To mark International Women’s Day, Stylist spoke to 30 women across the globe to get an honest and eclectic view of life at 30

Whether it’s yet to come or you’ve been there, done that, turning 30 is quite a milestone. And for many of us it’s become linked with expectations. Thought you’d be earning more? Assumed you’d be married? Figured you’d have it all worked out? Across the world, women at 30 inevitably take stock of where, what and who they are…

So what does life look like for a woman aged 30 in 2016? Does it feel full? Does it seem fair? More to the point, do we feel truly equal to our male counterparts, in the workplace and at home?

This week marks International Women’s Day (8 March), and parity – or achieving gender equality in status or pay – is this year’s theme. Globally, there’s no doubting that everyone, both men and women, would be better off if this were achieved – last year’s McKinsey Global Institute report found that advancing women’s equality and erasing the gender gap could add $12trillion to global growth. Yet all over the world, it’s an issue still resoundingly overlooked – and the situation is getting worse. In 2014, the World Economic Forum estimated that it would be another 81 years before we could hope to achieve global gender parity, but last year that leapt up to 117 years. A terrifying prospect.

So what can we do about it? This week, IWD is encouraging women to #PledgeForParity; to make our voices heard – and, more pertinently, listen to and amplify the voices of all women. And at Stylist we intend to do our bit.

Over the past six weeks, we’ve spoken to hundreds of women all over the world, finally selecting 30 women, all aged 30 – the average age of you, the Stylist reader – to reveal what their lives really look like today. Each woman received the same questions and each responded in her own way. The results – often inspiring, sometimes emotional, and always unwaveringly individual – were overwhelming.

So what does 30 look like? Well, something like this…

Nashuru Tagei is a farmer in Tanzania. Read her story here.

Roshana Mehdian is a junior doctor in London. Read her story here.

Zinabua Birhanu is a coffee farmer and community leader in Ethiopia. Read her story here.

Huda Albayoumi works for an non-governmental organisation in the Gaza Strip. Read her story here.

TV and radio presenter Gemma Cairney tells us about her life in Britain. Read her story here.

This is what 30 looks like: women across the world share their experiences