British Vogue has taken the monumental decision to dedicate the cover of its July issue not to models but instead to three essential workers who have been at the forefront of the country’s fight against coronavirus. The separate covers will include a London Overground train driver, an east London midwife, and a King’s Cross supermarket assistant as the magazine honors the women’s “bravery and dedication to helping others.”
- Essential workers never get the credit they deserve. It often seems like the people who are respected the least and paid the worst are the very ones we rely on to operate as a functional society. This was definitely on British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful’s mind when he conceived of the cover. “This chapter in history has seen a society shift its attention onto some of the people in this country who are not usually afforded the spotlight,” he said.
- 21-year-old Anisa Omar works at Waitrose in King’s Cross. She’s been working there for nearly a year while she works on a Business Management degree at university. She lives in the London neighborhood of Islington with her family and says that people have begun to appreciate her role at the supermarket more since the pandemic began. “Now they’re a lot more understanding. They understand that we’re here all the time, and they don’t have to leave their houses. People are a lot nicer, they’re warmer,” she said.
- Narguis Horsford has been a train driver for the London overground for the past 5 years. She’s worked for the TFL for a decade and lives in Bounds Green, North London. Her job requires her to get up as early as 1:30 a.m. and bravely goes to work every day despite the health risks. “I don’t feel anxious about going to work, but I still have to distance myself from my family because, obviously, I’m out here and I’m on the front line,” she said. “They do worry, especially my grandmother. This has certainly shown us that life is short. And we can’t take anything for granted. I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
- 24-year-old Rachel Millar is a community midwife in East London. Originally from Cork in Ireland, she’s worked at Homerton Hospital for three years after being inspired to become a midwife by seeing lambs born at her grandparents’ farm. She’s been touched by the community spirit that’s happened since the outbreak. “One of the hardest moments for me during the pandemic was when I had my bike stolen,” she recalled. “But, within a few hours, a friend who also works at Homerton Hospital had raised over £500 online to help get me back on the road. Another colleague tweeted the story and within an hour, a local company had donated a brand new electric bike.”
- Essential workers deserve so much more. We need to be paying these people what they’re worth for doing jobs the rest of us aren’t qualified to do or simply wouldn’t want to do. Without them, we couldn’t move forward. Vogue‘s July issue is just one small token of appreciation – let’s get some more meaningful gestures behind it.
