We know there is still a LONG way to go until we reach full gender equality, but sometimes it's nice to celebrate how far we've come. 2015 has already seen some awesome achievements; so let's say a big hurrah to that.
Parents were given a choice: A new law passed in April allowing parents to share parental leave as they wish. Such a simple concept. Such a game changer.
This guy: Orange is the New Black's Matt McGorry took to Instagram in support of the Free the Nipple campaign. To make his point he posted a pic of his pecs, and covered his own nipples with images of Miley Cyrus's and Chrissy Teigen's that had been previously banned from the photo sharing app. "You might be thinking to yourself, there are way more important issues out there than women being able to expose their bumpy buttons whenever men can," he wrote. "But it's not just about getting an even tan; it's one piece of the puzzle of creating deep change in the way our society objectifies women and creates these different standards for men and women (and other genders)."
Hashtag Activism: Awards season saw #AskHerMore call for women on the red carpet to be asked meatier questions, #DistractinglySexy trended after female scientists - in a tongue-in-cheek way - hit back at Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt's ill-thought-out comments on women in labs, and more recently #SayHerName went viral after the suspicious death of Sandra Bland in the US, highlighting the under reporting of racial injustice.
We have more female MPs than ever: The 2015 election saw more female MPs elected than ever before. OK, so still only 29% of MPs are women, but we're definitely moving in the right direction.
- Amy Schumer ruled: She's making waves in the comedy world with her Inside Amy Schumer sketches that highlight the very real everyday sexism that women experience - in a filthy, gutsy, LOL-tastic way. See 'Last Fuckable Day', 'Milk Milk Lemonade', and 'Girl, You Don't Need Makeup' for further proof.
- We celebrated beauty in all forms: Women have made their feelings clear about sexist Protein World ads, stars like Miley Cyrus and Jemima Kirke showed off their armpit hair, and hashtags including #LoveYourLines and #EffYourBeautyStandards celebrated body positivity. So far, 2015 has proven that beauty comes in all shapes, colours and packages.
- The Lionesses roared: The England team came third in this year's Women's FIFA World Cup, which FYI, is further than they have ever gone before in the tournament. How proud we are.
- Zendaya owned Twitter: Zendaya Coleman has been slaying Twitter trolls with her fierce, feminist comebacks. We loved the moment she shut down @Manstagram for posting a picture of a beauty blogger without make-up, along with a derogatory comment.
- Hillary made history: Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for President, becoming the first First Lady to ever run.
- A feminist blockbuster smashed the box office: The 'Max' of the title actually spends most of his time as a supporting character to Charlize Theron's sex-slave freeing, crack shooting Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, which enraged some (idiotic, sexist) men on the internet. Everyone else loved seeing an action movie with a fierce, female lead, because so far it's made $367,041,715 globally at the box office.
We took on the tampon tax: It may not have happened yet, but 2015 saw people pressuring the government to remove VAT from female sanitary products - hurray!
We realised that 'This Girl Can': Sport England's 'This Girl Can' health campaign launched, and the phenomenal response has proved once and for all, that sport is for everyone.
- Awards speeches started important conversations: Patricia Arquette used her Oscar speech to call for pay equality, Viola Davis used her SAG win to highlight the lack of on screen diversity, and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey's brilliant turn as hosts of the Golden Globes proved that not only should they host everything, always, but called out ageism in the film industry.
- We met the Radical Brownies: A social justice orientated version of the girl scouts was set up in California to empower girls of colour and to help them form community bonds. The girls are not awarded badges for sewing and cooking, but for learning about civil rights and sustainable agriculture. They can also earn badges for 'Radical Self Love' and 'LGBT Ally'.
Magic Mike XXL became one of the most pro-woman films of the year: Seriously, who'd have thought a film about strippers would carry such a feminist message?
New protective laws have been passed around the world: One year on from the Girl Summit in the UK, the Nigerian government took a historic step of outlawing the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), while five countries with high levels of child marriage - Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Mali, Yemen and Zambia - have begun the legal process of ending it. We're by no means there, but Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening hopes to end both practices within a generation.
The Beeb appoints Kuenssberg as Political Editor: Nick Robinson was probably the most well-known face in political journalism but as he leaves his role after a decade to join BBC Radio Four, Newsnight's Laura Kuenssberg takes his place - the first woman to ever hold this position.
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