Although I’m a proud native of Wyoming - the first of the states to allow women to vote and hold office, it’s not without a degree of self reprimand that I admit this is truly the first - maybe second - year that I’ve internalized the true meaning of international women’s day and what it means for me.
Thinking back, it’s hard to believe that it was less than a century ago, in the 1920s, that women were just gaining widespread acceptance throughout the states to vote, rallying to end suffrage.
Reflecting deeply on what it means to be a woman in the world today and how far we've progressed beyond the barriers of our ancestors, I'm reminded that our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers lived a reality far different from that which we know today. A reality with suffrage, abuse, strict barriers, slavery...worse. I'm honored that I met one of my great grandmothers and I'm humbled when I think of her world. It's makes my heart ache for what she and others before her endured, but my heart soars when I ponder what this evolution means for the daughters of our future.
Today I admire these women of our past who pushed the boundaries and made way for the life I'm now free to live. One where I get choices and have the ability to pave my own path without anyone but myself holding me back.
I am bullish about the opportunity to continue treading the path for women who will live in my wake. For our daughters and our daughters-daughters. For, in the age of technology we've embarked on, we will see greater strength, comparable barrier being broken and a more profound existence in in business across the world.
We'll see evolution that our great grandmothers couldn't even have fathomed.
Today I lend a hand to those who don't yet have the freedoms and liberties that I am awarded each day. Those women across seas who still fight for free speech, education, healthcare, and freedoms to live as they choose.
I acknowledge the blood, sweat and tears of every kind of woman, from every place on this Earth. I'm proud of our history as women, our present battles, and the movements that will form our future.
Happy International Women's Day and cheers to an existence where every woman can be anything if only she has the courage to move out of her own way.
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If you're interested in offering more support on a more direct level, I encourage you to consider the micro-lending site - Kiva.org, it's here that I contribute to entrepreneurial women across the globe myself.
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