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International Women’s Day: Naomi Klein and Others Who’ve Changed the Scope Of Travel and Feminism

March 8, 2022Tom Spruce

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Allow us to use International Women’s Day as a way to introduce you to some inspirational women who are changing the world with their dynamic approach to difficult subjects.

It’s that time of year again when we take some time to shout about the amazing women on the planet. This year the theme for International Women’s Day is gender, sustainability, and climate change. With that in mind, we wanted to talk about three ladies in particular who have been pushing the envelope in these areas.

Celebrated journalist, author, filmmaker, activist, professor, and feminist, Naomi Klein is as impressive as she is inspirational. As a professor of Climate Justice at British Columbia University, Klein is the perfect muse for looking into inspiring women within the travel sphere.

We’ve spoken before about what International Women’s Day means to us at Blue Bay Travel, in this blog we’ll talk more about the amazing things Klein has achieved, check out what her work means for the future of travel, and learn about some other super-inspiring women.

But first, let’s learn a little bit more about the woman, the myth, the legend.

More about Naomi

Klein’s published works include No Logo and The Shock Doctrine: Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Translated into over 30 languages and serial prize winners, these two books catapulted her into the limelight as a rapier-sharp intellectual, with a view to making the world a more equal and accessible place.

With regards to her work in travel, Klein has been extremely outspoken in her desire for the travel industry to become more eco-conscious. In fact, the strength of her views on climate change has resulted in Klein being name-checked as an influencer for climate crisis commander-in-chief, Greta Thunberg. Plus, journalist Justin Francis used Klein as a benchmark on his piece for Earth Day 2021 where he explored the role of tourism in protecting – and restoring – the environment.

Some of Klein’s more recent works have set out to shift the way we think about climate change and what we can do to improve our chances of reversing the damage already done. The bestselling works This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate and The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Earth and Each Other go into more detail on how we can start implementing systematic change.

However, in 2015 she went one step further by implementing her Leap Manifesto. This, just over, 1,000 word document details how a nation like Canada could become a 100% clean economy by 2050.

But what are other inspirational women doing in 2022?

Other Inspiring Women

While they may not be as intrinsically linked to the travel industry, Brene Brown and Elise Ballard are two other incredible women we feel deserve a shining spotlight on International Women’s Day.

Brenè Brown

With an impressive collection of awards and achievements under her belt. Alongside her status as a research professor at the University of Houston, Brown also holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair. In addition, she has authored six #1 New York Times bestsellers while hosting weekly Spotify original podcasts Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. Furthermore, she is a celebrated TED Talks speaker, where she’s captured the world with her honest and humble approaches to life by tackling our deepest and darkest emotions.

Through decades of research, Brown has been able to understand that we can’t truly practice compassion if we don’t treat ourselves properly. Vulnerability is not a weakness; it’s an emotional risk of uncertainty and is our most accurate measurement of courage. She also discusses the matters of assertiveness and how, through the means of brazenness, we deliberately make things that are uncertain – certain.

After Brenè’s internet fame sored, she received invites to speak at institutions, from world-class schools to Fortune 500 companies. Her ability to overcome her own fears and speak up is incredibly inspirational. Often relating to her own experiences, reminding us that we’re all human and we all endure these difficult feelings, Brown discovered empathy is the antidote to shame. She theorised that through emotional availability, to be truly vulnerable, we change our approach to the handling of life’s complications.

In 2022, we could all do with some help handling the everyday complications.

Elise Ballard

Elise Ballard is a writer, speaker, and producer. She is the author of Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform, a collection of over sixty interviews with amazing people from all walks of life recounting the stories of their greatest epiphanies.

Starting her career in entertainment working as an actress in New York and Austin, Ballard moved into independent filmmaking and producing in Los Angeles as a partner in a production company with films distributed by Lionsgate and Monarch Entertainment.

As a writer and journalist, she has been featured in and contributed to publications such as Psychology Today, Guideposts, Live Happy Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter and has been invited to cover events such as the Nobel Prizes. In addition, Ballard has served on numerous film-related non-profit boards and advisory committees, such as the Humanitas Prize and the South By Southwest Conference Advisory Board.

Her passion for true stories and uplifting entertainment guides her path and she always has at least a few projects of her own or others’ in development. She resides in Los Angeles and loves visiting her “homeland” (New Orleans, Dallas and Austin) as often as possible.

So, what can the travel industry learn from listening to incredible people like Klein, Brown and Ballard?

How is travel getting better?

In response to Klein’s climate concerns, there is still lots of work ahead of the travel industry. However, organisations like the Travel Foundation are making a strong start.

Also made up of a list of incredible women, the Travel Foundation is a charity that has the Ballard-esque epiphany of aiming to “give residents a stronger voice in tourism planning and management”. But how are they implementing that belief?

Aeroplane flying over a city — Electric plane technology

The foundation’s current “Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency” project leveraged the recent COP26 gathering to inspire tourism stakeholders. The project encouraged organisations to sign up and deliver climate action plans within 12 months, before implementing those strategies immediately.

Elsewhere, technological advances are looking at how airlines can start to develop planes that utilise bio-fuels rather than the planet harming fossil fuels currently in operation.

Electric planes have already been put into production, in fact, the Airbus e-Thrust is set to be rolled out by 2050. This new all-electric alternative to international travel will aim to carry 90 passengers for 2 hours. Meanwhile, the air travel giant is also working on developing hydrogen-fuelled aircraft. Airbus, envisage being able to bring zero-emission hydrogen-fuelled commercial aircraft to the market by 2035.