#ChoosetoChallenge: 5 Ways Women Inspire Me.
Over centuries, the responsibility of creating a gender-equal world has fallen on the shoulders of women. Thankfully in recent times, more men have joined the fight visibly and loudly as allies. The theme for this year’s International women’s day serves as a reminder that this is a fight for everyone. Choose to challenge, is a call to action that reminds us that all hands have to be on deck to usher us into an equal world where women and girls can take up spaces and explore their full potential.
In reflection on this theme, I’ve been thinking about stereotypes in the workplace that often limit the possibilities of women to attain leadership roles in organisations. The way I see it, what might be misinterpreted as ‘weaknesses’ are strengths. Here are the different ways that women have motivated and inspired me in the course of my life’s journey both professionally and personally.
- Creativity
Women have imaginative minds that sets the creative fluid going. Their ability to think outside the box is innate and shows how resourceful they can be when assigned responsibilities.
- Dedication and Drive
The drive and dedication often found in women can move mountains. At the beginning of the pandemic, we observed how countries led by women were proactive in protecting their citizens. There's no shortage of examples when it comes to women being capable and resilient in their leadership roles.
- Discipline
Due to the conservative culture we live in and the expectations often placed on women, they are raised to be better cultured and responsible and that reflects in their work. Of course, double standards should never be encouraged but this is a factor that women have harnessed to rise to the top.
- Balance
Though we are making more strides towards households with shared responsibilities, the bulk of the work still falls on women. Being able to balance family life, birth and work is really impressive and shows up in the ways women handle tasks at work without baulking under pressure or dropping the ball.
- Execution
I have had the opportunity to work with top female professionals and business owners across different markets and industries and I must say the output is out of this world.
Yet, we live in a world where women are often undermined whether intentionally or not. It’s our responsibility to choose to challenge sexist notions that enforce harmful stereotypes when we encounter them in and outside of the workplace. It’s the little things like creating actionable steps that ensure your organization is diverse, paying women equal to their counterparts and also funding more women-led companies. Rome wasn’t built in a day but small efforts can amount to big changes.