Saving the World by Paola Diana

‘The status of women is a global challenge; it touches every human being without exception. How is it possible that countries where women have achieved political, economic and social rights after exhausting struggles remain seemingly indifferent to the egregiousness of other nations where the status of women is still tragic? The time has come to help those left behind. The lack of interest stems from two important and connected factors: public opinion with regard to the status of women is not strong enough to force lawmakers to fight for their rights, at home or abroad; and there are not enough women in political and economic leadership roles to act as standard-bearers for the campaign of reform. These two factors are inextricably linked: one affects the other and vice versa…’
Already a bestseller in Italy, this translation has been extensively revised by the author to incorporate recent events that impinge on women’s rights and the struggle to achieve equality. 

Paola Diana is an entrepreneur, author, activist and host of the YouTube show ‘Unleashed. The Game Changers’. She is the founder and CEO of a global recruitment company, leader in the household and secretarial staff sector and she is producing a documentary series based on social issues such as knife crime, domestic violence, racism and homelessness. As a successful female entrepreneur and women’s rights expert, Diana contributes regularly to TV and radio in the UK and Italy. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 she was named on the prestigious Spear’s 500 list. ​



​

So, I've always thought of myself as a feminist. I was bought up by strong, indepenent and outspoken women, and as such have never had an issue respecting the authority of women, or happily accepting the fact that they are equal to men in every way (and in some ways, superior)! 
With this in mind, I wasn't sure what to expect from Paola Diana's book - in previous jobs I've served on Diversity Iniatives to ensure that the hiring of women is fair and equal, and worked on panels to combat inequalities. However, as is clearly pointed out in this well thought out book - I was clearly focusing on easy tasks, and not looking at the bigger picture or the bigger problems that women still face. 
Diana explores these in detail, travelling around the world to explore the inequalities and injustices that women face. She doesn't hold back - for those who may have been ignoring just how unfair some countries are, they're explored here and will likely shock you. 
This is a book intended to inspire and to provoke change, and it does exactly that for me - opening my eyes and spurring me on to make a difference. I think my only thought on something that this book could have done better, would be exploring the fact that gender has become less binary over the last few years - there are some interesting dialogues that definitely need to be addressed with that in mind - but I appreciate that they may have taken away slightly from the main drive of Diana's words. Maybe in the sequel! Powerful and inspiring, this is well worth a read. 
Many thanks to MidasPR for the copy