As part of our ongoing blog series, we will be sitting down and have conversations with a number of advocates in our local community. This week we speak to Celia Boyd from SHE Investments.

What is your name and role, and what is your passion in life?

Celia Boyd - Managing Director of SHE Investments.
My main passion is women's economic empowerment, especially through entrepreneurship.

Why do you do what you do?

I meet incredible women every day who inspire me. Women don't have access to the resources they need to start and scale businesses to the same degree that men do, and many of them are actively discouraged from starting a business. Women are the most resourceful and resilient people, and despite the huge barriers in their way they persist. We're a long way from gender equality, but women helping each other to get there keeps me motivated and inspired.

Are you a feminist and what does feminism mean to you?

Of course. I believe that women have the right to participate in and benefit from the development of every country, so I have no option but to be a feminist. Feminism to me means holding all of us accountable to striving for equal human rights. I'm not interested in arguing about semantics or with those who believe that gender equality has been achieved. The reality is that women everywhere face inequality and discrimination every day - particularly women of colour - and it is everyone's responsibility to acknowledge this, and fight to overcome it.

What do you think is the most pressing social problem today (globally)?

I believe that we live in a patriarchal, even often misogynistic world, and gender equality is the issue I focus on every single day. I also strongly believe that environmental issues such as climate change are real issues that we need to treat as an emergency, if we want next generations to grow up in a healthy world.

If there was one resource you think everyone should view, what would it be?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer.