Agnès Varda, French filmmaker, passed away on Friday, March 29th in Paris. She was a pioneer in the French New Wave cinema scene of the 1950s and 1960s, paving the way for many women to follow in her footsteps and become filmmakers themselves. She frequently addressed feminist issues in her films and progressive ideas about race and gender. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue in the film industry and serve as a reminder for female filmmakers everywhere that they can be whoever they want to be.
Emilia Clarke recently wrote an essay for The New Yorkerabout her struggles with two brain aneurysms right around the time she was finishing her first season of HBO show Game of Thrones. She recalls the anxiety and fear she felt during some of the most terrifying health scares possible. As she enters the last season of the show, she took some time to reflect on what she learned from one of the hardest times in her life and expresses her gratitude for where she is now.
Zuzana Čaputová was recently elected to be the first female president of Slovakia! It’s a huge achievement for someone who is both a woman and political newcomer. She said to some of her supporters that she hopes to change the tides of Slovakia’s political climate to a more just and fair environment, and turn away from the more conservative and populist movements that the country has seen thus far.
Bailey Davis, a cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints, has been leading the charge to end sex discrimination against cheerleaders after she was fired from the team for posting a picture of herself in an outfit deemed inappropriate by the Saints. Since then, she has filed a discrimination lawsuit herself, saying that the NFL holds their football players to different standards than they do for cheerleaders. People have taken notice and as a result, cheerleaders for the Saints have been given more conservative outfits to wear. We applaud Davis for not backing down!
Want more fearless ladies? Start swiping on Hey! VINA to find ’em.
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou became the first black female cable car conductor in San Francisco at 16. She was turned down for the position continuously because of her race, but she wanted it so badly that she applied for the position again and again every day for three weeks until they obliged.
Later in 1974, she directed her first feature film – at age 70. The film, Down in the Delta, went on to win Best Feature in the Chicago International Film Festival along with a slew of other nominations and awards.
As a civil rights activist, she worked as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization started by Martin Luther King Jr to advocate for African American rights. She was also one of the early members of the Harlem Writers Guild, which promoted the publication of black writers.
Dear friends of fellow activists Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, Angelou bravely continued her civil rights activism after their assassinations. King was assassinated on this day in 1968 – Angelou’s 40th birthday.
In her early life, she was a dancer and singer. She toured Europe in a production of Porgy & Bess. The bravery? She turned down a lead role in a Broadway production of House of Flowers to do it. “The producers of House of Flowers asked me, ‘Are you crazy? You’re going to take a minimal role in a play going on the road when we’re offering you a principal role for a Broadway play?,'” Angelou said in an interview with NPR. “I said, I’m going to Europe. I’m going to get a chance to see places I ordinarily would never see, I only dreamed of in the little village in Arkansas in which I grew up. Oh, no, I’m going with Porgy and Bess.” Angelou said it was one of her life’s best decisions.
LIVE WITH LOVE
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Angelou loved people, she loved herself, and she loved life.
Angelou lived her life connecting people, to herself, the human experience, and each other. She was an author, an actress, an activist, a dancer, a poet, an artist, the list goes on. Through all of her artistry, she connected people. Art reflects the human experience, and Angelou was an artist in every sense.
She described loving others as the greatest success one could have.
Rev. Cecil Williams, co-founder of Glide Memorial Church and good friend of Angelou’s, said of Angelou after her death in 2014, “She did so much to bring people together. She was just one of the most human persons I have ever met.”
Angelou was charismatic and passionate. She once wrote, “I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.”
Her advice for living well? “Determine to live life with flair and laughter.”
Beyond loving others and loving life, she also often wrote on the importance of loving and respecting yourself. “I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too,” she wrote.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou
Whoever said you can either be an expert in one thing or a dabbler in many clearly had never met Angelou. Angelou won top awards in nearly every industry she touched. Most famously, her accolades for her authorship are numerous. Time magazine ranked her two-year-straight best selling book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings as one of the most influential books of the 20th century.
Besides writing, dancing, and later directing, Angelou was a professional singer, having released a record called “Calypso Lady,” and a chef with two published cookbooks to her name.
Angelou was also married at least three times. Although she tried to keep the number of times she was married from the public eye for fear of appearing “frivolous,” she truly lived her way. She was unafraid to love completely and passionately, and she was just as unafraid to walk away and start anew when her life called her to.
Clearly Angelou wasn’t afraid of new challenges, experiences, adventures, or loves. She did what she wanted to do and lived on her own terms.
LIVE KNOWING YOUR WORDS HAVE POWER
I thought, my voice killed him… I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone.
Maya Angelou
When Angelou was seven, her mother’s boyfriend raped her. Angelou told her brother, which later lead to her attacker’s trial. Due to her testimony, the man was convicted, however he only spent one day in jail. Four days after his release, her attacker was murdered. Many assume one of Angelou’s family members killed him. For five years Angelou was mute, because she believed that her words had killed someone. When she found her voice again, it was through writing. Her communication through the written word lasted long after her muteness, but she used both her lungs and her pen to change the world with her words. In fact, Angelou went on to learn to speak six languages fluently.
She wrote books and poems and screenplays, was a Grammy award winning orator, and was the second person ever to recite poetry at a presidential inauguration. Robert Frost was the first. She wrote some of the most important works of the 1900s and influenced American history, all with her words.
A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.
Maya Angelou
As you know by now, Angelou had no easy life, but she was strong and she was determined and she was alive. If anything, Angelou lived with incredible strength. She’s an inspiration and an icon. Her words have imprinted American society, and her passion for life was made meaningful by her strength of mind and heart. She was the master of her own life.
So happy birthday Dr. Maya Angelou. Thank you for living a meaningful life, and thereby giving us a written record and lived example of how to live meaningful lives, too.
Sandra Day O’Connor turns 89 today! The former Supreme Court Justice has a lot to celebrate this year, and here’s a few reasons why you should throw a little party for her, too.
Image via Wikipedia.
SHE GRADUATED FROM STANFORD
She was one of four women in her class at Stanford’s law school, and said that she had no idea how hard it would be to hold a career as a female lawyer. Despite that, she still graduated third in her entire class!
SHE WAS THE FIRST FEMALE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE OF THE U.S.
When O’Connor was sworn in on September 25th, 1981, she was the first woman to ever hold a Supreme Court seat! Three other women have followed: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan.
SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO SUPREME COURT CASES
O’Connor was methodical and practical when it came to her decisions on cases, such as Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan in 1982 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992.
SHE DOESN’T LIKE BEING CALLED A “SWING VOTE”
O’Connor ended up casting the determining vote in many high-profile Supreme Court decisions, many of which touched on abortion, affirmative action, and other contentious topics. However, she wants it to be known that she doesn’t like the term “swing vote,” because she doesn’t think justices “swing” back and forth on issues — they make decisions based on legal principles.
SHE DEALT WITH HUGE INVASIONS OF PRIVACY AS THE ONLY WOMAN ON THE SUPREME COURT
O’Connor mentions that she was the subject of “intense scrutiny” because of her position on the court, saying that people went so far as to dig through her garbage and do whatever it took to get access to her private thoughts. She also said that this didn’t change until Ruth Bader Ginsburg (another amazing vina) joined the court in 1993 — and O’Connor was kind enough to show her the ropes.
SHE KNEW HOW TO HAVE FUN
It’s hard to be a justice, and O’Connor made sure she found some time to do her own thing. She liked to play golf and tennis, and she also used to spend time with her clerks by having picnics with them!
SHE’S STARTED HER OWN NONPROFIT
After O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, she founded iCivics, which is an organization that is used to teach students about the government and encourage their participation in civic duties. She considers it to be her greatest legacy!
NO MATTER WHAT, SHE’S PAVED THE WAY FOR A MORE WOMAN-CENTRIC SUPREME COURT
From left to right: O’Connor, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Kagan. Image via Wikipedia.
Thanks to O’Connor, it’s no longer a first for women to be Supreme Court Justices. Her legacy will live on for generations, and hopefully inspire lots of young women to follow their dreams and become Justices. Here’s to many more to come!
Sandra Day O’Connor is all about empowerment, and so are we here at Hey! VINA!
It’s March 25 — that means Gloria Steinem is turning 85 today!👏 Gloria Steinem is a feminist and an activist who spoke up for women of the ’60s and ’70s through her journalistic endeavors at New York magazine and Ms. Magazine. In honor of her birthday, we rounded up our top 12 favorite quotes by the ultimate vina herself.
”A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.”
”Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”
”Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It’s about making life more fair for women everywhere. It’s not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It’s about baking a new pie.”
“Women are always saying,”We can do anything that men can do.” But Men should be saying,”We can do anything that women can do.”
”Don’t think about making women fit the world—think about making the world fit women.”
”Empathy is the most radical of human emotions.”
”We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons … but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”
”Women are not going to be equal outside the home until men are equal in it.”
”Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before.”
”For women…bras, panties, bathing suits, and other stereotypical gear are visual reminders of a commercial, idealized feminine image that our real and diverse female bodies can’t possibly fit. Without these visual references, each individual woman’s body demands to be accepted on its own terms. We stop being comparatives. We begin to be unique.”
”Don’t worry about what you should do, worry about what you can do.”
”Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood.”
Happy Birthday, Ms. Steinem! We love you here at Hey! VINA!
Yes, you, a woman, are likely sexist against women, and more specifically, against yourself. CNBC reports that studies are showing gender stereotypes that made their way into your psyche when you were in high school are still lingering in your brain and affecting your confidence in your abilities. Most noticeably, women tend to report much lower confidence in their mathematics skills than men do, often starting in high school (that’s right, girls believe they are just as capable as boys at math in elementary school). The interesting part? This is in direct contrast with the facts. Studies show minuscule differences in actual ability between genders.
Gender stereotypes we pick up in high school don’t just affect the way we talk about math class in high school (and later the degrees we choose to pursue in college), they affect our financial lives as strong, independent adults. Competent, professional women are uncomfortable talking about or taking charge of their financial lives. This is a big deal.
Not only do women rate their investing abilities lower than men do, we also seek out financial guidance significantly less than men do. In a 2013 study by Fidelity Investments, only 12 percent of Millennial women in a “couples relationship” reported holding a primary role in the family’s investing decisions. We’re talking about “the generation that has graduated more women from college than men and have made the most strides in the workforce,” says Kathleen Murphy, president of Personal Investing at Fidelity.
Women have made strides in gaining equality and making a voice for themselves recently. In the age of the Me Too movement, feminism and body positivity, we are bringing to light major issues in the way society treats women. Yet, somehow, we’ve left this important aspect of gender stereotyping behind, allowing it to take root and grow in our minds and the minds of young girls and women everywhere.
Women still earn less than men and face opportunity-for-advancement discrimination. This means that in order to have true independence, we as women “have to work harder, save more, and be our own advocates,” says Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, certified financial planner and author of a nationally syndicated personal finance column. To keep moving forward and claim our rightful and equal standing in the professional and personal world, we need to be able to successfully manage our finances. Without financial freedom, how much freedom do you really have?
When you start saving for retirement is a big deal. If you start with your first paycheck when you’re in your 20s, “you can comfortably save about 10-15 percent of your annual salary (including any contributions from your employer) and you may not have to increase that percentage for the rest of your working years,” says Schwab-Pomerantz. Starting later could mean having to put away more than 25 percent of your annual salary each year. That’s a significant difference.
Don’t just save – invest
When it comes to long-term financial planning, putting your money in the dirt just isn’t enough. If you want to be living comfortably in your later years, you need to make your money work for you. “You ideally want a diversified portfolio that’s positioned for growth,” says Schwab-Pomerantz. Yes, there’s some risk, but making smart decisions doesn’t mean making decisions on your own.
Team up with an adviser
A financial planner can help you build a sturdy and diversified portfolio, especially when you’re just starting out. Schwab-Pomerantz suggests finding an adviser who understands your goals and who you communicate well with.
Have a financial plan
The financial plan is the all-encompassing road map for your financial life. It’s a holistic look at all the interrelated pieces of the financial puzzle and can provide a lot of guidance and comfort when it comes to the way you manage your money says Schwab-Pomerantz. She says your plan “reviews your income, expenses, investments, retirement planning, insurance coverage, income tax liability, estate planning needs and—most importantly—how they all work together.”
Financial independence isn’t just about how much money you have. It’s also about having the confidence to make decisions and standing up for yourself.
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz
The only thing better than claiming your financial freedom is empowering your fellow vinas to do the same. Find your next financial planning buddy (or buddies!) on the Hey! VINA app today!
We’re back with another series of FEARLESS FEMME FRIDAYS! Rounded up this week are five *kickass* women who are proving that the future is female. Let’s keep celebrating the amazing things women are accomplishing around the world today and every day 💪🏼💃
Jasmin Paris became the first woman to win Britain’s 268-mile Montane Spine Race on Jan. 16. Paris beat her closest male competitor out of the 125 race participants by 15 hours and simultaneously broke the course record by 12 hours. Get. It. Girl. 🙌 Paris completed the course in 83 hours, 12 minutes, and 23 seconds–a full day faster than any woman had ever completed the course. Even more impressive, Paris was expressing milk from her recent pregnancy throughout the race.
Paris has a long list of brutal races under her belt, but the Montane Spine Race is known as one of the world’s most extreme. It takes place on the Pennine Way National Trail that starts in Edale in Derbyshire and ends in Kirk Yetholm, Scotland. Knowing how to navigate well is a must, as little marks mark the path through the muddy fields, steep climbs, sinkholes and gorges that racers must climb through in the middle of winter.
Paris has since been selected to race for Britain in the 2019 Trail World Championships in Miranda do Corvo in Portugal next June!
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, was sworn into Congress as the youngest representative ever on Jan. 3 to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District. Ocasio-Cortez is also the first woman of color ever to have run for the NY-14 seat, which is distressing when, according to censusreporter.org, 75 percent of the NY-14 district are people of color. Ocasio-Cortez won the popular vote over Republican Anthony Pappas with 78.2 percent of the vote. Born and raised in the Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez is committed to making education more accessible, reforming the criminal justice system, improving the job market, and expanding Medicare. Politics aside, Ocasio-Cortez is making history and continuing to prove to women everywhere that we can make big changes.
Find out more about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s background and mission at her campaign site.
Mari Copeny, 11, made waves on Twitter in December when she responded to conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren’s tweet, which stated that the “$5 billion spent on a wall will be the BEST $5 billion taxpayers EVER spent!” In response, Copeny noted how far $5 billion dollars could go in repairing Flint’s infrastructure to provide clean water to the nearly 100,000 citizens in her city. Copeny earned the nickname Little Miss Flint in 2016 after her activism for the Flint water crisis earned her national attention and a visit from President Obama.
Millie Bobby Brown, 14, became the youngest ever UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador on World Children’s Day, Nov. 20. Appropriately, she will be advocating on behalf of children and young people everywhere to promote awareness of problems faced by the vulnerable population, including deficient education and the lack of safe places to learn, the prevalence of poverty and hunger, and the detrimental effects of violence and bullying.
Brown’s new title was celebrated at the United Nations Headquarters in New York where she said it was “a dream come true,” and “a huge honor” to join the Goodwill Ambassadors at UNICEF.
Brown has been involved with UNICEF since 2016 when she hosted the United Nations 70th anniversary celebrations. She was also active in promoting UNICEF’s World Children’s Day in 2017, leading her to the symbolic appointment last fall.
Nneka Ogwumike is the president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association and announced in November that the association will be opting out of its collective bargaining agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Association in an effort to demand more equality between the NBA and the WNBA. In her essay “Bet on Women,” Ogwumike said:
“I don’t want the best and the brightest female athletes in the world dreaming about playing in the NBA. I don’t want the best and the brightest young girls growing up thinking that men are the pinnacle… I want them to dream about the league that I know ours can become. A league that has a fair and consistent work environment.”
Writer Alana Glass, a contributing sports writer for Forbes, wrote that Ogwumike’s coming changes will likely be “the most impactful collective bargaining agreements in women’s sports history.”
Ogwumike has quite the year ahead of her, but she’s armed with a passion for her league and for female athletes.
“To me, opting out means not just believing in ourselves, but going one step further: betting on ourselves, but going one step further: betting on ourselves. It means being a group of empowered women, in the year 2018, not just feeling fed up with the status quo, but going one step further: rejecting the status quo,” she said.
Happy 2019! Let’s start the New Year off right by talking about the Shine Theory. This concept, originally coined by journalist Ann Friedman and media strategist Aminatou Sow, is based around the idea that “I don’t shine if you don’t shine.” It is all about collaborating and not competing with others, especially other women.
We applaud that over here at Hey! VINA. Imagine the jealousy and hatred we can eliminate if we befriend other females instead of hating them because of their accomplishments. The workplace is an incredibly hard place for ladies to succeed, so instead of competing for those female roles in the workplace, we should be teaming up and creating even more female roles! Surrounding yourself with powerful, successful, positive women will only make you a better person yourself. Use those connections as an inspiration, and be a role model for those who are not yet as successful. Share tips, tricks and advice with each other. And also be there for each other as a shoulder to lean on. Positivity only breeds more positivity!
All the way back in 2008, President Obama’s female staffers noticed that they were the minority in the workplace and were being passed over in meetings. Instead of getting discouraged or becoming wall ornaments, they chose to back each other up. When one female staffer would make a point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to the original staffer. They began to do this on a daily basis until the men took notice. They called this method “amplification”. By President Obama’s second term, women were on par with the male staffers.
So what do you have to lose? Lights are brighter when shining together.
Jump on the Hey! VINA app and create a powerful, positive vina gang to start shining!
Have you been working at a job you enjoy, but feel like your compensation doesn’t match your work quality? We’ve been there, vinas! Luckily, we’ve compiled the best tips to getting the salary you deserve. You got this, #bossbabe!
TALK TO THE BOSS
Always ask to speak with your superior in-person or via video chat for a performance view if they are not available. To start, send them an email asking them when you can talk about your performance in a meeting or video call. If you don’t ask, you’ll never get the meeting, so just send the email! First step: Done.
MAKE A LIST
Have a list of things in your head (and on paper) from most important to least important to share with your superior proving why you deserve a higher salary. Don’t overwhelm your superior with all of these points, however. Use your strongest points in the beginning and then save a few for later to reiterate why you deserve this particular salary. In other words, you have to prove your value and worth to the company, so have real evidence to how your work has improved the company for the better. Practice saying these points out load to your vina or your partner so you’re prepared with the facts.
UP-SELL YOURSELF
Ask for a higher number you were going to ask for so that you can negotiate it to where you want it to be. If the answer is still no, ask to get a salary that is close to the number you want. Check out similar salaries on Glassdoor.com to see what comparable pay range people are getting in your field, and go from there.
HAVE CONFIDENCE
Confidence is key! You’re asking for a higher salary because you deserve it. This is a conversation, not a war. Be polite and respectful and take your time to make your points. Be sure to practice your conversation beforehand so you have all your bases covered.
BE GRACIOUS
If they say no, it’s not the end of the world. Take what you have learned and move on! Use this as a way to learn in the future to ask for what you deserve from the start.
Still not comfortable asking for the salary you deserve? Start swiping on Hey! VINA to find fellow boss babes who’ve aced the process!
Feminism is something that is talked about quite frequently, but also not enough. We’re all aware of the Feminist Movement, and a lot of us probably consider ourselves to be feminists (woohoo!), but it is still a conversation that needs to be had, a history that needs to be celebrated and a future that needs to be fought for. Many of us might be unaware of some of the most influential women and men behind the movement. After all, it is centuries old, meaning a lot of people have done their part in that span of time. We are here today to share with you our favorite feminists of all time: a collection of the most incredible humans who helped shape her-story.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
It’s difficult to credit feminism to a single person, but Simone de Beauvoir is the feminist who made big changes. The ideologies of the movement originated from all different sources, dating back centuries. However, her 1949 publication, The Second Sex is often considered as a foundation for the modern feminist movement. She is well-known as one of the first females to publicly denounce the patriarchy, and we think that’s pretty incredible. Beauvoir was insanely heroic for publishing her work, as it was widely criticized and rejected at the time.
MARLENE DIETRICH
This German and American feminist and actress, Marlene Dietrich, is one of our favorite #girlbosses. During her reign of fame, she was often spotted wearing trousers and suits. While this may be rather commonplace today, back then it was incredibly uncommon and taboo. Not only did this confidence pave the way for women’s liberation from skirts and dresses, but it also reminds us that what women put on their bodies implies nothing and is for no one but themselves.
GLORIA JEAN WATKINS
Gloria Jean Watkins, most well known by her pen name, Bell Hooks, made amazing moves towards equality and getting women’s voices heard. Her first work was inspired by another of our favorite feminists of all time, Sojourner Truth, and is titled Ain’t I a Woman: Black women and feminism. Hook examines racism and sexism against black women across her numerous publications, teachings, and works. She has also made numerous contributions to education through proposing and promoting environmental tactics to support the growth of students in partnership with their teachers. She’s perhaps most famously known for her book, Feminism is for Everybody, supporting the idea that feminism should be accepted by the masses through equal interaction between the sexes.
GLORIA STEINEM
Another one of our favorite feminists is Gloria Steinem, the leader of the first women’s march. Steinem is known for being a spearhead of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. We love Gloria for her activist efforts all across the board. In addition to fighting for gender equality, she’d had a hand in several political efforts fighting for general human rights. She has also contributed widely to women’s visibility and power in the media.
EMMA WATSON
How could the wonderfully smart and talented Emma Watson not be one of our favorite feminists?! Our favorite part about Emma Watson is her campaign, HeForShe. HeForShe advocates for all genders to collaborate to make a positive change on the inequalities, injustices, and stereotypes faced by people who identify as feminine. We think this is so powerful because feminism should be a collaborative effort. Excluding any gender from the feminist conversation is the opposite of the point, and we love that she is advocating for change together, as one.
WOMEN TODAY
The truth is, we could go on forever naming all the feminists that we love and admire. But we’d like to take a moment to recognize our most favorite feminist of all time: you … yes, you! We love our VINA community and all you other powerful humans out there. This community is about fostering meaningful relationships between like-minded individuals. It’s bringing people together to make one another better. It’s providing others with the support, tools, and love that they need to be the best version of themselves. It’s standing together as one and fighting for what we believe in. We thrive on all of you out there, and you inspire us more than we can ever express. Here’s to you, vinas! And here’s to you, feminists of the past, present, and future!
Looking for vinas to empower you? Join the Hey! VINA app and start finding them!
Vinas, 2018 has been our year. Never before have women been more active in the political arena, more prominent in the business world and more present on social media platforms. We are striving to break through all of the ceilings that once held us back. We have become more independent than ever before and we know we’re not planning on slowing down any time soon!
The best way to keep this momentum going is to be a monumental force in the workplace. And that means shooting your professional shot.
For those who may not know, “shoot your shot” comes from the concept that basketball players should just shoot the ball, even if they don’t know if they’ll make the shot or not. It is about having enough faith in themselves to believe that although the odds are against them, they will still make that shot anyways. We cheer on our vinas as they shoot their shots in relationships, but when they are shooting for their professional goals, we are more hesitant. Why is that?
Perhaps it’s because we are too afraid of falling into the never ending stereotype that a woman is “demanding” or “bossy” in the workplace. But here’s a reality check: going after what you want doesn’t equate you to any of those terms. It makes you a go-getter in a society that expects you to accept what is given to you with a cute smile and a polite “thank you.”
Thankfully for us, this isn’t the 1940s. Women today aren’t doing the bare minimum anymore and neither should you. Men are moving forward in this world because they have no fear of backlash from others and we need to rid ourselves of that fear as well. Women are making room for other women to move up in the world, and to shy away from opportunities out of fear of what others will have to say would be unfair to ourselves.
Don’t believe me? Think of any of the boss vinas you look up to and you’ll see all of them had to brazenly chase what they wanted to get it. Thanks to women like Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, and Cardi B, we have proof that having a strong work ethic and accepting nothing but greatness is the new standards all vinas should be setting.
It’s time for us to shoot our professional shot–even if it’s from half court and we aren’t really sure we’ll make it. Because you never know if that shot will be the one that wins the game.
Want to meet other #girlbosses like you? There’s tons of vinas waiting for you in our free communities. Start swiping!
