It is, after all, absurd that in 2017 women are still at best second-class citizens.

Iceland's Women's Day Off in 1975 saw 90% of Icelandic women take time off from their paid and unpaid work, an experience that not only showed women how much they contribute but turned Icelandic men into supporters of gender equality. I aim to achieve the same impact in the UK.

It is, after all, absurd that in 2017 women are still at best second-class citizens.

One of the reasons I'm able to write books and still carry on with other work is that I do my best writing between 5am and midday.

What drives me is a sense of urgency. We live in frightening times. Progress towards gender equality and vital battles to end discrimination on grounds such as race, age, sexuality and disability are stalling and in some places, reversing. This is happening because of the collapse of trust in nearly all public institutions, and in particular in politics and media, and the inescapable feeling that the current system isn't working for most people.

Our male-dominated culture tends to define success in terms of wealth, fame, power, the reaction of others. Women are fed a version that includes personal fulfilment through marriage and motherhood in addition to professional acclaim and of course we must look sexy but not too sexy and then graciously disappear when we hit middle age.

As a young woman working in journalism, I assumed harassment and discrimination came with the territory and that you just had to get on with the job. As I rose to senior positions, it took me awhile to realise that just because I'd survived relatively unscathed didn't mean the younger women joining the profession would do so, and it isn't until you hit a certain age that the reality of ageism - which is much more acute for women - kicks in.