Our future will become the past of other women - Become a voice for good

Tomorrow, we celebrate International Women’s Day, a day when we recognize all the women who came before us to whom we owe so much. Many of these women never saw their dreams realized in their own lifetimes. However, they sowed the seeds for each of us today.

We cannot forget the paralyzing effects of centuries of biased attitudes towards women, our roles, and our aptitudes. Those biases still exist and much work remains to be done in the full liberation of women. Despite performing 66% of the world’s work and producing 50% of the food, women earn only 10% of the income and own just 1% of the property.

We are the hands of that work for the next century.

Use Your Voice

As women, the time has long since past for us to merely have a seat at the table or for us just to “lean in”. We need to lean in, speak up, and get noticed.

The idea behind International Women’s Day was women helping women. It was a good idea then, and it’s still a vital idea now. One of the most powerful ways that we as women can support each other is by using the power of our voice to lift each other up and to be a voice for each other’s good.

What’s one of the best ways to accomplish this feat? “Amplify” what other women are saying.

When President Obama first took office, two-thirds of his top aides were men. The women felt they had to elbow their way into important meetings. When they got in, their voices were sometimes ignored.

So they devised an ingenious approach to meetings: when a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it and give credit to its author. This tactic forced the men in the room to acknowledge the contribution while also denying them the chance to claim the idea as their own.

Why don’t you and your female colleagues adopt the same approach? Point out what a really great argument Stephanie made. Say that you agree with what Sharon articulated. Ask Lisa a clarifying question so she can further contribute to the discussion.

This is how your voice becomes a voice for HER good.

Always Be Amplifying

Opportunities will also present themselves where you can speak up on behalf of women when they are not in the room.

A few years ago, I was taking part in a department-wide talent and compensation review where we discussed our best performers and our most high potential employees. During the course of the review, our boss inquired about a woman who was exceptionally talented. To his credit, he said, “We’ve been talking about how great Tina is for three years. Why is she not on the list for promotion?”

In response, one of my colleagues replied, “Well, Tina’s just had her third baby…”

You know what? Nobody heard a single word after “third baby.” My colleague was completely oblivious to the fact that he cemented Tina’s fate for another year by framing his answer the way he did.

The next day, I made it my business to talk to him. I asked if he recalled the discussion about Tina, which he did. I asked if he recalled a conversation we’d had later in the day about another high potential, Matt. Then I told him that Matt just had his third baby, too, and his baby had colic. Matt and his wife literally hadn’t slept in weeks.

Of course, he hadn’t mentioned that situation when talking about Matt, yet he’d led with the baby-thing when talking about Tina.

My colleague was embarrassed but thanked me for making him aware of what he’d done. It was a classic case of unconscious bias but a rich opportunity, in that moment, for me to be a voice for HER good. 

Over the course of my career, I have found the vast majority of men to be incredible supporters, sponsors, and allies in the journey towards gender equality. Their voice is just as important in advocating for change, in fact perhaps more important, as there simply aren’t enough women in senior positions right now for us to move the dial quickly enough..

Single Voice, Global Impact

Great women throughout the course of history have been powerful ambassadors and advocates for others. They’ve demonstrated how much can change when women speak up.

One of the finest examples is living amongst us today. Malala Yousafzai is using her voice to advocate on behalf of other girls. Despite being shot by the Taliban in 2012, Malala says she doesn’t want to be remembered as the Pakistani girl who was shot. Malala wants to be remembered as the girl who stood up.

As the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient in history at age seventeen, Malala says:

“I tell my story not because it’s unique, but because it’s the story of many girls”.

Using your voice for good and helping others to succeed offers hope. This hope is not only for our daughters, sisters, and friends but for the many women worldwide who are still waiting in quiet desperation for liberation from cultures of stultifying oppression.

You may not think that your success is linked to theirs, but it is. You carry a voice for our sisters around the world who have none. You are a voice for THEIR good.

One day, I want to be able to tell my daughter Rosie that I was among the women who stood up, who spoke up, who stayed in the fight, not amongst the women who remained silent or who quit.

Ask yourself: which names do you want to be counted amongst: the leaders or the followers? The courageous or the coward? The quiet or the vocal? It is, after all, a matter of choice. Your choice.

Whether the future for women lies before us or behind us is now OUR choice.

Last year, the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nationals commissioned the renowned Irish poet Eavan Boland to write a poem that would mark 100 years since the women of Ireland were granted suffrage and first cast their ballots—a proud and precious moment.

The women who fought for that right not only secured us a vote but they gave us a voice. Together, they and many other incredible women throughout history have made the celebration of International Women’s Day a possibility.

To all of us from this day

We could say across the century

To each one—give me your hand:

It has written our future.

Our future will become the past of other women.