3 Ways to Empower Women Up with Your Business: International Women’s Day Celebration

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s startling to learn that World Economic Forum predicts the gender gap won’t close entirely until 2186. It’s easy to forget, as I’m privileged being educated and living in the United States, the realities of being a woman in the world. These statistics give me fuel to the fire of Reina + Co. Reina + Co was built on a set of values and a vision that goes beyond coaching and the day to day work we do. We believe in a big, purposeful vision of the future of women. 

We believe that women are the anchors of their families and communities. We believe in a world in which women are fueled by passion and purpose every day and are empowered to live with confidence and positivity to make an impact.

The best environment for people to thrive is one in which they feel free to be themselves – one in which their uniqueness is celebrated rather than scorned. Intentional inclusion creates safety and fosters positive differences in people’s lives and in the culture of what we aim to create.

I’m inspired by Sir Richard Branson’s Pledge for Parity. There is a place in business to take a stand on equality and empowerment of women.

In our lives and in our businesses, we can actively take a stand to promote parity. You might be thinking that you don’t have the kind of impact that Branson has on the world but we all have an opportunity to make incremental shifts.

credit: Libby Vander Ploeg

The way we treat each other

There are major shows, books, movies whose storylines use women’s cattiness and deception of one another as the main plot. Sure, we have many examples of women being less than friendly. After a few years in a female dominated creative entrepreneur industry has showed me that we can change the way women are perceived and treat each other. We have a direct say in how this plays out.

When interacting with another creative entrepreneur online, send them messages of encouragement and support. Many women have cycles of negative self talk and hearing from an unbiased party can be an uplifting way to be acknowledged.

Let’s stand up for others when we have a voice (because we always do). When we witness somebody’s weakness, be willing to engage with them. Stand up to bullies who do our friends wrong.

Our teammate Rachel Wortmann says: Words carry weight, and they can lift others up. Reaching out to other women you admire with even a simple ‘I love what you’re doing, keep it up!’ can make all the difference. Everyone has to deal with rejection, tough days, failure, and all other sorts of negativity. By reaching out and offering your support to individual women, you wind up empowering women in general.

Heart Centered Biz Cheerleader Entrice Rowe says: I love calling out the potential in women. I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to listen to the needs and desires of women and to help them realize and walk in their strengths.

credit: Libby Vander Ploeg

The way we create opportunities for other women

We can create opportunities with other women for other women. I’ve been asked many times how I’ve been included in the various collaborations I find myself part of. Often my answer is that the person who asked me created the opportunity and I said yes. In turn, when i’ve done creative projects, I’ve stopped to ask myself how I can elevate the visibility of another creative in the work I’m doing that will serve our audience as well.

Here are some ways you can create opportunities for other women:

• Create a blog or blog series that spotlight other women
• Do a webinar with somebody who has knowledge that would be beneficial to your audience
• Feature somebody on your instagram (bonus points if she has fewer followers than you)
• Ask a conference organizer whose conference you’re hoping to attend to invite a particular speaker

credit: Libby Vander Ploeg

We can educate women who will become strong leaders

By educating and disseminating knowledge, we can hope to be a more equitable world. It’s the reason why I chose Pencils of Promise as the Reina + Co cause. We’re hoping to build a school in Guatemala in hopes that we can help shape the education of children (and ultimately strong women) for our future generations.

A little bit closer to home, we can educate women in our local communities, in our places of worship, through volunteer activities. We can impart knowledge onto our children and build up strong leaders who are both men and women who believe in the strengths of having women with parity.

In business, we can educate through sharing business knowledge or sharing about our areas of expertise.

Let this International Women’s Day be a way we make a braver more vocal mark on the world – a world where we are able to dream bigger, be major thought leaders, and have significant impact for the future.

We’re unveiling the Reina + Co Manifesto in honor of International Women’s Day. Stand with us in raising other women up.