Rights, Rage and Resilience
For those of us in tune with British news and politics, these last few weeks may have felt particularly depressing.
Lady Justice, restoring balance in society through evidence and fact. Protecting the innocent and bringing justice to guilty.
As Reform UK made significant gains in the recent local elections, many of us have been left asking: what is happening? And more importantly, what could this mean for the people who already have to fight harder to be heard, protected and treated equally?
This is particularly concerning for anyone who does not sit comfortably within the narrow category society has historically been built around: white, straight, male, able-bodied and financially secure. And, of course, I say that while also deeply appreciating the people within that category who do see the concern, speak up, and stand beside the rest of us.
One of the most alarming examples is Reform’s stated intention to abolish the Equality Act 2010 if elected. This Act protects people from discrimination based on characteristics such as sex, race, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation and pregnancy. It also places responsibilities on workplaces and public bodies to provide reasonable adjustments and fair treatment.
For women, this matters.
It matters for maternity rights. It matters for protection from sexual harassment. It matters for equal pay. It matters for women of colour, disabled women, LGBTQ+ women, older women, working-class women, and every woman who has ever had to wonder whether she is being treated differently but was told she was “too emotional”.
So yes, it is reasonable to feel angry. It is reasonable to feel tired. It is reasonable to feel a deep heaviness when the world appears to be debating whether rights we already had should still exist.
But we have to be careful here.
Because when the world feels loud, frightening or unstable, it can become very easy to collapse inward. To scroll endlessly. To feel powerless. To think, “What can I possibly do?”
As a coach, my work is about asking the questions that empower people. And in a time like this, perhaps the most important question is:
Who do I want to be in response to this?
When things feel uncertain, we often move into survival mode. We react, retreat, people-please, freeze, rage, or disconnect completely. None of these responses are wrong; they are human. But they may not always help us act from the clearest, strongest version of ourselves.
So instead of asking ourselves to fix everything at once, we might begin by asking:
What do I believe?
What do I need to understand more fully?
Where do I still have influence?
What conversations am I avoiding?
What boundaries do I need to strengthen?
What kind of woman do I want to be in this moment: at work, at home, in my community, and in the way I speak about myself?
Whether we are changing careers, leaving a relationship, rebuilding confidence, navigating motherhood, recovering from burnout, or simply admitting that life feels a bit strange, times like this can make us feel exposed. But it can also become a point of clarity.
Moments like this remind us that our voices matter. Our choices matter. Our work matters. The way we support other women matters. The way we challenge casual discrimination matters. The way we vote, lead, parent, mentor, hire, rest, speak and refuse to shrink matters.
We do not have to carry the whole world on our shoulders. That is too heavy a burden for any one person. But we can choose not to disappear from it.
We can notice what we are feeling and let it tell us something useful. We can let anger show us where our boundaries are. We can let fear point us towards what needs protecting. We can let exhaustion remind us that rest is not the same as giving up. And we can let hope become something practical, not just something we wait around to feel.
So if this week has left you angry, frightened or disheartened, let that feeling be information, not a dead end. Let it remind you what you care about. Let it bring you back to your values. Let it help you choose your next right action, however small that action may seem.
The world may feel as though it is moving backward but perhaps the way forward begins with the same question:
Who do I want to be in response to this, and what would she do next?
You can also find this article on LinkedIn through the Rebound & Rise Newletter, posted weekly by Rachelle Peterson.