The Conversation

Jacquie Davis began her career with the British police, but soon moved into security and close protection. This was in the 1970's when Jacquie says it was "very lonely" being the only woman in the industry. Today Jacquie runs the security and risk management firm Optimal Risk and her clients include the ultra-rich and famous; she's dealt with everything from hostage situations to screaming fans and celebrity tantrums. Denida Zinxhiria grew up in Albania during a time of social upheaval where it was commonplace to hear bombs and bullets in the street. As a child she remembers her grandmother covering her to protect her from gunfire and says that incident sparked an interest in keeping people safe. Denida worked her way up through private security in Greece and now runs Athena Academy, a security company that trains female bodyguards.Photo: Jacquiee Davis. Credit: Aaston Parrot. Photo: Denida Zinxhiria. Credit: N/A.

Maria Toorpakai grew up in the traditional tribal region of Waziristan, and from an early age decided she would rather play with the boys than stay inside with the girls. So she burned her 'girly' clothes and cut her hair short so she could run and jump and wrestle outside. When her family moved to Peshawar Maria picked up a squash racket for the first time, and by the age of 16 was Pakistan's number one player. Her success led to death threats however, and she was forced into hiding and playing only in her bedroom. Maria now lives and trains in Canada. Her book A Different Kind of Daughter: The Girl Who Hid From the Taliban in Plain Sight (with Katharine Holstein) is out now.Malaysia's Nicol David has dominated women's squash since 2005. She was the World No 1 woman player for an unprecedented 9 years. Nicol says her greatest win was her first world title when she was 22 in Hong Kong, which came as a complete surprise. She started playing squash with her sisters to work out her hyperactivity, and quickly became a junior champion. She says squash is like 'physical chess' - you are always thinking ahead by two or three moves.

Michelle Payne is the first ever female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup­ and is the youngest of ten children of Paddy and Mary Payne who grew up in central Victoria, Australia. Mary died in a motor vehicle accident when Michelle was only six months old, leaving Paddy to raise the children as a single father. Michelle entered racing aged 15, the eighth of the Payne children to do so. She won in her first race at Ballarat, riding 'Reigning' a horse trained by her father. Michelle’s book “Life as I know it” is published by Melbourne University Press. Jadey Pietrasiewicz grew up in a small town in The Netherlands and started horse racing by accident at 14. Jadey started off as an amateur and turned professional in 2013. She won the HH Sheikha Fatima Ladies World Championship in Abu Dhabi in November 2014 and has ridden worldwide on both Thoroughbreds and Arabians (100+ wins). She is currently riding in Australia, based with Ellerton Zahra Racing.(L) Michelle Payne. Credit: Racing Victoria. (R) Jadey Pietrasiewicz. Credit: Wouter Tijtgat.

Phillippa Yaa de Villiers is an award winning South African writer and performance artist. Phillippa, who is mixed race, was adopted as a baby by a white couple but did not learn of her adoption until she became involved in anti-apartheid politics whilst attending University. Negotiating this newfound racial identity has informed much of her writing. She discusses her inspirations and the journey to becoming a writer, why she found it hard to initially call herself a poet and how South Africa is a country blossoming with poetry.Imtiaz Dharker is a poet, artist and film maker. Born in Pakistan, Imtiaz was brought up in Scotland before she eloped to India aged 20, becoming estranged from her family. She feels that it is important that poets don't get too comfortable in any one place and describes forging her life in 'the cracks in-between'. Imtiaz picks up words that inspire her poetry from her surroundings, sometimes overheard, she jots these down on a paper napkin or whatever is to hand. She now lives in the UK and in 2014 she was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Her advice to aspiring poets is to read a lot and find your own voice.Image credit (l) Imtiaz Dharker (Melanie Brown/BBC) and (r) Phillippa Yaa de Villiers

Sandra Magnus is a US astronaut with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is now the executive director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Sandra always wanted to become an astronaut and has had a lifelong passion for science and exploring how the world works. On the space station she says that every day is about trouble-shooting, and sometimes it doesn't seem very organised, there is a lost and found plastic bag, "I always thought that was rather amusing because that means there were things on the station that were missing parts".Samantha Cristoforetti made history when she became the first person to make an espresso in space. "We got to try the first freshly brewed espresso coffee in space" she says proudly. Born in Milan and raised in the province of Trentino in Itlay, Samantha speaks four languages including Russian. She has a second degree in aeronautical sciences and a masters in mechanical engineering. She is a captain in the Italian air force, a qualified jet-fighter pilot and has been an astronaut with the European Space Agency since 2009, the first Italian woman to take the role. (Photo: Sandra Magnus: NASA, Samantha Cristoforetti: ESA-S. Corvaja)

Hafsat Mohammed is a Nigerian peace activist who survived a Boko Haram attack on a bus and works to combat violent extremism in the country by engaging young people at the grassroots level. She brings Christian and Muslim communities together to find ways to stop young people joining radical groups. Hafsat says when she was growing up this was a peaceful part of the world and it makes her sad that there is so much hate and violence there now, so she's made it her mission to stop it, despite threats made against her. Gulalai Ismail remembers being young and seeing graffiti chalked on the walls of her home town Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan, calling for young men to join violent extremist groups. As a teenager Gulalai started campaigning for the rights of women and today has broadened her activism out to include anti-radicalisation programmes, and projects dealing with HIV/AIDS education and safe abortion. Gulalai, who has won many awards, has been threatened because of the work she does and had to flee her home after an attack a few years ago. (Image: Hafsat Mohammed on the Left, Gulalai Ismail on the Right)

Hasmik Asatrian runs the Basen Hotel in Sisian. The business was owned by her husband's family, but Hasmik took over the management and day-to-day running in 2010. She transformed a rundown, Soviet-style complex with communal bathrooms and a leaky roof into a modern hotel that attracts tour groups and independent travellers who come to Armenia to discover the country's ancient history and culture. Hasmik's success won her Armenia's Young Businesswoman of the Year award in 2013.Yin Myo Su runs the Inle Princess hotel, located on the shore of Inle Lake, in Myanmar. Su was raised in the hotel industry and says she was trained to work in it from an early age - her earliest memories are being taught how to cook, clean and entertain the guests. She says her strangest request was when a guest asked for his wife to be woken up by a flock of ducks quacking outside her window. Su won the Goldman Sachs & Fortune Global Women Leaders Award in 2013. Left: Hasmik Asatrian / photo credit Sirun Snetcunc Right: Yin Myo Su / photo credit Moethida Aye

Al Beli Afifa is an Additional Superintendent at Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the largest unit of the Bangladesh Police. Al Beli joined the police partly to serve the women in her community as she felt they were less able to access justice. She has specialised in combating crimes against women, in particular sexual violence. In 2013, Al Beli became the first woman in Asia to receive the International Association of Women Police Excellence in Performance Award.Rebekah Jones is an Inspector with the Royal Grenada Police Force. Since joining the force in 1997 Rebekah has been involved in a wide range of operations including a lengthy investigation that required her to go undercover to bring down a group involved in financial crime. She specialises in tackling domestic violence, a crime she says is prevalent but still too little understood in Grenada. In 2014, Rebekah received a scholarship from the International Association of Women Police.

Dr Madhurita Gupta grew up in a research institute in Rajasthan. Her father was a scientist and she was exposed to different species of wildlife from an early age. She held her first snake, a sand boa, aged 15 and describes the experience as 'divine'. She says she still gets goose bumps when she holds one of the reptiles because of excitement, not fear. Madhurita is now the chief vet at an animal clinic in Mumbai and runs a snake rescue service. She says she can get up to 10 calls a day, but only goes out to relocate a snake if it is inside someone's property.Julia Baker grew up in England and Germany before settling in Australia in her 20s. She started her career as a five-star pastry chef, but a life-changing experience led Julia to follow her passions and become a snake catcher. Julia has her own reality TV show called Snake Boss, or Snake Sheila, which follows her as she rescues snakes from people's properties and relocates them in the bush nearby. According to Julia fear is the biggest threat to snakes, as it can quickly turn to hatred and lead to people mistreating them, so she does what she can to educate people about the reptiles. (Photo: Dr Madhurita Gupta (L), Julia Baker (R) Credit: Deb Nash)

Maysoon Zayid is an Arab-American actor and writer with cerebral palsy. Brought up by parents who believed that nothing was impossible, she learnt how to walk by placing her heels on her father's feet. Combating unequal treatment in her profession, Maysoon went on to become a popular stand-up comedian, co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival and has performed in clubs in the US and the Middle East. Gloria Williston was born with micromelia – one leg shorter than the other - and uses a prosthesis to keep balance when she walks. Growing up in Ghana she faced prejudice and stigmatisation but always kept a positive attitude. She completed her degree and now works at the Orthopaedic Training Centre in Nsawam. Gloria believes that the key factor in her success was her family's 'love all the way'.Photo: Maysoon Zayid (L) Gloria Williston (R).