Is Feminism Still Needed? Penny East Has No Doubt

Did women already get what they wanted? The right to vote, access to education, legal protection from discrimination - on paper, much of it is there. So what’s still at stake?

Whilst progress isn’t a straight line, equality isn't a tick box exercise that allows you to forget about it. Just as the feminist movement made strides, new battles have emerged. With our current political moment of women's rights under active assault globally, pretending we're "done" with feminism isn't just naive - it's dangerous.

To answer these concerns, we sat down with Penny East, the new CEO of the Fawcett Society, the UK's leading charity fighting for gender equality at work, at home, and in public life.

The Fawcett Society was founded in 1866 when 19-year-old Millicent Fawcett started collecting signatures for women's suffrage. The organisation spent 62 years fighting for the vote, and didn't stop there. But we asked - what does it mean to inherit that legacy today? How do they honour the past while confronting entirely new challenges? And finally, is feminism over? 

Penny stepped into the leadership position at The Fawcett Society at a time when being a feminist feels increasingly precarious. Her resume is an inspiration in taking on systems that fail people: fifteen years in the charity sector, shaping domestic abuse legislation, launching perpetrator programs, advocating for social approaches to mental health, and working with the broader ecosystem, such as the UN Refugee Council and Comic Relief.

Now, she's leading one of feminism's most regarded organisations through some of its most complex battles yet.

What does feminist leadership look like in times of political and societal instability? Is there a future for the feminist movement? Is technology a threat or an opportunity for equality?

Keep reading to find out.

Millicent Fawcett

The Fawcett Society's story begins with Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist and women's rights campaigner who made it her lifetime’s work to secure women the right to vote.

At the age of 19, she organised signatures for the first petition for women’s suffrage, though she was too young to sign it herself. She became President of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (the NUWSS) from 1907-19. With 50,000 members it was the largest organisation agitating for female suffrage at the time. Her powerful and peaceful mass campaign was instrumental in securing the first extension of voting rights for women in 1918.

In 1913, she was awarded a brooch engraved with “For Steadfastness and Courage”, which The Fawcett Society still has today. Millicent Fawcett died in 1929, a year after women were finally given universal suffrage. Her work has continued ever since, with The London Society for Women’s Suffrage renamed as The Fawcett Society in her honour in 1953.

In 2018, 100 years since women first secured the right to vote, Millicent Fawcett made history once again. She was the first woman commemorated with a statue in Parliament Square – a landmark moment for the wider suffrage movement, and for women everywhere.

The Role of Fawcett Today

W: What is the role of the Fawcett Society in 2025? What does it mean to inherit a legacy born in the suffrage movement?

PE: It’s really important that Fawcett works out and invests time into bringing people with us, that we're intersectional in our approach, that we use language, projects, and campaigns that speak to as broad a range of women and girls as possible. I did a media interview right after I joined, and the second question was, basically, hasn't feminism done what it set out to do? Do we still need it? And I think Fawcett needs to provide not only the evidence, but also stories and arguments, to show that we absolutely still need it. Stats around domestic abuse, sexual harassment at work - the evidence is undeniable. But we need to make those stats feel meaningful to a broad range of women.

W: What can Millicent Fawcett’s legacy teach us today?

PE: She was pragmatic, very focused on evidence, and on finding common ground even when there was division. That’s so relevant today. The feminist movement is highly polarised. We see a lot of intense disagreement. During the suffrage movement, there were also high levels of disagreement, but Millicent was skilled at keeping people focused on the common goal. That’s key today - it’s okay to disagree, but if disagreement fractures the movement, it harms women and girls. With rights being rolled back in the US and political shifts in the UK, it’s more important than ever that those advocating for gender equality work together.

Evolution of Feminism

AB: A recent YouGov survey found that only 37% of men aged 18–29 identify as feminists. Why is feminism so divisive in 2025, and where is it headed?

PE: I think it's a tricky one in terms of language and inclusivity. The stereotypes around feminism make younger women not want to associate with the word. And unfortunately, that’s exactly why feminism is still needed - the pressure to shape yourself in a way that’s acceptable to men. The tropes - feminists being humourless, aggressive - have been used to attack women for decades. We need to confront the fact that young women avoid the word because they don't want to be negatively affected by those stereotypes. At the same time, misogyny is rising - deepfake pornography, nudify apps, online radicalisation. Progress isn’t linear. For younger women, things are moving in the wrong direction. So feminism is more needed than ever, but less embraced.

AB: Should the term “feminism” be reinvented or replaced?

PE: For me, it's about making the word feel more meaningful to as broad a group as possible. At Fawcett, we fight for women's rights, feminism, and gender equality. But feminism is vital because it calls out the discrimination and gender bias women face. If we only talk about equality in general, we lose the gendered experience. Attitudes toward women - sexism, misogyny, harmful content - are central. To lose the word 'feminism' would be to lose sight of those issues.

W: What would you say to someone who no longer identifies with feminism?

PE: Bring it out of the theory and into practical examples. Feminism is about being leered at on the street. It’s gender roles in your house. It’s being harassed at work, being talked over, your boss not listening. That feeling of being disrespected - that’s what feminism is trying to change. Everyone knows that feeling. We have to take feminism out of the abstract and make it personal and emotional.

From Policy to People

W: What are some lesser-known battles The Fawcett Society is currently fighting?

PE: We’re continuing work on the gender pay gap, which widened last year for the first time in a decade. We're also working on dual discrimination - for example, how the gap worsens for Black women, disabled women. But a big area now is AI. On one side, harmful content generated by AI - misogyny, deepfakes - shapes attitudes and links to violent crime. On the other side, workplace bias - AI rejecting female CVs. In healthcare, biased datasets are trained on male bodies. We're trying to ensure the AI revolution doesn't replicate historic inequalities.

Power, Leadership, and the Future

AB: You’re leading in an era of instability and backlash. What does feminist leadership look like in 2025?

PE: It’s about being inclusive, evidence-based, and also clear. Women are pressured to be kind. I’m not trying to be unkind, but I think being direct is sometimes read as aggressive. Clarity matters. 

Also, small charities like ours are always trying to keep up, but we need to look ahead more. What will affect women and girls in five or ten years? Let’s do the research now so we’re not always reacting - we’re ready.

AB: If you could send one message back to Millicent Fawcett, what would it be?

PE: That there has been remarkable progress in some areas, but unfortunately, many entrenched gender norms remain. Her legacy of pragmatism, evidence-based advocacy, and coalition-building is something I’m trying to carry forward every day.

The fights aren't over - they're evolving. The question isn't whether feminism is still relevant, but whether we're brave enough to meet this moment with the same fire that Millicent Fawcett brought to hers.

Penny East

Chief Executive

Penny has worked in the charity sector for the last fifteen years, including overseeing communications and campaigns for national domestic abuse charity, SafeLives - shaping the Domestic Abuse Bill 2021 and establishing an internal survivor network at the charity. Penny launched the first national domestic abuse perpetrator programme in the UK (in partnership with the Home Office and the Lottery) and was on the Board of Directors for the programme until January 2025.

Until April 2025, Penny was a director of policy and communications at a mental health charity that advocates for a social approach to mental health provision throughout the NHS. She has previously worked on communications and digital projects at UN Refugee Council, Comic Relief and for the legacy of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

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