Ladies, Stay In Formation

On a Sunday in one of the most educated, wealthiest, and democratic zip codes in America I witnessed two women normalize sexism and lament other women for speaking out against it. Today, while standing in line at Trader Joe’s in Long Island NY I listened to two middle aged, white and seemingly wealthy (designer labels head-to-toe) loudly put down other women. They spoke about how they were disgusted by the women who marched yesterday, that women and everyone else should just, “accept and move on”, and that what Trump said about women, “wasn’t really a big deal”. They then berated specific women in their peer group for voicing their opinions on social media and continued to gossip about them until all of their groceries were bagged.

Yesterday's Women’s March was a powerful testament to sisterhood, to championing other women, to pledging to never silence, never to be silenced and to always stand up for what is right. As a female founder in the male dominated tech industry my biggest oppressors aren’t men, they're other women...by a landslide. The road for women is harder. It’s harder for women to get funding, to be taken seriously, to go against societal expectations. Thinking and acting like we are in constant competition and passing judgement is destructive and it limits opportunities for ourselves and others and the road is already harder for all women. But, when women champion each other we bring about more opportunities for all women and we get a step closer to equality. We need to champion each other both personally and professionally not just on one day during a march, but every day.

Ladies, stay in formation.

Do something, say something, start something.

Champion other women. 

Celebrate accomplishments.

Let your voice be heard.

Do not let others be silenced.

And, if I can help champion you in any way please reach out to me.

We are stronger together.