Value and Respect Women; we do hold up more than half the sky!

Growing up I never had a sister, the only people I could really rely on was my Mother and Grandmother which were two hard working individuals in the field of Nursing and Education. When it came to becoming a woman oh yea they did that; I remember feeling so grown in my mind, body and soul knowing I could get so much knowledge passed down to me felt so good and unreal. I find myself reflecting on the important influence of women both-on a personal and professional basis because the women in my life were so important to me.

 Yet, here in America and across the globe women are still subjected to abuse, often paid less than their male counterparts, and do not occupy  leaderships roles in the numbers that their competency skills and number reflect. Sometimes I sit down and wonder about my future and also my future daughter years from now, Will this epidemic be the same? Will both of us still be in the category of gender discrimination? Will we have our rights? These questions are still lingering in my head. My mom is a Licensed Practical Nurse which started of making $45,000 a year now she makes approximately $65,000 a year which is based on her years of experience; What if she was to get paid less than her male counterparts? Will it be fair? No, in her field sometimes she would tell me it has been gender discrimination but, not salary wise just competition.

Last week I read a book by Ann Dolye, the author of “Powering Up”, on how America’s women achievers become leaders- who speak about issues in powerful ways. She laid it on the line when she stated in her book “No one is going to invite you or me to the leadership dance. It’s time to invite ourselves and invite other women. I hope this is the year you’ll: Run for office. Raise your hand for stretch leadership roles. Be a rainmaker for other female professionals. Raise your voice to ensure that women at your company are paid equally with men for similar responsibilities.” Another year has now passed with the collective intelligence of the other half of the human race — female brainpower, perspective and life experience — barely tapped. How long will we wait before millions of women find the courage and commitment to take our rightful places in leadership roles?  Her saying this was like a wakeup call for all the women out here; how long will we wait for us to unite as one and make a change and that we have the power to.

 I ran across this enlightening quote on the topic Women Rights, To cite an old, and far from naive, feminist saying: “If you think equality is the goal, your standards are too low.” It is not enough to be equal to men, when the men are acting like beasts. It is not enough to assimilate. We need to create a world worth assimilating into”.

— Barbara Ehrenreich, What Abu Ghraib Taught Me⁶⁰, Alternet, May 20, 2004.

There is a Chinese saying: “Women hold up half the sky.” In reality, it is more.

For your daughter and my future daughter, for our grandmothers, mothers, aunts and sisters, those of us propping up the other portion of the sky need to do our share, as well….