The Celebration of Women’s Empowerment Week is in full swing and ends on January 11th. The ladies handling the @HelloGiggles Twitter account asked followers to share “who your lady role models are.” Immediately, the question made me excited to share mine. I always grew up celebrating women in power, politics, and in my family. The fundamental idea that women could do anything that men could was engrained into my psyche as a young girl. And that very notion has stayed with me and has grown up with me, taking on new meanings and value.
In November, I read an article on Forbes by Hannah Woit, titled “Can I Still Be A Feminist If I…?” And from that point forward, I realized that my personal fight for gender equality as an self-empowered young women was evolving before my eyes into something that had nothing to do with man-hating or fighting a fight that hasn’t yet been provoked. It was about the beauty of how far women have come, that we now have the luxury of choosing what we want to be as women in the twenty first century. A moment in time when women holding political office, women exhibiting at the Whitney Biennial, women changing the face of media are the people that we can’t stop paying attention to.
Whether on our televisions, in the pages of our favorite books, in your circle of friends or on your tablet screens, there are some kick-ass women that lead with strength and by example. If I had to name some of my influences they would be Cathie Black, Gloria Steinem, Arianna Huffington, Hillary Clinton, Cindy Gallop, Bianca Jagger, my mother and my good friend Haleh. They all make me want to be a better me. But you know, empowerment is contagious and it all starts with you.
In the resources section below, I’ve included some women’s empowerment websites, books and key articles that have been extremely influential to me and hope they will do the same for you, too. Happy Women’s Empowerment Week!
Resources:
Can I Still Be a Feminist If I?, Forbes
Women’s Work, NYT
Feministing
Women Working
On Becoming Fearless, Arianna Huffington
Ms. Magazine
If We Ran the World