Sunday mornings are a “reset” time for me, at least I have made more of a conscious effort since the start of 2018, which hasn’t been long I know but so far, it seems to be setting the tone for some pretty good weeks!

One of my New Years resolutions is to read more impactful books. Those that make you think beyond normal day-to-day routine thoughts. I recently started reading a book that was referred to me by a female mentor called Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg. So in agreement with my New Years resolutions, this particular rainy Sunday morning was going to be spent curled up on the couch, coffee in hand, ready to reset for the coming week. I didn’t get 17 pages into Sheryl Sandberg’s, Lean In, before I realized, I had a lot of thoughts on what she was talking about.

If you haven’t read this book already, I highly suggest picking it up, (it’s about $10 on Amazon) and probably the most inspirational $10 you’ll spend all year, and its only January)! Sandberg reveals the challenges facing women in corporate America every day, both the internal challenges we create ourselves and those that are exuded onto us by society. As I read further, I became more aware and interested in the challenges we as women create ourselves. Let me preface this post by clarifying I am not a feminist. I believe that women, and men, should have the same opportunities, at equal pay and based on their ability to do the job, not on any other factor; but I am also not naïve to that fact that this is not the norm even in 2018. Personally, I am a woman working in Corporate America alongside some of the most talented business people that happen to be both men AND women. I may be biased and somewhat sheltered due to the fact that I am lucky enough to work with a company that promotes female leadership and supports women in all aspects of their personal and professional lives, but maybe we have let these 20th century views on women in the workplace continue because we, as women, let them?

Let’s be real, women are the most powerful beings on the planet. We balance our education, our careers, we create a home where we raise children and families all while remaining compassionate, level headed (most of the time), and still driven to do more. As a child, I vividly remember watching my mom come home from working all day, go grocery shopping, cook dinner for our family, supervise me and my sister while we washed the dishes, get her clothes ready for work the next day (this was always impressive to me and something I still wish I did!), make sure we had our homework done and done right, put us to bed, and now that I am an adult and have my own home I know that she did much more that wasn’t even noticeable to my 10 year old perspective. I remember thinking, I had no idea how she did so much in one day.

My mom has several degrees, including a PhD. She practiced law after attending law school at night while working as a teacher during the day. I guess this may be where my mindset on women and working started. My mom, and dad, always taught me I could be whatever I wanted to be. I was never told that I would have to work harder than men to get where I wanted to go. I was taught that I had to work harder than men AND women to get where I wanted  to go, because that’s how you get to be number one, you work harder than everyone else. So why are we raising our daughters to believe from the very beginning they have a disadvantage because they are a female?

As women, statistically, we have a tendency to be submissive in our professional environments. Where would this come from if it is not something we are taught?Whether we want to admit it our not, we often let men beat us to the punch. We let them raise their hand first for a promotion, we question our opinion and often hold back during meetings or conversations and we let men take the upper hand thinking that their opinions and input will be  better received than ours. BUT WHY? Why would we set the tone for men to get ahead and allow these things to happen. If we don’t stand up for ourselves, how can we expect anyone else to? Maybe the reason why less than 1/4 of the Forbes List are women is partially because we have put our own restrictions on ourselves and allowed men to surpass us to the C-suites? Maybe its time for us to lean in to the conversations and our careers rather than seating ourselves in the second row.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”

~Eleanor Roosevelt or “The Devil Wears Prada”

(depending on where you find your inspiration)