Empowerment may not only concern women’s rights and equality, but it definitely starts with the understanding and application of these global necessities. Empowerment is the encouragement granted from an outside source to create positive change, and the core of empowerment comes from equal opportunities. If we as individuals can understand these basic principles about society, why is it so much harder to recognize our strength and capabilities within ourselves?
The answer is unfortunately painfully obvious: while our society aims to focus on equal opportunity and women’s rights, it’s not there yet. While millennials have faced extreme culture change through our developmental years, we are considered the generation — according to Millennials from Pew Research Center — that is “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat, and open to change.” So, while it’s wonderful to have such a great reputation, why does it still feel like so many young women are still so passive to the opinions of their male counterparts in today’s society?
Women’s passivity historically came from necessity. Prior to the great backlash our generation has seen through the modern waves of feminism, the status of women went unquestioned as inferior. Thus, not only were their bodies not an object of respect (ring any bells from today’s society?) but their voice did not hold as much weight, and therefore their arguments weren’t as valuable as men’s. We may view this time as ancient, but women in Canada have only been considered as “persons” under the law since 1929, and remember that this did not extend to women of colour until 1940 and indigenous women until 1960. That’s only 90 years. My house is older than that.
Contemporarily, while not out of necessity many women are still passive. For example, how many times have you apologized to a man who bumped into you, or held your tongue on an opposing opinion, or even worse, agreed with something that completely contradicts your morals and beliefs just to end the conversation? These are only some of the many examples which show that this pattern is now somewhat habitual. Personally, I had never even noticed how apologetic I was in my day to day life until someone had pointed it out to me.
So, in 2019 I challenge you to raise your voice, speak up for what you believe in and make it loud enough for the people in the back. Reach out to not only your girlfriends but support all women! Give the world positive affirmations, educate yourself and others on super important topics such as female health and wellness since mainstream medicine still puts the focus on men as the example when studying illnesses and conditions. Remember that education is the key to understanding, so learn something new every day. Change what you view in your daily life to create a more positive perspective for your everyday activities. Follow people on social media who are truly influential, and not just influencers. Join a movement, a community organization, or an on-campus club. Most importantly, remember that empowering and supporting your sisters means ALL women, don’t overlook your sisters in the LGBTQ+ community, sisters of colour, disabled, neurodivergent, the lower class, etc. Only when all women are free from privilege and prejudice will women be free. Reflect on your values and consider what empowerment means or looks like to you. I’m not saying you have to move mountains in 2019, but I am challenging you to gear up and start training because the mountains we will have to move aren’t too far away. We can do this.