As I was sitting down drafting up my post celebrating International Women’s Day, I realized I am still reeling from the state of our presidential race. As someone who felt a deep pang of hurt as each amazing woman has dropped out, this week has been hard, to say the least. Across the board, in every industry, we are still struggling to have equality at the top levels. As a candidate running for the state assembly in a region where there are currently no women representing us in the state legislature, I sometimes understand the desire to pack it in – but we can’t give up.
Although I know we have real work ahead of us, I am going to use this opportunity to highlight some good stuff. The last six years, I have spent honoring this holiday speaking at a women’s small business forum, helping to navigate the complicated federal government contracting system. This year, the room was packed so full that we ran out of seats. We are giving time, sharing resources, and creating networks to support women and help more win elections. We are shaking things up. Think of Stephanie Townsend, trailblazing the way to turn the Town of Pittsford blue, Fatimat Reid and Karen Bailey Turner, the first two African American women elected to their respective county wide judge seats, and Yversha Roman, the first Latina on County Legislature.
When one woman can #MeToo and start a movement or a women’s soccer team can steal our hearts on the field, but also lead our fight on pay equity, we must know change is coming. We can build on this momentum. There is so much more to be done, but if we start each day finding a way to uplift each other, we can achieve so much together. #persist
A groundbreaking year for women via Newsday