“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
This quote perfectly states how our world should look. Women’s issues are often set on the back-burner, while attacks on reproductive rights take center stage but often these discussions are missing healthcare professionals and women at the table where decisions are made.
This is highly dangerous for multiple reasons:
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Not including women in rooms where decisions are being made, ESPECIALLY when the decisions being made are about their bodies, sends the message that women shouldn’t have/don’t deserve control/autonomy over their bodies.
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This results in harmful decisions being made because men are making decisions about situations and bodily functions they will never experience.
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It leads to women being treated as less significant than their male counterparts and negatively regarded when they are dominant, intelligent, and/or assertive.
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It gives the impression to young women that to be “respected” and “ladylike,” you must be quiet, submissive, and dependent.
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This principle is harmful for the empowerment of women and is inherently unequal.
So how do we combat this? We get INVOLVED!
As people who identify as women, women of every race/religion/ethnicity, women of every sexuality, we need to step up and demand our place be equal in every room we walk into. We have had many doors opened and standards set for us by impactful women such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michelle Obama and many, many more.
Well good news! There are so many ways to get involved.
Firstly, get educated! There are so many great resources to constantly be using to stay in the know and understand what is happening locally, nationally, and globally.
Secondly, VOTE. Vote like your life depends on it, because it really, really does. Thirdly, use your voice. Become an activist, use social media to raise and spread awareness/information, write letters to/call your governmental leaders, have conversations with as many people as you can. Every little contribution helps.
We owe the change we are working to create to the people who identified as women before us, those after us, and those that we are now. Be confident, be courageous, be assertive and be powerful.