Only if you believe a British EMPIRE medal is worth anything given the connotations of "empire" and the fact that Empire is long gone . The only validation you need surely is from the people you work for, not from those who think they are your superiors .
The chairwoman of a very small local charity I support has been awarded a BEM. We're all so pleased for her and for us in a way. It's a recognition and validation for all that this little charity does day in and day out. It's a massive psychological boost.
Re the Lionesses, when queried at a press conference the chairman of the sports honours committee said there was a danger of "carpet bombing" the entire squad thus rewarding someone who may have been on the pitch for only 5 minutes. Instead they have tried to reward excellence & extraordinary achievement. Apparently. (Sorry have not yet mastered copying quotes or giving links. Will try harder.π¬)
I think this would have been the perfect opportunity to completely overhaul the honours system. I have absolutely no problem with ordinary people being recognised for extraordinary things, but there could be a separate system for sports people, for instance. There's an awful lot of cronyism involved in the current system. And yes, volver, why only some Lionesses? I didn't get that either.