Courageous Women Make HERstory

Many of us are forced to wake up everyday with the courage to simply survive the world and it’s cold, cruel and often insensitive tendencies. This is most commonly felt and seen through bad service, mean comments, hurtful acts and at its worst, through crimes of hatred that disregard respect and appreciation for humanity. For women of color, this intensifies and for those who have been historically marginalized, it is suffocating, silencing and the daily sacrifice most never even complain about making. 

This is another tragic moment for our country, as we grieve in the aftermath of two mass shootings in the last week. Details are still unfolding around the devastating massacre in a Boulder grocery store that killed 10 people on Monday. This just days after the deadly shootings in Atlanta that claimed the lives of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. I extend my condolences to all of the families of the victims, and unite in solidarity with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. Defining moments like this encourage me to lean even further into my role as CEO at digitalundivided. We condemn racism, hatred and violence always, and we work daily towards building a more equitable world.

As Women’s History Month comes to a close during a most difficult time, I want to reflect on what history-making courage looks like and the women pioneering the advancement of our society. Whether it be in technology, politics, education, or medicine, history has shown us that women are at the helm of leading systems change and movements that push societal progress.  

I am reminded of game-changing HERstory makers like Maggie Walker, the first woman to own a bank in the U.S.; Dolores Huerta, the first Latinx woman inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame; and Diane Nash the unsung heroine of the Civil Rights Movement and inspiration for digitalundivided’s ProjectDiane report. Each of these women — and many more like them highlighted in digitalundivided’s “Limitless” animation — has elevated and advanced our world by either owning their work or creating pathways for the next generation of women to do the same. Our contributions as women of color, are often minimized, credited to someone else, or written out of the history books. We have the power to give voice to these contributions and their sacrifices. I champion the advancement of all women who want to win and succeed, and personally, I'll always work to sustain our collective advancement because our families and futures depend on it.

It is the resilience of women of color who refused to be held back by societal limitations and discrimination, that fuels the continuous progress being made by changemakers today. Women will never stop making history or being at the center of it. And now more than ever, it is our responsibility to continue shining a light on the many contributions and advancements that women continue to make in society. At digitalundivided, we champion the ever present impact women of color have and we’re inspired daily to write our own stories. Join us and share a few courageous HERstory makers in the comments below!