International Women's Day 2020: 10 inspirational women from Essex

It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day has occurred for well over a century, with the first​ gathering in 1911 supported by more than a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Here is our pick of some inspirational women - past and present - from across Essex.

Jane and Ann Taylor, authors of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Jane and Ann Taylor wrote poems for children, including the well-known rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

The sisters, who lived in West Stockwell Street, wrote many poems for children, including one by Jane Taylor published in 1806 in Colchester which today is known throughout the world as the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.

Dorothy L Sayers, writer and poet

Dorothy Leigh Sayers, from Witham, was born in 1893 and went on to achieve huge success as a crime writer, creating the character of amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey for which she is best known.

The series of mystery novels he appears in are set between the First and Second World Wars although Sayers herself considered her translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy to be her best work.

She is also known for her plays, literary criticism, and essays.

Sara Prince, author

Children’s author Josie Dom – the pseudonym of Halstead mum-of-two Sara Prince – is known for her story about a monster who makes a habit of frightening people until he is shown a kinder way to act.

The plot follows Lum as he scares a group of children until they help each other to stand up to him and realise that he is only seeking friendship and acceptance.

Mrs Prince found inspiration for the story through her experiences of being bullied in her childhood and as an adult.

Jeanette Lynes, festival organiser

Being a festival bouncer, running two popular festivals .... and performing herself.

They are just some of the pursuits which keep Jeanette Lynes busy and feeling as though she’s part of an extended family.

Over the past few years, Jeanette, from Colchester, has juggled a successful business career too, even though it is clearly far removed from any of those activities.

One of those is being co-founder of Tiptree’s Little Scarlet Music Festival, in partnership with the village’s famous jam-makers, Wilkin & Sons.

Michelle Taylor, Celebrant

Michelle Taylor has been creating ceremonies to mark weddings, the birth of babies and business milestones since 2011.

The 52-year-old former police officer, from Lawford, calls herself the Funky Celebrant and has been crowned the best celebrant in the East for two consecutive years.

Last year Michelle’s celebrant business, based in Manningtree, was named one of 100 trail-blazing small businesses around the UK selected for Small Biz 100 – part of this year’s Small Business Saturday on December 7.

Pippa Mills, Deputy Chief Constable

Pippa Mills joined the police force while she decided what career she wanted to pursue.

Fast forward 22 years and she is one of the most senior officers in the county.

Mrs Mills began her career with the Met Police in 1996 (even though she was born and bred in Essex) and as a constable she was based in Westminster, both on the response team and within CID.

She worked her way up the ranks, took a three-year career break while her two sons were young, and was promoted to inspector in 2007.

Natalie Reynolds, business owner Fred & Noah

When fashion design lecturer Natalie Reynolds started making leggings while on maternity leave, she had no idea that it would eventually spawn a hugely successful business.

With a celebrity following that includes Stacey Solomon, Tina O’Brien and Alex Jones, the brand has more than 117,000 followers on Instagram and some 50,000 followers on Facebook.

Fred & Noah is a children’s wear brand specialising in organic fabrics, bold prints and patterns that children love to wear.

Anne Khan, Rollerworld owner

Former pro-skater Anne’s dream job when she was a youngster was to own a roller rink.

And that dream became a reality when she took over Rollerworld.

Anne and her husband have been running Demon Xtreme for about 16 years starting in Harlow, and they have had shops in Harlow, Colchester, Chelmsford and Alexandra Palace in London.

Sam Ford, Tattooist

Sam Ford is a tattoo artist and owner of Silver Needles Tattoo Studio, in Southend, and Cult Coffee and Tattoos, in Leigh.

A second-generation tattoo artist, Sam is one of the leading ladies in the tattooing world.

Named Best UK Female Tattoo Artist at the 2018 Liverpool Tattoo Convention, the mum-of-one was also a guest judge on the semi-final of E4’s Tattoo Artist of the Year.

Carey Jacobs, Law firm partner

Carey Jacobs is one of ten partners at law firm Palmers – and for a long time she was the only female partner at the company.

Her legal specialism is commercial property, but she is also one of two partners responsible for the overall strategic leadership of the business.