What does #balanceforbetter mean to you?

International Women’s Day is unashamedly a day for us to celebrate women in all facets of our lives and we should celebrate it! Whether it be the inspiration we have taken from trail-blazers in industry, women who have changed the world through their philanthropic commitments, women who have educated us throughout our lives or women who have supported us in our own personal journeys. 

This is not just a day for women to celebrate alone, it is a perfect day for men and women to celebrate together and reflect on the women who have changed their own worlds for the better. 

To that end, I thought today I would celebrate some amazing women in my life and show them respect and share why they matter to me. I was brought up by a mother who taught me the value of hard work, commitment and respect for self and others. I was brought up in an extended family that was remarkably matriarchal. I was surrounded by women who spoke their minds in a respectful way, who in their own quiet ways showed the younger generation what it was to be a strong woman and what it was to be a leader in whatever they chose to do. They were mothers first and foremost and they were wives, sisters, aunties, teachers, business women and community enablers.

I am now surrounded by women who do exactly the same thing for me. They are my old friends who know who I was before who I became, my school mums who help me every day in ferrying my children to where they need to me and listening to my fears and concerns in raising my children to be kind, supportive and successful humans. They are my work colleagues and my informal and formal mentors who inspire me with their capability and commitment. If you are not feeding yourself with connections in all aspects of your world, you are not giving yourself the opportunity to be the best version of you.

There is no one amongst us who doesn’t have an inspiring woman in their lives. They don’t need to have discovered radium (but don’t forget a woman did!), they don’t need to have solved the mathematical equation for the first moon landing (but don’t forget a woman did), they don’t need to have been a ‘first’ female prime minister in their country (but we have plenty of examples of those!). They might be the coach or teacher or manager or mother that sat you down that one time and reminded you of what it takes to be the best version of yourself. They might be the woman who dried your tears and taught you to get back up every time and stand up for yourself and for others. Whoever they are, on International Women’s Day, don’t get distracted by the noise of who should be celebrating and why, don’t get caught up in only celebrating women in one facet of life. 

Take some time to celebrate the women who have made you who you are today and whether they are still with us or not, spend a quiet moment thanking them for the pathway they gave you.

For all of the women out there, strive to become that woman for someone else because that’s how we create #balanceforbetter. #robertwalters