The majority of animal advocacy is led by women, says award-winning photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur.

McArthur – the author of We Animals and Hidden – made the comment on the latest episode of the Plant Based News Podcast.

‘Something worth celebrating’

“As I traveled globally to document these animal stories, both good and bad, I saw that it was mostly women involved yet it was men usually in the leadership role of an organization.

“I wondered if I was just biased as a woman, seeing it this way, so I did some research and found it was actually true that – in North America and Europe at least – the animal advocacy work happening is led 60 to 80 percent by women

“And I thought ‘okay well this is something worth celebrating’. I am a feminist and I want to support the work of women and I also wanted to amplify the voices of these women by giving them one more additional platform where their work could be visible.”

The Unbound Project

McArthur consequently co-founded the Unbound Project – an initiative dedicated to celebrating women ‘on the frontlines of animal advocacy’.

“Our writers, photographers, and filmmakers travel the world to meet, photograph and interview inspiring, hard-working women around the globe.” the organization’s website states.

“Unbound inspires our audience to do what they can to make the world a kinder, gentler place for all species. Far too often people believe that they do not have enough time, money, or expertise to get involved in animal advocacy.

“Many of us also misunderstand what it means to be an ‘activist’. Unbound aims to challenge those notions and to demonstrate through these inspiring examples how we all can make a difference for the animals with whom we share this planet.”

You can listen to the full podcast here.