Navigating in the real world is difficult for everyone, but for women, it’s more difficult in many ways.
People around me always tried to tell me what I should and should not do. It doesn’t matter what I did; I always heard that I did something wrong because “I am too young,” or “I am too old,” ‘I don’t smile enough,” or “I smile a lot.”
As a little girl, I learned how to ignore bullies. As a teenager, I learned something new. I realized that if you are a woman, you should work three times harder than a man (doing the same job!) This is not because you are less talented than a man is. Some people and society decided and assigned a “specific place” for women to be in.
I always worked three times harder than men. It’s was a priority for me to be better, to know as much as possible about my work or anything else I am doing. It was and still is important to me. As a freelancer, I know that I could not get a project just because I am a woman. Yes, it’s that simple. It’s always someone who has an opinion about what women should and should not do. It’s always someone who thinks that a “woman’s place is in the kitchen,” or a woman is not strong enough, or someone who disagrees with a woman’s outfit “it’s too short” or “it’s too long”. It’s always “something” or not enough.
I spent a lot of time in my life trying to change something about me to look “more professional and be acceptable in the man dominated world.” I thought if I change my hairstyle or dress style, wear makeup, not wear makeup, or change anything else it will help me. I tried to find “that one thing” that will help people to understand that I am as smart and hard-working a professional as any man in my profession.
I did not find “that one thing” for a long time. It took some time to understand that I don’t care about what society decided for me. I am not spending my time anymore to find “that one thing.” I know who I am, and I don’t need to prove it to anyone. If you ask me if everything is better now and sexism disappeared from my life? My answer is no. I still need to prove every single day that I am who I am. Sexism still exists. Some people with a twisted understanding will always try to show a woman her place. But, news flash: no woman will accept it, keep silent, or cry anymore. It’s the 21st century, and it is long overdue for the world to understand and accept that a woman is a full member of society, that women belong in the office, business, meeting, project, or any decision-making place.
I decided to share this today with you, women and girls, because I want each of you to understand earlier than later that YOU ARE a full member of society. I want you to realize that you are intelligent, beautiful, strong, and can build any business you wish. You don’t have to waste YOUR time to find “that one thing.” You have “that one thing,” and it’s YOU.