Today is International Women’s Day, falling within Women's History Month. People from all backgrounds will take a few extra moments to reflect on what it means to be a woman and young girl in today’s world. While it’s important to honor the achievements, needs, and desires of women for an entire month as a way to foster unity, we shouldn’t discount the importance of taking individual action on causes we care about. People coming together is important but it’s individual action, that power in you, that facilitates change.
Individual action and responsibility is what leads to change. Each person in a group can make a difference. It’s this personal accountability that helps you grow and can help others along the way. Influential leaders like Malala Yousafazi, founder of the Malala Fund and author of the international best-selling book “I Am Malala” continues to speak out to help girls gain access to an education. She joins women from all over the world to share her story and create her own path for change. International Women’s Day helps brings attention and shed light on the powerful subject of education for young girls. For those of you that read “I am Malala” or perhaps follow Malala Yousafzai in the news, you might recall all the challenges she faced in her effort to help young girls in Pakistan gain access to an education.
This is a woman who chose to do more, to take actions that bring change. Malala’s commitment to the empowerment of young girls resulted in her being attacked by the Taliban and the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She created her own path to support young girls across the globe and brings people together through her nonprofit, speaking engagements, and different organizations.
This is an example of one woman changing the world. Malala has the confidence to take charge, create her own path, and bring people together. You, too, can become a Malala, advocating for young girls and women in a manner that speaks to your heart.
While reflecting on women in my life whom I admire and aspire to emulate, I think of how they chose to take action. My grandmothers and mother overcame adversity to get an education and climb a very rocky road to success; they are my inspiration. There are also female leaders in the business world that I look up to and who built the confidence, acknowledged differences yet chose to take action forward. While everyone is different, one commonality remains clear - change begins with you. It’s up to each individual to take action, to make your own path.
So while Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day is about uniting everyone to address topics relevant to women and girls, you can choose to bring people together, to make your own path, and to continue the conversation. At AdRoll NYC, we are showing the film “Girls Rising” and hosting a breakfast follow up discussion. However it is critical that the conversations continue after March - or impactful change will not occur. I will continue to read, to discuss, and to volunteer as I make my own path.
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