International Women's Day. #PressforProgress

I want to start with a positive. Happy International Women’s Day 2018! A time for reflection, empowerment, celebration and support. To honour every woman in the world, and when I mean everyone, I mean every, single, one.

This year’s theme has never been more critical and relevant to the future of women alive today - and for those yet to come. With the World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report findings telling us that gender parity is over 200 years away - International Women’s Day asks you to #PressforProgress.

With gender parity getting worse and not better, now is the time, no matter what your gender, to join in a global movement of champions and activism. 

According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the answer should be in putting more women in charge.

“Could the key to closing the gender gap be though putting more women in charge? While women worldwide are closing the gap in critical areas such as health and education, significant gender inequality persists in the workforce and politics.The rate of progress for women has been slow over the past decade with the proportion of female leaders increasing by an average of just over 2 per cent across 12 industries studied by the World Economic Forum (WEF). WEF's data shows that when women are more present and participating in leadership roles, more women are hired right across the board at all levels. This detail holds true even when taking into consideration the disparities in the size of female talent pools across various industry sectors. If the proportion of women in leadership is not increasing fast enough, yet we know that diversity in leadership positions is a critical factor in closing the economic opportunity gap, then it is clear that women's participation at the most senior levels of leadership and management swiftly need to increase and accelerate.”

I am a businesswoman, supporter, champion and life pom-pom shaker for women to achieve the goals they have set themselves in life - and downright defiant against fitting the moulds and expectations of what others feel is right for them.

It doesn’t matter what the goal is. Whether you want to start your own business, sit on the board, dye your hair a particular colour, not be afraid of your stretch marks or veins, public speak, be a mum, not be a mum, be in charge of your body sexually, remain a virgin, walk away from the person who is causing you pain, move country, build a house, change a lightbulb, be seen, or if just want the confidence to go to the movies on your own. It doesn't matter. They are your goals and your rights. 

Now is the time to support each other, stand together and grow. I see too many women battling with each other, putting each other down based on looks, beliefs, business choices, personality, jealousy and greed. It is time to take stock and understand we have enough already against us than to be fighting with each other like rats in a bucket. It is essential we create a platform where we can break down stereotypes, stand up to sexual exploitation, fight for equal pay, and take positions of leadership based on talent, hard work and commitment and no longer be defined by our chromosomes. 

For me, International Women’s Day will not be just a day for social media fluff and a few selfies, but the beginning of a lifelong commitment to supporting, empowering, developing, praising and highlighting women and their rights.

I have signed up to forge positive visibility for women and will continue to live my life and create a business that will

I will #PressforProgress and ...

• identify ways to make women more visible
• extend opportunities to women first
• assume women want opportunities until declined
• select women as spokespeople and leaders
• support visible women

You can sign up to make a change today at https://www.internationalwomensday.com/PressforProgress

www.twitter.com/ellenpope