A woman I respect and admire more than my words can express resigned from her position today. Her two boys (a 3-year old and a 5-year old) started pulling out the ever-so-heart-wrenching phrase, "mommy's working" in her absence. She thought (and properly so) it best to part with her high-flying gig in the skyscraper, for a much more trying post - motherhood.I know it's the right decision. I know it's a good decision. She had been wearing herself down for some time. But, I think it galls us to ask ourselves what is says about a system that is unable to sustain our women. When making the decision to have children means taking a few steps down from the corporate ladder. What does it say? What do our "achievements" really mean if a woman in a position of power, ambitious as they come, with the smarts, the abilities and the heart to do the best possible job, can't? What does it say?
It's a loss. In every way. No matter how you slice it. A woman should not have to choose between a family and a career. But, take a long, hard look at the women that sit in the boardrooms of this country and the proof is blatantly clear.
It's ironic too, considering we're at the fore of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, tomorrow, March 8th. After 100 years of womening, it's clear to see that progress has been made. Lest we forget the suffrage movement, the millions upon millions of women who have come before us (bra burning et al.) fighting for the great freedoms that we have, and at times, take for granted. Long battles were fought, and still there are more to come.
On this day we think of the famed femmes. We think of Rosa Parks, who left a nation changed by refusing to surrender her seat to a white man on a bus. The greatest saint our generation will ever know, The Mother Teresa of India's most impoverished slums. And yes, an unseemly alliance - a royal with a humanitarian flare, the peoples' Princess Diana. We think of their achievements and remain deeply touched by their service to women (and humanity).
But, we also take a bow to the women in our everyday lives. Who don "the cape" - you know that red one - superwoman styles. As they lead their workplaces, their families, their communities and everything else in between. We - the young femmes - look on in awe. Hoping, some day, we may be so fortunate to have the strength to balance it all. We yearn for a system that will sustains us, our ambitions, our desires and our dreams.
I hope you take a moment to send a nod to the women in your lives, your everyday Rosa Parks or Mother Teresas or Princess Di's. Those women you hold so high on that pedestal. Send them a note, to help them soldier on. In every way, a salute to one woman in your life is a salute to women everywhere.
Happy IWD. Vive les femmes. Here's to another century of progress.
