Fearless Girl, gender equality, GenderAvenger

I grew up in a non-traditional home; my mom and dad both worked. Today, that scenario would never be considered non-traditional, but as a little girl surrounded by friends who had stay-at-home moms, it certainly was not the norm. My mom didn’t just have a regular 9 to 5 office job either; she was a doctor. This meant long hours in the office, additional time spent making hospital rounds, and even more hours at home putting notes in patient’s files.

I remember going to my friend’s house one day after school. Her mom was home baking cookies. I thought that was so amazing. I never saw my mom when I came home from school. Instead, my sister and I would make our own snack. We would turn on the television and do our own thing. We washed the dishes we used for our afternoon snack and cleaned up any mess we made.

You may think it sounds like my mom was not always present and very consumed with work. You’re not wrong. She was NOT always physically present and her job WAS important, but she also cooked all of our meals and she sewed our Halloween costumes. Back in grade school, I told her that I wished I could get a special lunch like the other kids. Once a week, my classmates would get McDonald’s or some other fast food item for lunch and wouldn’t have to eat their packed lunch. The next day, I got pulled out of class to the school office because my mom dropped off some Taco Bell for me. When you’re 8 years old, that was a meal fit for a princess. I did not understand that my mom was late to the office that day so I could get my special meal. All I knew was that my mom made things happen.

GenderAvenger, in and outof vegas
My Mom and I

My mom was the first GenderAvenger in my life. She was my first superhero. What’s really funny is that growing up, I didn’t know about gender inequality. My mom was doing everything my dad was doing and maybe even more. She took care of my sister and I, cooked, cleaned, worked, sewed, played the piano and organ, she was into real estate, and played the stock market. In my eyes, it didn’t seem like there were any barriers to being a woman. My mom taught me so many important things; it would take many pages to tell you all of them. Here are two really important ones:

Anything Boys Can Do, I Can Do Too…and Maybe Do It Better
Did I mention that my dad is also a doctor? My mom didn’t sit home and shop all day, she became a doctor too. She also appeared in the book,”Who’s Who of American Women,” served as a U.S. Coast Guard, and was the acting general of the U.S. Public Health Service. This didn’t just teach me that I could be anything I wanted to be in this world. This taught me that I could be EVERYTHING I wanted to be in this world.

I Was Put In This World To Add Value
While other moms were telling their kids to smile and spread sunshine wherever they went, my mom told me to ensure I added value in whatever I do. This meant that I should always do my best. This meant that I should always give my opinion and share my ideas regardless of who was sitting at the table with me. When my mom served as the acting general, she told me that she often felt intimidated when leading the hospital meetings with a predominantly male group of doctors. She reminded me of the importance of finding my voice regardless of my audience.

As an adult, I now know there is gender inequality. My mom is the reason why it is so important to me that I help to ensure that women are always part of the dialogue. I never want to lose sight of the value we as women have in making a difference. It is important to me that all women have the equal opportunity to be heard. I am a second generation GenderAvenger and proud.

GenderAvenger, In and Out of Vegas, gender inequality
GenderAvenger Tally

I am happy I discovered the GenderAvenger Tally App. It gave me the opportunity to look at where gender inequality was happening in my world and post about this on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I think it is so easy to overlook that this is even happening at all and when I actually did use the app to take my tallies, there was a disparity in gender representation everywhere. I love the app by the way. It is so easy to use. You can count Who’s Talking and Who’s Present in almost every scenario you are in. It can be done while watching television or sitting in a meeting at work.

I want all women to be the Fearless Girl. She is the little statue in New York who stands as a powerful symbol of the need for change and encourage workplace diversity. I want to ensure that in my lifetime, both men and women have equal opportunities to sit on a panel as industry experts, serve in government, and run companies. I want to ensure that gender is never an issue and because of this, I will always be a GenderAvenger. It’s in my blood.

This is an ad sponsored by GenderAvenger but all opinions are definitely mine! #ad #GenderAvenger #GATally #IAmAGenderAvenger

38 Replies to “My Superhero, My GenderAvenger”

  1. Very inspiring story.its so nice to be an independent stand with our own and can life with our self in the future and become a parent too your will know how important it may be .

  2. My mom is just like yours ! She taught me everything I know and I want to do everything she did for me for my daughter.

  3. My mom is so supportive like yours. She was my superhero. We both love traveling that’s why we always together even if I have my own family now.

  4. This is such a beautiful story. I was crying while reading this. I am badly missing my mom. We live in a different country and we don’t have the chance to see each other for 10 long years,

    1. Thank you so much for reading! 🙂 I hope you at least get to chat with your mom pretty often and that you’ll have the chance to see her very soon! Have a great weekend! 🙂

  5. Your mom is such a superhero. I don’t have the chance to meet my mom. I a so jealous whenever I see people with their mom.

  6. I have also a mom who loved me so much. Though she’s not yet around anymore her presence, love, lessons and everything will be forever cherished

  7. My mom thought me everything that I need to learn in this life from small thing to big things. And I am so proud of her because she did a lot of for me and for my siblings and now, that I am a mother I will do the same with my kids.

  8. Growing up my mom was always at work. It helped me learn some responsibilities around the house. After school I’d make sure I and my brothers had a snack and everyone was good to go! She would always be home soon after that, but she was definitely never available to pick us up from school or anything.

    1. Back then, you may have had days when you didn’t like doing that but I bet you appreciate it now 🙂 I think that makes every kid stronger and more responsible 🙂

  9. You are a gifted writer and an excellent story teller. Your mom sounds like an amazing person and such a good example to young women of how to do it all. Kudos to her and to you.

  10. My mum was also very influential as my dad left so she always worked hard and taught me to work for everything I want.

  11. It was great that your Mom was such an influential force in your life. Parents can make a huge difference in their children’s lives.

  12. My mum was a lot like yours. I was really proud of her when I saw her getting ready for work. I don’t have a girl now but I want to show my boy that he can be a good support to a strong woman.

    1. I LOVE your comment because I think it is so important that mothers teach their sons that strong, smart women are partners. They should support such extraordinary women. 🙂

  13. I really believe that diferences in what a gender can/must do will desapear. At our home we trie to teach that theres no tasks for mans and others for womans. And i really believe that that will be the future, a better future.

    1. That is great! Everyone needs to teach their daughters that they can be and do anything they want, and to understand that their voice is important. Everyone’s voice is important 🙂

  14. It is definitely important to continue having these conversations. I think sometimes it’s taken for granted the choices parents make and how that affects us (or not) in growing up. Women definitely have the option to choose what they feel is best and that choice should be acknowledged and celebrated.

  15. Both of my parents worked when I was growing up. I knew my babysitters better than them, and honestly, I am a-okay with that because I love the person who I am become! Even though they weren’t there that much, they still engrained things in my brain that I love about myself.

    1. I think this really teaches you to be independent, strong and to be a problem solver. I think it also encouraged me to be creative. I spent a lot of time writing and drawing as a kid because I wasn’t always sitting next to my parents.

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