysoon went on to become a popular stand-up comedian, co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival and has performed in clubs in the US and the Middle East. Gloria Williston was born with micromelia – one leg shorter than the other - and uses a prosthesis to keep balance when she walks. Growing up in Ghana she faced prejudice and stigmatisation but always kept a positive attitude. She completed her degree and now works at the Orthopaedic Training Centre in Nsawam. Gloria believes that the key factor in her success was her family's 'love all the way'.Photo: Maysoon Zayid (L) Gloria Williston (R).

Farzana Wahidy grew up under the repressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan and as a young girl was banned from studying. Encouraged by her father she attended an underground school, and even set up her own at the age of 14. She later became the first Afghan female photographer to work for international press agencies AFP and AP. Farzana's photos range from street violence to leisurely meals and festivities, from scenes of war brutality to veiled moments of happiness. One of her unique techniques is shooting photos from behind a burkha. Xyza Bacani's black and white photographs uncover the hidden world of domestic workers and victims of human trafficking. She can relate to their plight very well. Originally from the Philippines, she later moved to Hong Kong where together with her mother she looked after six children. Through her poignant images she wants to bring the lives of domestic workers to light. Xyza's work has been published in Vogue Italia and she's now showcasing her first solo exhibition in Manila.(L) Farzana Wahidy. Credit: Meg Prudhomme. (R) Xyza Bacani. Credit: Jan Gonzales.

Karen Lord's writing feeds off the real world but knits in magic, folktales and adventure to create a unique and original universe. She is the author of three books, and her latest is called The Galaxy Game. Karen has won numerous awards including the Frank Collymore Literary award, which recognises literary talent in Barbados. She says that she loves the place where she writes from, because the melting-pot nature of the Caribbean is a constant source of stories and inspiration.Maria Turtschaninoff started writing fairy tales aged five, and now weaves historically inspired worlds of magical realism with elements of mythology. The prizes she's won for her work include the Finlandia Junior Prize, for Maresi, her first novel published in English. Maria says her 'cricket-mind' means she's easily distracted from writing, but her best ideas often come to her when she's bored. Surprisingly, she writes in Swedish, as she comes from the tiny Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.[Picture: Fanstasy writers Karen Lord (Right) and Maria Turtschaninoff (Left)]

Jill Heinerth is the world's top underwater cave explorer. More people have walked on the moon than have ventured to some of the places she has dived. Originally from Canada, and now living in Florida in the US, Jill has broken records mapping whole water courses underground, and once had a narrow escape from cave-diving in an Antarctic iceberg. She takes photographs and video whilst underground, and says that she would never attempt a dangerous dive just for the thrill of it - there has to be a new discovery to pursue.Elen Feuerriegel is a PhD student from Australia who was catapulted into one of the most exciting scientific discoveries of our time, when her caving experience and slim build led to her joining the Rising Star Expedition. This all-women team excavated over a thousand fossils from a deep cave system in South Africa, which at its narrowest point measures just 18 cm. It was announced in September 2015 that these bones were from a previously unknown species of human ancestor, Homo Naledi. (Photo: (L) Jill Heinerth in diving gear, Credit: Wes Skiles. (R) Elen Feuerriegel holding MH1)

Dr Lina Triana is one of Colombia's top plastic surgeons and was the first woman to become president of the country's Plastic Surgery Association. Lina's father is a plastic surgeon and at first he tried to dissuade his daughter from following in his footsteps, saying this wasn't the right job for a woman to do as it doesn't allow for being a good wife and mother. But Lina proved him wrong and now works alongside her father's clinic doing aesthetic procedures including body contouring, breast augmentations and facelifts.Dr Prisca Hwang works for the Korea University Ansan Hospital in Seoul. Like Lina she does aesthetic surgery, which is big business in her city, but also performs reconstructive surgery. This might include working on cancer patients, car crash victims and congenital deformities. Prisca says she makes it clear to patients who want cosmetic surgery that a nose job won't change their lives, and that it's important that she spots any underlying psychological issues.Photos: (L) Dr Prisca Hwang and (R) Dr Lina Triana

Shailee Basnet grew up in the shadow of the Himalayas in Kathmandu, but never thought of mountaineering herself. In her twenties she answered an advert for Nepali women to tackle Everest, and has never looked back. Shailee is now the leader of the first all-women team to successfully complete the Seven Summits Challenge - climbing the tallest mountain on every continent. Katja Staartjes became the first Dutch woman to summit Everest in 1999, and has also done more dangerous climbs of over 8000 metres in Pakistan and Tibet. Katja says she loves putting everything she needs on her back, and setting off into the mountains. Her latest project is opening up the Western part of Nepal to trekking and tourism, by extending the Great Himalaya Trail.Main image: Shailee Basnet (lhs) (credit Shailee Basnet); Katja Staartjes (rhs) (credit Katja Staartjes).

Senem Škulj is a senior forensic anthropologist for the International Commission on Missing Persons in Bosnia. Thousands of people lost their lives during the bloody conflict when Yugoslavia broke up in the early 1990s. Many bodies were thrown into mass graves and it's Senem's job to put a name to the bones that are found and to reunite the remains with relatives, so they can have a proper burial. Kornelia Nehse is a hair and textiles expert, she began her career in the forensics department of the Berlin police 30 years ago. At first Kornelia went to the crime scene to collect evidence, but says it was difficult seeing murder victims, especially the vulnerable ones. Now her job is mainly inside the laboratory working with the tiny microscopic fibres that can help catch and convict an offender.(Photo: Forensic scientists Senem Škulj (Left) and Kornelia Nehse (Right) at work. Kornelia Nehse picture credit: Claudia Wendt)

Parina Subba Limbu first tried drugs as a teenager. Expelled from nine schools, she eventually ran away from home. After a decade of escalating addiction, and many disastrous love affairs with other addicts, Parina finally got help to get clean, and now runs Dristi Nepal, a charity she founded to care for drug-addicted women in Kathmandu, a group she says who are harshly judged by her society.Melinda Ferguson, who grew up in Apartheid-era South Africa, started stealing her mother's brandy aged 10, and was soon experimenting with drugs. In 1993 she tried heroin, which led to a downward spiral that saw her losing her kids, and selling her body for the next hit. Melinda's journey to recovery began in 1999, and has since published two addiction memoirs, Smacked and Crashed.[Picture: Parina Subba Limbu (Left) and Melinda Ferguson(Right) Melinda Ferguson picture credit: Aubrey Johnson ]

Karen Igho Rakos was joint winner of Big Brother Africa in 2011, and was the first Nigerian woman to win the competition. The reality star claims she was "one of the most hated" people on the planet when she entered the house because of her bold personality, but says viewers fell in love with her "good heart". Karen won $200,000, but reveals that dealing with fame has been tough.Alexandra Zazzi hit the reality TV scene when the concept was still in its infancy. She won Sweden's Expedition Robinson, also known as Survivor in 1998, winning $17,000. Alexandra says that back then no one knew the power of this type of television, and that it could catapult contestants to instant fame; for her it was about the challenge of living on a desert island and having to find her own food and shelter.(L) Karen Igho Rakos. Credit: JD Barnes. (R) Alexandra Zazzi. Credit: Peter Jademyr.

Maureen Nzioki is a private investigator based in Nairobi in Kenya, a country where this industry is well established. She says she never feels guilty for trailing a suspected cheating spouse, because she is only following instructions from their husband or wife, whose trust they have broken. Although Maureen loves her job, it has made her cynical about relationships, and she now finds it hard to trust any potential partner.Akriti Khatri runs her own private detective firm in Delhi, and after a decade in the business puts her success down to a combination of confidence, chattiness and patience. Critics say agencies like Akriti's are unregulated, employ illegal surveillance techniques and routinely invade people's privacy, but she says she is providing a useful service, preventing bad marriages from ever taking place, and catching cheats in love and business. (Picture: Private Detectives Maureen Nzioki [Left] and Akriti Khatri [Right])

Growing up in an Israeli kibbutz taught choreographer Jasmin Vardimon all about group dynamics, but she came to dancing relatively late, aged 14. Now artistic director of the Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company in the UK, her visually stunning and exciting performances are inspired by universal themes such as brutality and justice, filtered through the personal experience of her and her dancers. Jasmin says that leading a production is like bringing up a child - at a key point you need to be able to let go and trust the dancers to do their best. Aditi Mangaldas was trained in the classical Indian dance form of kathak from the age of five. Her Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company, Drishtikon Dance Foundation, now performs all over the world. With its fast footwork and rhythmic complexity, kathak gives Aditi a sense of feeling timeless, of being bound to the ground. She believes that there is room for the dance form to evolve and in some of her productions fuses kathak with contemporary dance. Aditi still performs on stage, and on those days says she has to become just one of the company.(L) Aditi Mangaldas. Credit: Dinesh Khanna (R) Jasmin Vardimon. Credit: Ben Harries

As a child, Ameera Ahmad Harouda wanted to be the first female Palestinian fighter pilot, but as an adult she became a pioneer in the news field instead; starting work as Gaza's first female news fixer in 2005. Ameera's work begins when the violence escalates, and she's now the 'go to' person for many international journalists who need to hire a fixer to help them get into Gaza and gain access to stories and people. Al Jazeera camera woman Alina Gracheva grew up in the former Soviet state of Moldova. She's covered some of the biggest news stories in recent history - the war in Chechnya, the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, but it was the Beslan school siege in 2004, that had the biggest effect on her. Alina says that instead of focussing on the bombs and bullets, camera women can give a different perspective, "they are more likely to notice a mother in the corner, or a child with dirty fingers". [Picture: Ameera Ahmad Harouda (Left) and Alina Gracheva (Right)]

Subadhra Devi Rai started her nursing career in a busy intensive care unit of a hospital in Singapore. She has also dedicated her life to working with those in desperate need in countries where her skills are in short supply, including Thailand, Nigeria and Laos. Subadhra, who's now a senior lecturer in health studies, recently won the Florence Nightingale International Foundation's International Achievement Award. Rose Kiwanuka isn't saving lives but helping patients as they die, she was Uganda's first palliative care nurse in the early 1990s. Rose, who is the national coordinator of the Palliative Care Association, has the momentous task of making patients and their families, in urban and rural communities, as comfortable as possible about death.(L) Rose Kiwanuka, Palliative Care Nurse, Uganda. Picture Credit: Alan Hofmanis (R) Subadhra Devi Rai, Nurse, Singapore. Picture credit: Nanyang Polytechnic

'You can never tell what type of person is getting into your car' says Iris Javed who has been driving a taxi in New York City for over twenty-two years, 'and once they're in your car you have to deal with it'. Iris, who drove an 18-wheel truck before scaling down to a taxi, has had her fair share of drunk and troublesome passengers - and even one who got into her car completely naked. Karin Holmström has been driving a taxi in Stockholm for twenty years. She says driving is only a tiny part of the job - 'you more or less have to be a mother, a priest and a psychologist'. She's doled out relationship advice and consoled the lonely and although she welcomes all kinds of passengers, Karin has one hard and fast rule about fast food - 'they will never eat hamburgers and hotdogs in my car. I'm not a restaurant!'(Picture: Iris Javed (Left) and Karin Holmström (Right - Credit: Stockholm Taxis)

Cori Schumacher was surfing before she was born - her mother, also a professional surfer, carried on surfing while she was pregnant. Cori got her first board when she was five and was competing by eight. She quickly came to love the sport and her dedication led her to become a three-time world champion. However, she came to have reservations about aspects of surf culture and the pressure placed on female athletes to be attractive and thin. She now campaigns to raise the status of women's surfing and to make surf culture more inclusive. Ishita Malaviya grew up in Mumbai where there was very little surf culture. Many Indians, she says, have a fear of the sea. Ishita first learnt to surf at university. She and her boyfriend saved up to buy a second-hand board which they shared - one of them would practise in the waves while the other cheered from the beach. Now Ishita has been recognised as India's first female professional surfer. She runs a school where she 'spreads the stoke of surfing' to other Indians. (Photo: (Left) Cori Schumacher. Credit: Maria Cerda. (Right) Ishita Malaviya. Credit: The Shaka Surf Club)

Norma Foster from Scotland discovered karate in her teens when her male friends began taking classes and using Japanese words that were strange to her. She decided to start learning herself but when it came to competitions she found herself the only woman in the room. She wasn't deterred and after spending eight years in Tokyo studying karate she now has a sixth degree black belt. Norma became the first female referee at the World Karate Federation, but her career was not without obstacles: on one occasion a competition was shut down because a member of the referee committee claimed that women were not allowed to judge male athletes. Now she wants to increase the number of women referees at all levels of the sport. Natália Falavigna from Brazil knew she wanted to be an Olympic athlete from the age of four. She tried several sports before finding taekwondo. When her teacher told her he could make her a world champion she realised she'd found what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She enjoys the 'explosive' nature of taekwondo which involves high-energy kicking and spinning, and the challenge of mastering her emotions during a fight. In 2004 she achieved her dream of competing in the Olympics, coming fourth place. Then in 2008 she won bronze at the Summer Olympics, becoming the first Brazilian to win an Olympic medal in taekwondo.Picture: Norma Foster (Right) and Natália Falavigna (Left) Picture credits: Peter Stoddart (Right) /Fausto Roim (Left)