I'm an aunt to two young girls, a godmother to one and a friend to many more. I want to help make the world a more just and fair place for them and other young girls like them.

You'll have heard the statistics; in the UK over a quarter of companies pay women 20 per cent less than they do men. The average in the EU is 16 per cent less. Last year in the US, women earned 85 per cent of what men did on average – that's 39 extra days women would have to work to make what their male counterparts do.

What you may not know is that the imbalance starts early. A study by the Young Women's Trust found that women apprentices receive lower hourly pan than men making them £2,000 worse off per year.

And despite young women performing better academically, the number of women aged 16-30 that are in and out of low paying jobs is more than double (780,000) the number of similarly aged men. A third of young women get stuck in those jobs for 10 years – just a fifth of men do.

More women than ever before are entering the workplace but the pay gap is just the first of many hurdles they have to overcome. They can lack confidence; they have caring responsibilities; they don't have the right skills or know how to write a CV; they struggle with mental health issues; or perhaps they've just never been told that they can do it.

These are challenges most women will be familiar with but we can make it easier for the next generation.

That's why I'm running the Royal Parks Half Marathon and raising money for the Young Women's Trust. They provide flexible support to help young women aged 16-30 find their voice and employment. They offer advice from trained coaches and personalised feedback on CVs and job applications.

They also campaign to make a difference in the lives of young women by influencing politicians and other decision makers to ensure policy and services reflect the needs of young women. 

I'm grateful for any support you can give to help make the future more fair for our nieces, daughters, goddaughters and friends.