Women@Iron Mountain

As we move towards another International Women’s Day, this year like always, I pause to reflect on my own life experiences as a woman and how my path has been made easier not only by women who have tread before me but also by women who have walked beside me. This year’s IWD theme is Balance for Better, reminding us that gender balance everywhere is beneficial to everyone. Earlier in my life I had the blessing of spending time working at a women’s centre; an organization committed to the delivery of crisis intervention, support and training programs to marginalized women in the community. What, you may ask, does working for a women’s centre have to do with the concept of Balance for Better? More than you might think if you regard the concept internally rather than externally. I joined the staff of the Women’s Centre of Hamilton in 2003 as their Director of Fundraising and within a year was promoted to their Executive Director position. At the time, I questioned my qualifications for the position; I had no social work background and I had never run a non-profit, how could they trust the future of this important organization to me? Sound at all familiar? If you are a woman, have you ever questioned your qualification for a role that you’ve wanted and thought you just might be good at? If you are a man, have you ever heard a woman in your life openly, actively diminish her own capabilities? I will hazard a guess that the answer for everyone reading this would be yes. So, how did I overcome my reluctance? A colleague at the Women’s Centre, Deborah, advised me to release myself of the judgement I had placed on me; be brave and allow myself to receive praise when appropriate, guidance when needed and critique when necessary. Most of all, have faith in my own inherent abilities to accept it all. Everyone is capable of receiving praise as well as criticism, pride as well as shame. What we so often do is self-impose the criticism, the shame, and the critique often and Deborah guided me to the place I belonged and it wasn’t the role, it was the ability to believe I could do the things I suspected I could and that belief was the start of a wonderful journey; a journey that in many ways continues now and will continue for the rest of my days. #BalanceforBetter starts with your belief in the principle within you; that as a woman you belong in the boardroom, the workplace, the committee as much as any man. Ask questions. Seek out support. Find guidance and mentors who will help you on the path you are destined to walk. These champions will reinforce your voice and bolster your confidence in your undeniable ability to make change, wherever it is that is, unique to you. Before you know it, you will be the Balance in the boardroom, the workplace or the committee because you will believe it and so will those around you; inspiration is not gender-specific. If we called feminists, “humanists”, I’m betting a lot more people would self-identify but really they are the same thing; if you are a feminist, you ARE a humanist. It’s just that simple. I’ve been inspired by feminists, both male and female, for years. I will leave you with inspiration from one of the most remarkable “humanists” of our lifetime, Mr. Nelson Mandela. Regardless of your faith or belief in a higher power, even if you replace the word “God” with something more in keeping with your own beliefs, can’t we all agree with the following? “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ×