Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards Brings Positivity to a Tough Week

Only six days after the presidential election that kickstarted a whirlwind of emotions felt across the country, the world has continued to (madly) spin on. Glamour Magazine’s 26th annual Women of the Year awards took place last night in Los Angeles and reminded us of all of the positive things happening around the globe.

Demi Lovato opened the show with a powerful performance of her 2011 hit “Skyscraper,” interpreted to many as a homage to democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s shocking defeat to Donald Trump.

A few women in attendance included Lena Dunham, Zendaya, Shonda Rhimes, Elizabeth Banks, Cara Delevingne and others paid tribute to Clinton, thanking her for her never-ending list of achievements and her continuous efforts to shatter the glass ceiling for women around the world.

Despite the somber feeling in the air that has infected millions of people around the world as a result of the election’s outcome, Glamour made sure to keep the tone of the event positive, empowering, uplifting, and a reminder to women around the world that we have come very far.

Awards were given for art, sports, music, activism and more. In what may seem quite ironic, Glamour decided to give out its first “Man of the Year” award to U2’s frontman Bono for his commitment to gender equality.

“There is nowhere on Earth where women have the same opportunity as men,” Bono said. “And unless we address this problem — both men and women together — our world will continue down this misogynistic, violent and impoverished path.”

23-year-old Nadia Murad was honored for her efforts to take ISIS to international court. The terrorist group murdered her parents and Murad became a sex slave who eventually escaped.

A law professor from Stanford, Michelle Landis Dauber, accepted an award on Emily Doe’s behalf, the woman who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner.

Different actresses took turns reading portion’s of Doe’s letter that she famously read in court that went viral just months ago.

Although we have a long ways to go to improve the state of our country for women and minorities, Glamour’s Women of the Year Awards are a moment for us to gather in spite of  trying times as a reminder that no matter how divided our country seems, there will always be people who are striving to make a positive impact.

Below are some shots from the red carpet:

You can watch the award show in its entirety via Glamour’s Facebook page.

All photos credited to Buzzfeed.

– Kristin