Anna Ryan, Strategic Planner Posted on August 15, 2023 by planirl

Anna Ryan is a strategic planner at Chemistry ad agency in Dublin. She has lived and worked in Dublin, Paris and Vancouver and worked on campaigns for Barnardos, HeadWay and BrainTrust North America.

She’s also part of the team involved with New York based charity One Home Many Hopes which finds, rescues, houses, loves and educates orphaned and abandoned girls in Mtwapa, Kenya and equips them to be the future agents of change in their community.

Because I am a Girl I ask…for directions because I’m not too proud to admit being lost frequently in my own city.

Because I am a Girl I believe…in people like Greg Mortensen, one of the most humble philanthropists of our time, who says that if you ‘educate a boy, you educate an individual.  Educate a girl and you educate a community’.

Because I am a Girl I hope…that no girl thinks she needs to rely on a man for happiness.  Not that they can’t make you happy (I’m about to marry one) but ultimately you have to love yourself before you can love someone else.

Because I am a Girl I wonder…why people ask working Mums about their work life balance and rarely ask working Dads, as though it’s the woman’s responsibility to manage the balance.

Because I am a Girl I dream…of a world where girls and boys are given equal opportunities and are treated with equal respect.  And where no girl or woman is treated as a possession.

Because I am a Girl I remember…when, as a little kid, my Mum told me never to rely on a man to look after me!

Because I am a Girl I like…the way a woman’s mind works.  I like the range of instincts, the ability to think through a multitude of possibilities, to doubt the conventions of the world and to open up to each other.

Because I am a Girl I dislike…dim advertising that objectifies women.  And when my Grandmother tells me to “get up and make the mans dinner” (to be fair she’s 89)

Because I am a Girl I feel…blessed!  But ultimately I feel that I have a responsibility to help other girls who are still struggling against the injustices that our gender faces.

Because I am a Girl…I’m getting quite emotional writing this!

- Anna Ryan