A 25-year-old Ottawa man who's spent half his life fighting for women is the first male to ever receive a Governor General's award for advancing the cause of women.
"I think that shows that to advance equality, it takes everyone, and I think I'm really honoured to be recognized because I work to create change in an industry that has a long legacy of harming women and to show even in harmful industry, positive change can be made," said Ben Barry, who was one of six people to receive this year's award.
Barry was just 14 years old when he started his own modeling agency, which embraces women of all ages and sizes.
"I was hearing my friends and their friends look at magazines, compare themselves to models and feel inferior because they didn't look like them. Then I realized it was ridiculous to only have one definition of beauty represented in the fashion industry," Barry told CTV Ottawa on Thursday.
The Ben Barry Agency is now recognized worldwide for promoting a healthy image of beauty. His accomplishments include working on Dove's "real beauty" campaign and developing a series of ads inspiring women to have confidence in their bodies.
Although he's reached a milestone in his career, Barry says his work is far from over.
"I hope to continue to challenge the fashion industry and in 10 years see every diverse beauty. Until that happens, I'm not going to stop."
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
