What Women's Day Means to Me

​Today March 8 is International Women's Day. Here is why this day is important.

​International Women's Day is a holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement. IWD gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. -Wikipedia

​Being able to celebrate this day today for biological women means so much to me and here are the reasons:

YOUNG MOTHERS
Including my own mother, young women who have given birth when they were just children themselves. They endured the shame and judgement as they made a decision to have their babies. Some decided to keep them and others gave them up for adoption. I honor you today!


WOMEN WHO CHOSE A CAREER OVER CHILDREN
Maybe not so much in 2024 is this choosing a career over children something women have to decide as we have made progress (not arrived) towards flexibility and family-friend workplaces. However, I met a professor who said she knew doing a career and motherhood wasn't an option for her in the 1950's so she made the difficult decision not to have children. I honor you today!


WOMEN WHO CHOSE ABORTION TO THEIR PREGNANCIES
I know personally this felt like the only option, it is something that haunts you for the rest of your life. For you who chose this willingly or unwillingly, forgive yourself. So many difficult factors go in to this that most people may not understand. I honor you today!


WOMEN WHO ARE IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Recently I met a woman who told me the reason her jaw was sunken in was because she had been punched so hard she lost all her teeth on that side. Yes, my eyes watered. Unfortunately her story isn't uncommon and I pray for any women who aren't safe in their home to seek out help to get out. The woman's story I just shared told me that she arranged a place to go and left in the middle of the night with nothing but $500. I honor you today!


WOMEN WHO DON'T THINK THERE IS A PURPOSE FOR THEM
I meet a lot of women who are kicking it with a dream that they are doing. However, many of their stories start with inner work to find their purpose which got them to where they are today. For any woman who thinks there is no purpose for them or they have lost a sense of purpose, this is lie. You have purpose. I honor you today!


WOMEN WHO ARE IN MALE-DOMINATED CAREERS
You may not feel that you will ever be as successful as your male peers, but you are better! Yep that is correct, women have different strengths than men, so where they are weaker, you are stronger. I hear the words of a department head I worked for who said we need women in a group of computer scientists because a group of guys can only get so far. Keep using your strengths in your field! I honor you today!


WOMEN-LED SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
I am giving you a standing ovation today! You knocked down walls that said you aren't good enough, you don't have the knowledge, you won't succeed, and you did it! Now is the hard work, I know! Balancing all you need to do for your family, your own needs while you lead your business isn't easy. It is lonely at the top, I know this also. Pursue community and when things fail, see the failure as an opportunity for new success. I honor you today!

What does International Women's Day mean to you? Share in the comments.
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Thank you for reading!