Empowering Women Creates a More Diverse World

Empowering women begins when “we” change our mindset. By we, I mean women. We have to give ourselves the benefit of knowing we are individually brilliant and capable, then we have to give that same benefit to other women. Only then will the world see women as the super-capable leaders we are.

Confession, I was never much into sororities, I thought they were silly and unnecessary. Well I was wrong and I’m just learning this at 50. I have a few very good female friends, women I would stake my life on and I would have their back in any situation with one phone call. But I don’t have a network of women I can call for a reference or referral or just to meet for coffee. I have other networks but none that are exclusively women. I always thought my approach was more balanced but recently I have begun to wonder???

On the other hand there is Katie, a friend of mine and business partner here at Skirt Strategies, who not only belongs to a sorority, since college, but she has continued that female networking system through other women’s organizations throughout her life. She sees these women’s organizations as her extension into the community and beyond. And to come back to my point about empowering women I think these organizations do just that, they create a network, a safety net if you will, of female support we so desperately need to move ourselves and careers forward comfortably.

I’m quite tired of women being tagged with labels of catty (as my friend Barbara would say “cats are wonderful people don’t use them in your analogy”) bitchy and using their feminine wiles, read sex, to get ahead in the world. The women I know have used their brains, their intuitive knowledge and their natural leadership abilities to get ahead. And I’m damn proud of all of them!

Here at Skirt Strategies we offer an online organization to network women who are developing their personal leadership skills together. I guess in a way we created a women’s organization because I didn’t have the network of women who were like sorority sisters to me and Katie did it as an online extension of her already broad network.

As Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world”. I offer my support to those women wanting to advance their lives and careers. I know you are talented. I will be here “holding the high watch” knowing your fabulousness and knowing all women are capable, smart and brilliant. We empower each other daily.