Milly Parry On Women Supporting Each Other

Who is your heroine?

Honestly there are so many incredible and inspirational women now and throughout history that I’d feel bad naming one above the others! But I do have a soft spot for Princess Khutulun of the Mongols, who was born in 1290. She was the ultimate bad-ass, and proved that women can be just as tough, if not more so than men. She's pretty cool. 

Tell us about your mum. Are you alike?

My mum is brilliant, embarrassing and can be a right pain, but undoubtedly brilliant. We're really close, which can mean that we fight like cats at times, but usually we're big buddies. We're both stubborn as mules, and have the same sense of humour, and both of us love to perform, so when we have the radio on together, you had better bring earplugs because we will never say no to the chance to belt out a duet! We love the same kind of books, TV, film, and theatre, so when we hang out together it's usually watching or gossiping about something along those lines! She's terrible with technology (I have to say: sorry mum if you're reading this!) so recently I've been introducing her to Netflix, which has been both a blessing and a curse, as now any time she 'discovers' a new programme, she wants me to watch every episode with her! 

Do you think it’s important for women to support each other?

Absolutely! Everyone should feel supported, but there are some things that women experience differently than men, so it's important that women empower and support one another through similar experiences.

I have a very small close group of girlfriends, we've been together for about 6 years. We are all very different, but at the same time have the same sense of humour and are all equally odd, which I think is what brought us together in the first place! They're the kind of friends that even though we don't talk to each other every day, and a while goes by without seeing each other, as we're all at different universities, when we do meet up it's like we never left! I also have an older sister. We used to fight ALL the time, but now we're older we're best pals. She's utterly awesome, and I know she'll never let me forget saying this, but I wish I was like her! 

Do you have a favourite female celebrity?

I love the comedian and politician Sandi Toksvig- she's hilarious, but also incredibly intelligent, not afraid to stand up as a female in a very male dominant industry, and an amazing ambassador for the the LGBT community 

Who or what inspires you?

My inspiration comes from when I think about how lucky I am to live where I do, and be who I am- I still have both my parents, I've had an amazing education, a roof over my head, food to eat, I have the luxury of being able to go out and enjoy myself on days off. I'm so unbelievably lucky, that I owe it to everyone that isn’t as fortunate to do something with my life and not waste it all. You can't take anything in life for granted, and I think a lot of people lose sight of this. Once you remember that, then it makes you appreciate life, and gives you the inspiration to do anything! 

Do you think the world could become a better, more equal place for women?

It’s tough because every time you think we're taking steps forward, something comes up in the media that makes you realise how far we have left to go before the world is as equal as it should be. Female actresses, for example, are still being paid far less than their male coworkers, there's still huge imbalances and gender discrimination in certain industries, and gendered societal expectations. I think we're living in very optimistic times though- people are becoming less and less afraid to speak out, and stand up I'm excited about the future! The biggest thing that people need to realise is that equality doesn't mean getting the same thing, it means getting the same opportunities.