“Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg.

Now the last time I snatched up a book because it was generating so much publicity I ended up with 50 Shades of Shiterature. So surely you can understand my hesitation here.

I’ve been happily wrong. I’m about 100 pages into Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In”, but I think I fell in love with this book on page 7 where I read something completely honest: It is time for us to face the fact that our [feminist] revolution has stalled.

Amen.

And then “The promise of equality is not the same as true equality”. Exactly.

We all can’t pretend things are equal when there are barely any females holding ground in the C-suite. The ground isn’t level between men and women when the U.S. Department of Labor acknowledges that women are making 0.78 to every $1.00 a man makes. And it’s not fair that women are ever in danger of losing their jobs when they choose to start families.

Why are these even realities in 2013? The fact is, these talking points have been on more lips than John Mayer. Songs. John Mayer songs. We’ve made significant progress in women’s rights, but course-correction in the boardroom crawls along at a snail’s pace. What gives? Study after study proves when women have a seat at the executive table companies increase their profit margins. Are men playing “No Girl’s Allowed” cards, or are we standing in our own way?

An article by Kim Siegal on Huffington Post titled “Lean In? No thanks. I’d Rather Lean On” reads like a display of literary temper tantrum. She’s kinda pissed because there are injustices that women face. Which is, like, exactly what every feminist/women’s lib/modern woman is saying, sooo…. Oh and also she’s mad because Sandberg said women should “lean in” to their goals/ambitions instead of “lean on” flexible work schedules, case-by-case paid maternity leave, breastfeeding accommodations, and affordable quality childcare.

Siegel should know, upon reading the book, that she’s in line with what Sandberg is saying. The only difference is that Sandberg is helping women make peace with a choice that so many of us struggle with: working while raising a family. And because this is such a personal issue I was just going to let this article go until my eyes saw Siegel write “the idea that we should ‘try harder’ as women to break down glass ceilings or balance a career and family is clearly what’s rankling”.

And then I was all – oh hell no, did she just say that raising a family while chasing your dreams, or striving to forge new frontiers for womankind is rankling? Would she say that to Amelia Earhart, Hilary Clinton, Maya Angelou, Annie Oakley, Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Marie Curie, Mother Theresa, Sandra Day O’Connor, Madeline Albright, Oprah Winfrey, et al? Surely she doesn’t think that barrier-busting ladies are synonymous with persistent resentment or continued, festering pain? Right?

According to Siegel, ”…balancing work and family and relationships is often a zero-sum game. It’s a big mushy ball of meals to cook, bills to pay, dishes to clean and children raise into people you hope will not be psychopaths”. Damn, girl!

New cover title proposal: Shery Sandberg-worked her ass off to get where she is and shares her story. Sweet!

So there it is. Sandberg is right. We’ve stalled. And we should get pissed off to read that, because when we get mad we make changes. Here’s a woman in the 1% who just wrote a book with some real talk about the work/life fight women face, offering up some serious advice and the kind of insight the 99% of us would never get otherwise – and there are those among us saying: No. “No” they say, “it’s not about leaning in to do the work that shapes your world, it’s about leaning on things that should be there, but aren’t. Yet. Because someone else should lean in and create the things we can lean on.” (Inception?)

We’ve stalled so hard as a movement that if we were the engine we would be yelling at the proverbial Sandberg tires to stop trying to push us forward, because dammit! we should be there already.

Breaking glass ceilings is more than just “an idea” – there’s literal WORK TO BE DONE. Ladies, it’s a man’s world out there in the C-suite and we’ve got to rally and yell and stomp (otherwise known as LEANING IN) until the balance is righted. And BTW – men would be wise to listen up as well, because the real opportunity here is that we overhaul an archaic working system so it looks more like something that fits today’s hyper-connected, always “on” worker. Let’s all stop trying to fit into a solution that we used decades ago, when the entire scenario has changed. 

Whatever your take, there’s valuable advice that applies to us all: show up 100% at whatever life choices you’ve made. And if you hate them, change them. Because whatever role you play in this life should be one that’s worth leaning into.

Learn more about the Lean In book, movement, and author.

The Yahoo! memo leak is huge news, and needs to be covered by the media in smart ways. How Yahoo! moves to regain lost ground stands to provide much of the framework for companies struggling in the face of a recovering economy. However, one business’ disaster management does not another company’s business as usual make.

Work It! Richmond, a media source poised as RVA’s small business “solutions center”, posted an article titled “Defending the Yahoo! move”. Well, posted is really a stretch – Work It! Richmond simply recycled content from Forbes.com without real insight or a solution anywhere.

Written by Forbes.com contributor Margie Warrell, Work It! Richmond supports her three reasons employees need to be present and accounted for at their desks as advantageous. These are: 1) personal connections optimize collaboration, 2) water cooler conversations foster synergies that emails don’t, and; 3) distance can damage trust and be a cop-out for crucial conversations.

Personal connections, as Warrell states, does indeed optimize collaboration. She explains that despite how “convenient the many digital tools for communication are – from email and SMS” (aka texting) – ideas and information just aren’t finding their way through. That would be accurate if anybody in the world did business via text. Warrell neglects video conferencing, virtual meetings, and conference calls – you know, the actual digital tools people use to make connections and optimize collaboration.

Warrell goes on to say that water cooler conversations foster whatever the hell “synergies” are as her second [trite] reason employees need to be front and center at the office. Is she really saying that in 2013 you can’t have solid connections or relationships without being next to someone 8 hours per day, 5 days per week? I hope not. When people are comfortable and in an environment where they feel supported, then and ONLY then do truly great things happen. Force people into one-size-fits-all work environments while challenging work/life balance and employers can watch “synergy” plummet along with employee morale.

Warrell’s last reason to believe you should be working in an office for the rest of your (continually growing) working years is because people exaggerate the truth when they’re using email or IM. To back up her claim she cites an arbitrary study by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst which lends zero context to the study or its participants. This means she could have very well used results from a study about online dating, and fed the information to us in a context about the pitfalls of telecommuting. People are dishonest when they’re removed from the truth, not when they’re removed from the cube farm.

Warrell’s cheering for Yahoo! sounds an awful lot like a serendipitous opportunity to shill for her book, but I digress…

Remember when Yahoo! was an industry visionary? Me neither, but there was a time when they were an early-adopter of new things. With their latest backwards approach to business Yahoo! is showing all the signs of a sinking ship. Under their new captain they’re scrambling to stay afloat by calling all hands on deck with bail buckets because the water’s rising.

As we watch to see what happens next, RVA will continue to be a city on a rebranding mission of unparalleled creativity and innovation on every level. If Work It! Richmond wants to be short-sighted and uphold the old-fashioned and outdated Warrell/Yahoo! approach to company culture that’s too bad. Luckily there are lots of other locally grown employers who think forward.

This week a close friend of mine passed away unexpectedly. He was a beautiful soul, at once young and decades beyond his years. At times, knowing he’s no longer here knocks the breath out of me. In other moments I’m inspired because simply knowing him was a gift.

Today funeral services were scheduled for my friend, and up until this very morning – at 6am – I still wouldn’t commit to attending. I told people that I didn’t want to remember him “that way” but to be perfectly honest I just didn’t want to attend his funeral because it made his life final. I simply was not ready to accept that the void in my heart was because such a dear friend was gone.

My brother-in-law says funerals are for the living. When I heard this I rolled my eyes and said “typical cynic”, but today I understand the wisdom of his words. I attended my friend’s funeral service and sat in a chapel so full that it was extended out into the next room, and I sat among many people who were strangers. We held hands and grieved together, because we needed each other now that he was no longer here. At the end of the service I walked up to my friend’s casket and said goodbye.

I’ve been working on this blog post for six days, mostly because I need to wrap words around my grief, but also because I feel compelled to reach out and share one of the biggest lessons my friend taught me: JUST BE

Just.Be. Two very simple words. At first it feels like Just Be is an unfinished sentiment – just be you, just be honest, just be healthy, just be kind – you can complete the sentence infinitely however it fits your life. But today, listening to testimonies about my friend and bearing witness to the lives he impacted, today I realized Just Be wasn’t an incomplete sentence.

I live my life so carefully sometimes, and perhaps we all do. At work I tread lightly and rarely take chances. In my personal life I don’t say the types of things I should, and I let friendships lapse because I don’t want to call during dinner or too late at night, etc etc. I make excuses and check out a lot of times, and I put dreams on hold because I’m afraid to take a chance. I haven’t completed novels because I’m afraid people will be angry at my truth or worse, be ambivalent. How many of us live this way?

Not my friend. He lived a life bigger than himself. Everything he did was a grand gesture  - from the Diesel jeans he rocked to the eyeliner he applied. The music he listened to would rattle your insides, and he danced and sang like EVERYone was watching (because why wouldn’t they be?). And all through his days he lived a life true to himself no matter how uncomfortable it made others. He gave himself space to grow, room to discover and reinvent, a kind place to land when he made mistakes, and he gave himself permission to Just Be.

Though the words I want are still locked inside my grief, I know how to memorialize him through the biggest lesson he taught every single one of us who knew him, and those who may have stumbled upon this post: Just Be.

They say right before you die that your life flashes before your eyes and that you see a light. Dayne, Poodle, I hope in your last few hours on this earth you saw a constant montage of faces of the people who love you and will never ever forget you. I hope you were wrapped in a soft warm light and I hope you’re peaceful on the other side. Your life was honored today, and will be honored every day. We will all Just Be.

Here are the facts about Marissa Mayer:
1) She is Yahoo’s new CEO.
2) She had a baby two weeks ago, and has returned to her CEO duties at Yahoo!

The first one is awesome. The second one is NONE OF ANYONE’S DAMN BUSINESS.

The women I know and socialize with want the government out of our uterus. We shout, we protest, and we stand strong in our convictions that decisions about women are best made by women. And bravo! But when it comes to passing judgment or criticisms on each other we’ve got our minds up all sorts of places the sun doesn’t shine.

Whether Mayer’s hired schools of assistants to help raise her new bundle of joy, or she’s multi-tasking mommy/CEO duties like a boss is just not our business. So long as there is a baby who is healthy, well-fed, and clean I don’t really care how it’s happening. And neither should you.

It’s been said that Marissa Mayer’s aggressively short maternity leave and dedication to work set a scary precedence for the rest of women. Let’s be honest about this: this is only true if you do not think your voice counts. Because if you do think your voice counts you trust that the local and national politicians *you* elect in office will pass requirements like the FMLA, and more (better?) regulations protecting families and women. You will praise companies who recognize that women a) have a right to work; b) are THE ONLY ONES who can bear children and shouldn’t be penalized as if it’s a professional flaw to do so, and; c) can manage their own choices. You will demand changes at companies who treat women like a commodity. You’ll focus on the work that needs to be done to advance women’s rights and end the back-biting done to each other. We’ll all stand together and fight the fight that threatens to choke our voices quiet.

And what happens if we don’t?

Perhaps what they say – that women “can’t have it all” – will be the song sung. Not by men, mind you, but by our fellow sisters. We won’t have it all because we’re all too damn busy standing in each other’s way.

Friends, what follows is what happens when you let upper class Manhattan socialites get a hold of erotica on their Kindles (god forbid anyone actually see the cover of a romance novel!), and tell their friends about it.

Fifty Shades of Grey isn’t exceptionally, or even cleverly, written, but it is a page turner and I’m not just talking about the sex scenes which appear about every four pages or so once the story really gets going. I honestly asked myself the entire time: what is the point here? What is the author trying to tell me? What am I missing? I analyzed the adjectives and scrutinized the imagery presented all in an exercise in futility. This book should not be as popular as it is.

Let’s start with some background:

Published originally by EL James (a female) as an e-book since 2009, the book has recently landed itself on the NY Times Bestseller List and has sold 10 million copies. The novel is being adapted to a movie with Angeline Jolie reportedly vying for a director position (no shit).

Fifty Shades is a flirt with escapism for the reader delivered via a toe-in-the-water dip into the world of BDSM (bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism). Word online is that the book started out as fan fiction based on Stephanie Meyer’s immortal Twilight couple Edward and Bella. The similarities are obvious. James adapts the storyline by introducing her version of Edward (Christian Grey) and Bella (Anastasia Steele) a few years later in their lives – he’s 27 and she’s 21 – and changing Edward’s whole “brooding super rich un-dead vampire with deep-running control issues thing” into Christian’s whole “brooding mega billionaire playboy with major control issues who loves to beat on the women he’s sexually interested in…thing”.

Oh it’s a trip, for real.

Afterall, aren’t we taught that BDSM sex styles belong to a culture of people who are dysfunctional? Honey, please don’t bring your ball and gag to the table, it makes the guests uncomfortable.

If this book were a real attempt at exposing a sexual taste and educating the masses, that would be fine – let’s all learn and make smart, sexy decisions for ourselves. But instead it’s a half-assed cotton candy glimpse into a complex sexual preference that leaves the reader confused. When she’s being consensually punished, Anastasia struggles with “is this right or wrong for me?” She admits, after a particularly graphic, excessively rough ass beating with a leather belt, that she only submits to Christian because it makes him happy. The truth is, it makes her fucking sad that he has to put her in pain to show any “love” towards her.

Our Ana sounds like a textbook case in abuse. She’s all low self-esteem and poor confidence, indulging in constant escapism via classic British novels, and thinking in that sickening “he only hurts me because he loves me” rationale. The trick is, Ana has grown up with a pretty uneventful childhood, escaped major trauma, and isn’t addicted to anything destructive, until she meets this fool. She’s a 21-year old virgin with poor body image who lives through the lives of centuries old fictional characters.

What’s the author’s point here? Why would a seemingly reclusive bookworm gravitate towards a playboy billionaire with a fetish for giving pain – especially when she doesn’t like receiving pain? I don’t, for one second, buy that it’s some pent-up unexplored sexual aggression or a delayed development. Ana’s weak and desperate character development is all the fault of her writer, and it’s obvious and annoying.

On their first real get-to-know-you date, Christian presents Ana with a non-disclosure agreement which she happily signs WITHOUT READING and then, graciously, gives her a tour of his “playroom” which she dubs, appropriately, the Red Room of Pain for its ceiling hooks, chains, whips, devices, leather, and entire bureau of BSDM accessories.

For their relationship to continue on any level Christian requires Ana to review and sign an additional contract whereby she hands over all her independent thoughts and submits, mind and body, to him. He decrees that she won’t look him in the eye, she will quietly accept the beatings (“the fear is in your mind!” he tells her), and he will have his way with her whenever, wherever, and however he wants provided she sets open-minded boundaries (Personal trainers 4 times per week, controlled diets, and oh yeah, how do you feel about fisting and butt plugs?). Yeah, Christian sounds like a real badass.

It’s too bad he’s just a maladjusted individual. I’m no expert, but Christian may be the worst dominator in the history of BDSM, or at least a serious frontin’ ass fronter about his domination experience. When it’s convenient for her, Ana plays submissive and kowtows to his rules – girlfriend got a good old-fashioned bare booty spanking for rolling her eyes at him – but for the most part, Ana calls the shots. She picks the battles she thinks she can win, and tests the waters of his thinly-veiled attempts at boundaries constantly, often without punishment. Hell, she usually has to ASK him to punish her! The submissive contract? She never signs. Christian is constantly experiencing “firsts” and being molded into Ana’s version of a relationship.

What the hell is the point?! This book is obviously not about BDSM. It’s not the tale of a fated love that struggles in the beginning but becomes a beautiful, mutual thing in the end. This book isn’t about good plot, originality, or interesting words. The author can’t even begin to describe actual anatomy other than referring to it as “down there”. The thing is I’m not sure what the hell this book is about. But if you happen to know, please enlighten me.

I can only think that this book has seen the light of day because a demographic out of the erotica norm grabbed a hold of it and technology has made it an easy way to disguise what is being read. Nobody will judge you for holding your Nook, but they will judge you if they see the infamous gray silk tie on the front.

Here’s what happened:
33 votes for “yes” – including 6 Republicans
31 votes for “no” – all Republicans
10 Republicans abstained from voting
26 delegates – including a handful of Democrats – didn’t vote at all. At. All.

I don’t know about you, but when I don’t show up to do my job, I don’t get paid. Ladies and Gentlemen of Virginia, meet the delegates who didn’t go to work yesterday:

Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington
David L. Englin, D-Alexandria
C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah
Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem
Christopher T. Head, R-Roanoke
William J. Howell, R-Stafford
Johnny S. Joannou, D-Portsmouth
Joseph P. Johnson Jr., D-Washington County
S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk
Joe T. May, R-Loudoun
Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas
J. Randall “Randy” Minchew, R-Leesburg
Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight
John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico
Robert D. Orrock Sr., R-Caroline
Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover
Kenneth R. Plum, D-Fairfax
Harry R. Purkey, R-Virginia Beach
Margaret B. Ransone, R-Westmoreland
Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach
Roslyn C. Tyler, D-Sussex
Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke
R. Lee Ware Jr., R-Powhatan
Michael J. Webert, R-Fauquier
Thomas C. Wright Jr., R-Lunenberg
David E. Yancey, R-Newport News

You should know that each delegate represents approximately 71,000 Virginia citizens who trust their delegates as a legislative representative. 71,000 x 26 = 1,846,000 citizens who were not represented during this election. Why? What was more important? Worse: does this happen often?

It’s been said that this is an embarrassment for Virginia. That’s true. It’s true because we’ve almost a third of elected officials electing not to do their job.

The outcome of this election is also an embarrassment because many right-wing legislators like Delegate Bob Marshall are running around making statements that sound a lot like discrimination and bigotry. And that is embarrassing. You see, readers, Thorne-Begland is an openly gay man. Marshall contends that Thorne-Begland is unfit for judicial appointment because he pursues an ”aggressive activist homosexual agenda.” Whatever that means; he offers no real evidence supporting this wild allegation.

Unfortunately he’s not alone. ”For me it’s not not about fear and bigotry and ignorance and so forth,” said Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William. ”It is very definitely about duty.” Interesting. Fear and bigotry and ignorance and so forth. Just, you know, yadda yadda ya, no big deal for Lingamfelter. Of Thorne-Begland’s qualifications, he’s been serving the Commonwealth in his current position for about 12 years, successfully – he is more than qualified for the job as judge.

Virginia was founded on principles of freedom and tolerance. It does not matter that Thorne-Begland lives with his partner, is openly gay, and is currently raising twins. It doesn’t matter if the judge seated to his right (or left) is straight, listens to gangster rap, and raises llamas. It doesn’t matter because it.simply.doesn’t.matter.

Virginians absolutely feel yesterday’s election is embarrassing for the state and is blatant discrimination at work, being spilled across the House floor as a public officer was judged not on his proven experience to perform a task he’s qualified for, but for his sexual orientation. This post is also a wake up call to Virginia citizens about the delegates we trust to do their jobs representing us. Local elections are incredibly important – please get involved.

To combat the problem, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has concepted a new marketing campaign called Strong4Life. It shows a very real side to obesity. These are not chubby kids working out with new fitness instructor mentors, these are sad, obese children with hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and severe self-confidence and social issues. Here are some examples of different media being used to get word out about the obesity problem in Georgia:

First up, a billboard.

Next, a video.

And one more:

I’m missing the point because I don’t understand the target or the message. Are we targeting kids? Or should we be targeting the parents who control the food, and who should be controlling the kids?

There exists a movement in response to this campaign which is promoted via social media using #ashamed. It’s lead by moms and interested people who feel like these ads are shaming kids. I have to say that I agree with them.

A brilliant blogger named Jessica Gottlieb has weighed in (no pun intended) and she says: The women behind the #ashamed movement have it wrong. I don’t believe for a single solitary second that an ad campaign will make these children feel ashamed for being overweight. I believe with all my heart that the fat that’s covering these children’s bodies might make them ashamed. It should be noted that the fat covering their bodies also makes them ill and it’s much easier to die of diabetes or heart disease than of shame. Further, these ads are empowering. In the state of Georgia 40% of the children are overweight. Georgia is at the heart of the obesity epidemic and it’s imperative that they become forerunners in the fight against obesity (italics for emphasis, mine).

Yeesh. I’m pretty sure that these kids will feel shame, and guilt!, once their classmates start seeing these billboards and videos and joke them about their weight even more. Can you imagine being an obese child and already the target of ridicule by your peers, only to become a poster child for the Strong4Life campaign? Since when do we use children for bait?

Obesity is an eating disorder, just like anorexia or bulimia. Would we applaud a highway billboard of a child wasting away and call it empowering? How about a teen forcing him/herself to vomit in the school bathroom while classmates stand on the other side of the door whispering about her? It is not empowering to shame people into anything and that includes health.

I can only question the “creative” mind at Strong4Life (especially because their website has a friendly tone and showcases positive motivation) who decided children should be used as a shock tactic to point out where adults are failing. And that’s at the heart of this: these kids have been let down by their parents and by every grownup who hasn’t stepped in to help. The fault lies in several places including promoting a culture of food consumption by the likes of Paula Dean (Georgia’s reigning butter-loving, fat laden recipe-selling, Diabetes-having queen), a disparity too far to climb between poverty and middle class that makes good food choices nearly impossible, and a lack of simple fucking education about nutrition to name a few. Ultimately a lot of people are at fault here, but it’s not the kids who are acting as mirrors and products of the environment in which they find themselves.

Obesity sucks. It impacts everyone. We’re a culture that’s growing to epic proportions and something needs to be done about it. However we motivate a state, and a country no less, to get healthier can be done without shaming the victims.

In response to regulation proposed requiring women to have an ultrasound before selecting to obtain an abortion, women’s rights protestors organized peacefully outside the State Capital building Saturday, March 3rd. How did the Commonwealth respond? By sending local Richmond and State Police in full on riot gear.

31 peaceful protestors were arrested because it was deemed that they were assembling unlawfully. I guess they were making someone uncomfortable? Looking at you McDonnell, Marshall, and Cuccinelli. The protestors, there with Speak Loudly with Silence, had a permit for the protest extending to the Bell Tower, but not the Capitol building steps. Although many of the protestors left after being asked (more than 850 are reported to have showed up), those who didn’t were charged with trespassing or unlawful assembly.

Somehow I think there were actual crimes happening in the city that required police attention…

Still, laws are laws and permits are permits. I get it that they should have left when asked – but…riot gear? Really right now?

Seriously, Virginia. Enough is enough.

Thanks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch for the video and for covering this disgusting display of power outside the State Capitol building yesterday, and for the Washington Post for also giving this story national coverage.

There has been much happening in the way of women’s rights and women’s issues in RVA and nationally. I feel like we’re galvanized daily by someone trying to take away – or regulate until it’s impossible – our basic rights and freedoms while putting their fingers, nose, or ultrasound wand in our business. Politicians and political figures who wish they were influential enough to matter (looking at you Rush Limbaugh) dedicate their day’s energy to attempting to affix labels to women making decisions about their own bodies. It’s gross.

I’m not sure why, in 2012, and in the face of a nation struggling to overcome a crippling recession, much more powerful world issues (Syria, anyone??), and I don’t know – hunger, poverty, disease, etc, the people who lead the Commonwealth and the country are this consumed with the re-hashing of birth control and abortion regulations. It’s embarrassing – and perverted – that so many politicians and their lackeys are fixated on women’s vaginas.

This month as women all over this great nation celebrate the strides we have made we’ll also need to stand strong against the people who would threaten our very liberties and freedoms. If it feels contradictory to, at once, revel in women’s history while mulling over the contraceptive rights/abortion dichotomy because men in political power continue to be threatened by women’s rights – it’s not. This is a wake up call to women everywhere who became complacent: feminism is necessary.

The other weekend I attended a birthday party when a girl, about 5 or 6 years old, came up to me with two library books about Helen Keller she checked out from her school’s library. I grew up loving the biographies and stories about Helen Keller; she was one of my first female role models. I admired her tenacity, her spirit, her never-ending thirst for knowledge, and her absolute fearlessness. I listened as this young lady told me things she learned about Helen Keller, and as we talked about her life together I realized that this was    the new age of feminism.

I don’t believe, with the issues happening today, anybody can say that feminism is dead or women’s movements are a thing of the past. I don’t know that they ever will be. During National Women’s History Month, let’s honor our foremothers by keeping their legacies alive. Let’s celebrate the women who are carrying the torches today. And let us all be a role model to the young women looking up to us, because we’re the ones setting the tone. We’re the ones they’ll remember who taught them about the incredible courage, bravery, and dedication women displayed in the face of adversity, and we’re the ones who will be sharing the amazing feats these women overcame – for us and for them. It’s important because it won’t be long before these young women are the ones who will be carrying the torch of women’s rights.

Let’s make sure they’re ready.