Hi friends,
These are the women closest to my heart as I'm thinking of International Women's Day. My 4 daughters and my daughter in love.
They inspire me and challenge me to do better and be better. There are friends who do the same. And mentors and coaches who have helped me tremendously.
Below is an excerpt I'd love to share with you.
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of women, an acknowledgement of historical—and more recent—achievements, as well as an ongoing movement to ensure that women are seen and treated as equals.
According to InternationalWomen'sDay.com 1
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
The questions I ask myself are:
What are the choices I make—as a woman, as a coach, as an advocate?
What do I need to challenge in myself—in my roles, my beliefs and biases, my actions?
What challenges are my clients and loved ones facing—the obvious and the implicit; the internal and the external?
What can I call forth in myself to better acknowledge the unique strengths of women and, specifically, the women in my life?
What can I call forth in myself and others to help accelerate gender parity?
Huge Benefits Women Bring to the Table
Research speaks loud and clear on the many advantages of having women at the table—in teams, organizational and political leadership, education, research and more.
Research shows that having more women in leadership positions brings a wider variety of perspectives and approaches, which results in better problem solving and innovation.
For example, I've just read a biography 2 of the Widow Clicquot (of Veuve Clicquot champagne), which offers an interesting historical example: In the early 1800s, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot convinced her in-laws to let her take over the failing family wine business when her husband died at an early age. The Champagne industry was forever changed for the better by Madame Clicquot's innovation called remuage, today known as riddling. Her innovation effectively removed the yeast deposits that made the wine cloudy, creating a clear and far more appealing Champagne.
She also forged ahead to search out new markets that others in the industry were ignoring during a period of war and economic turmoil. She transformed a failing business into an empire and took Champagne from a not-very-appealing novelty product with limited markets to the international renown it enjoys today.
Overall, the skills women rate higher in are those that contribute to improved problem solving and innovation, leadership, and skills that support teams characterized by enhanced trust and productivity.
Let's bring the challenge to ourselves and our loved ones.
Let's increase our awareness of beliefs and biases.
As women, it's important to help our daughters, sisters, friends and colleagues to become aware of their own limiting beliefs and behaviors, and gain confidence.
But it's equally important, if not more so, to be aware of our own unconscious bias and the impact it may have.
We must recognize that women have unique inherent strengths and leadership styles that are equally important, even though these may not fit within the old paradigm of leadership and gender stereotypes.
Some questions to ask yourself:
What do you #ChooseToChallenge within yourself?
What resistance shows up that you could be curious about?
What is a more balanced perspective you could explore?
What do you #ChooseToChallenge in your workplace and community?
What do you do when you notice gender bias, discrimination or stereotypes in the workplace? What could or will you do next time?
How do you seek out and celebrate women's achievements?
What could you do to own your own achievements as a woman (if you are one)?
What are you doing to celebrate International Women's Day?
excerpts by Delaney Tosh, CPCC, PCC,
PS: Message me for a free consult to start moving toward a more confident you.
You are loved. Deeply loved. Loved beyond measure.
Until next time,
Isabelle
Call or write for a free life coaching consultation
#732-331-2246
Isabellestephensoncoach@gmail.com
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