You wonder why we sound angry when we talk about our journeys.
Well, we are exhausted and tired of the fight.
We are not giving up, we are just moving on.
We are not sad, glad, or mad we are just done.
Done with what you ask?
Done with seeing our male colleagues and peers keep information from us. Seeing them go on excursions and exclude us. Doing the preparation and getting no credit or thanks. Doing the office housework, and creating the strategies with no credit or perks, and being told sorry no raises this year. Seeing the statistics on the wage gap. Not getting the opportunities to be on those panels, and not getting the opportunities for funding and investment.
It is no longer our goal to create our own seat at the table. We are coming together, supporting, mentoring, and cheering each other along. We are choosing to level up! We are building our own tables.
We are going after those opportunities that create excitement, choosing to do more of the good, going after the liberating versus the limiting, focusing on our processes and levelling up. We are boosting our confidence, focusing our insights, getting clear with our intentions. We are deepening our learning, building our communities, dealing with new challenges. We’re letting go of small things, creating new visions, connecting with our whys, adjusting, committing to new dimensions, and growing our momentum.
How are we doing all this? Through strategies such as a personal audit looking at the signs, truths and judgements and working with the facts. We are taking strategies, creating plans, executing them, and pushing our boundaries. We are considering how we present ourselves professionally, investing in self-care and in coaching. We are prioritising ourselves and getting comfortable with saying no.
Growing up we were never taught, or given awareness, on how challenging it would be to get to and break that ceiling. The gaps are changing but why should we sit around and wait? It will be a long time, if ever, before these gaps are eliminated. Time and time again we see women, who are more than qualified, get passed by and we’re taking action to put a stop to it.
We do not just need women to champion levelling up, we need men to work towards reducing biases, changing the vocabulary, championing on our behalf, mentoring and sponsoring and holding other men accountable. To those who are supporting us by refusing to be on all male panels, bringing us to the table, mentoring and sponsoring, bringing us into investment and funding opportunities, supporting fair performance evaluations, giving us credit, sharing office housework, offering equal access, using the correct vocabulary, and speaking up when we are talked over – we see you and appreciate you.
We keep levelling up so that other women will not be so exhausted or have to fight so hard to be at our tables.
