We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on all the women I look up to, their perseverance and perspiration, and how I can run with the momentum they have created about what it means to be a strong woman. As a young girl, I never thought about traditional gender roles influencing the direction of my life. Childhood was infiltrated with gendered norms such as girls playing dolls or house, while boys played with action figures and braved the great outdoors. I was never one for dolls, and my childhood involved bruises and scuffs from playing outside. I wasn’t aware that gender norms ran deeper than the playground. I was entirely oblivious to the idea I was ill-suited towards some professions simply because of my gender until I was forced to realize.

Terms and ideologies such as “ladylike” or “like a girl” came up time and time again, curbing and defining what I was and wasn’t meant to do. Whenever I watched movies that showcased ambition such as The Greatest Showman or The Founders, it was always men on the screen whose journeys were explored and dissected. Most female representation was encapsulated into dystopia and fantasy franchises such as The Hunger Games and Divergent.

I remember one of the first, if not only, movies I watched about a female entrepreneur. Joy is a movie about a single mom who persevered through financial struggle and setbacks to a self-made millionaire because of her grit and determination. Instantly it became one of my favorite movies and I wondered to myself for the first time why I had never seen a woman in that role before.

I resented the idea of limitations solely based on gender. The pervasive question of “What Could I Do?” retained the same stretch and bandwidth of a rubber band in my mind. It had no start or end point. What had the women who came before achieved? If they could do it, what was stopping me? At the same time, I was bothered by the fact that women's traditional gender roles were looked down on as “weaker” or “inferior” to men. It became apparent to me there was no clear “right path.” very path has its own merit and strong female role models can -and do - come from any direction in life.

There are so many resilient women. History is abundant with them and we are surrounded by them in our everyday lives.

In my own life, I look at my mom who exemplifies strength and determination through various challenges. My mom immigrated to the U.S. at the age of fourteen in the 80s and had to quickly adjust to a different culture. With Spanish as her first language, she had to overcome a language barrier that can still sometimes present challenges, but that never deters her. She raised four children, one of which is nonverbal and autistic. She has an unparalleled intensity for every challenge she takes on and a consistent discipline with healthy eating habits in solidarity with my brother who is gluten and dairy free. She has positively influenced my work ethic and urges me to stay focused when working towards a goal.

Amal Clooney is a female role model who has influenced my career aspirations. She is an international law and human rights lawyer who works tirelessly to defend vulnerable populations and has worked on prominent international legal cases. Her tireless work ethic is very apparent in her long list of accomplishments such as working on high profile cases and delivering speeches in front of the U.N. about the poor response to the Yazidi Genocide and sexual violence in conflict. Throughout her career she has demonstrated excellence in her profession with precision and passion and shows that the traits needed to succeed as a lawyer, such as confidence and the ability to debate, is not insular to men.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. She was the second woman to ever be appointed to that role. RBG was one of nine women in her 500 person Harvard Law School class. RBG supported her husband through cancer while also raising children during her time in law school. In her career, she sat on the Supreme Court for landmark cases such as The U.S. v. Virginia, which made it illegal to deny women from the military, and Obergefell v. Hodges which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. RBG reminds me that you can leave a legacy behind with your life work, and she pioneered the way one can influence those who come after you.

There are countless female role models who can be celebrated during Women’s History Month. Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, Oprah, amongst others. It’s important to recognize that strong women role models come from every corner and discipline of life. Strong, endurant, courageous women have paved the way for us. We all have excellent examples of strong women in our lives. Who are yours?