International Women’s Day – what better time to start writing again than a day like today. In the weeks leading up to International Women’s Day, I find myself puttering in and out of conversations about gender inequality and deep in thought about what exactly I want to say. I’ve written about why International Women’s Day is important in 2019 and 2021, pleading with the world or with anyone who will listen that we should care about gender inequality, that women continue to face barriers men don’t.
But this year, as I think of who this is for, I think about the women.
Let this be a love letter of sorts, to the women who are everything this world needs. The ones who have let their talent define them and who have done so in the face of sexism. And if the word sexism made you feel uncomfortable, let me rephrase it for you – this is a love letter to the women who faced challenges that their male counterparts did not, specifically because of their gender, yet chose to push forward.
As I reflect on what I want to say about women this year, I can’t help but think about what is often not said about them. How we continue to fail women by not giving them the credit they deserve. That we cover them in the media differently than we do men – how unfair it is that our expectation of women start at perfection, how we are quicker to criticize and slower to forgive.
I think of Serena Williams and her 1,078-194 all-time record. An astounding accomplishment for any athlete that was somehow overshadowed by what she chose to wear. I think of the utter disgrace that such a large percentage of her media coverage was focused on anything other than her athletic accomplishment. Yet Serena stared sexism in the face and kept winning, showing little girls and boys all over the world that one of the greatest tennis players of all time can be a woman. And it is.
I think of Jacinda Ardern, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand who faced an abhorrent amount of sexism via social media comments, media coverage, and within politics itself. Yet Ardern went on to lead her country to one of the lowest death rates during a global pandemic, change the gun laws less than a month after a mass murder, and pass legislation to combat climate change and tackle child poverty. Not to mention the impact she had by becoming the first prime minister to be pregnant in office or being pictured breastfeeding her baby at the UN.
I think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, who fought tirelessly for gender equality under the law – she challenged law after law throughout her career where men were provided different rights than women. She was forced to answer to the dean why she should take a law school spot from an aspiring male lawyer. If Ginsburg hadn’t risen in the face of sexism, women wouldn’t have been able to dance across the debris of a shattered glass ceiling or celebrate the legacy of a remarkable career.
All of these women let their track record speak for itself. They couldn’t control the external narrative, the people around them, or the media, but what they could do is continue to rise. And they did.
Of course, we could go on. There are women here in my community or ones I’ve worked with over the years who deserve the recognition because of how they shaped the way the world sees all women. How they’ve shown both men and women that we don’t just belong in places that were once not for us, we thrive in them. They changed the narrative by occupying spaces once held for men, by competing in arenas once built for men, and by sitting in rooms as the only woman.
I sit here with tears in my eyes as I think about these women and as my words fall on the page – I hold the anger and sadness I feel for these women and for every single one who has ever been made to feel small because of her gender. Who has been forced to argue for her equality over and over again. The world didn’t just belittle her, it belittled us all. I balance those feelings with a deep pride and gratitude for these leaders, change makers and trailblazers.
Some days these strong women are empowered and inspired, and on some days, they are tired and defeated. To these women, I say thank you a hundred times. And then a hundred more.
My hope is that today, on International Women’s Day, you find one of these women and tell them how much you appreciate them. How much the world needs them and on days when they are tired and defeated, tell them again.
“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” – Serena Williams
Sara
