Women’s History Month Wrap Up — 4 Lessons Learned

Apr 11

It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway into April! Alison and I spent time researching and writing about various women, contemporary and historical, for Women’s History Month in March and learned a ton. It was both disappointing to see how much strife women have endured, even in modern times, yet inspiring to see how their spirits kept them afloat. Each and every woman we highlighted truly broke the mold, for which we eternally thankful.

Both for myself and for my readers, I wanted to recap some of the key lessons I am taking away from last month. We found 4 themes that overarchingly applied to these game-changing women.

Familial support matters

Unsurprisingly, many, but certainly not all, of the women featured here came from wealthy families that afforded them access to a great education, resources, and influential social circles. What is even more important than having a well-to-do start in life is having parents that are comfortable challenging gender norms and supporting their children come hell or high water. Many of the women we wrote about had parents that defied the expectations of the day. If you are a parent, please take note!

Amelia Earhart’s mother let her daughters run around in bloomers vs. forcing them to dress like “nice little girls.”
Taylor Swift’s parents relocated from New Jersey to Tennessee so she could follow her dreams of becoming a musical artist.
Maria Montessori’s parents helped her receive an excellent education during a time when it was very rare for women, and also moved across Italy to support her education.
Stephanie Lampkin credits her aunt Greta for her entry into tech. While her mom was on welfare and previously homeless, her aunt supported them and got her into Black Data Processing Associates, a summer coding camp that enabled her to become a full-stack developer, earning AP Computer Science classes in high school.
Malala Yousafzai’s dad was a huge supporter of her education and education for all women. This upbringing instilled in Malala the need to speak up on behalf of girls and their right to learn.
Mary Shelley’s father supported her education by supplying her with a governess, a tutor, and a library full of books.
Anshu Jain’s father believed women should have an education and not just marry and settle down. This led her to two advanced degrees and an outstanding career in leadership.

Put it into action: Who were the most positively influential people in your youth? Whether a parent, cousin, or teacher, who believed in you and helped you see more in yourself than you otherwise may have? Reflect on that person and the profound impact they had on your life. See if their belief in you can push you even further. And definitely consider the positive impact you can have on others.

Change requires challenging the status quo

Living a life according to your values and beliefs can be difficult no matter what era you’re living in, but it’s certainly more challenging if you live in a period or a society that doesn’t see you as worthy. Time and again, the women we wrote about have challenged the status quo in order to force change in far-reaching ways.

Eleanor Roosevelt helped create the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has been a catalyst for improving human rights in many countries around the world.
Stephanie Lampkin is the CEO of a software company that is challenging modern hiring practices to provide more opportunities to women and minorities by programmatically removing unconscious bias from the equation. Founders including Julie Rice, Christina Stembel, and Rachel Haurwitz have cited encountering bias when trying to get their businesses going.
For a very long time, women were effectively barred from achieving higher education. While not as common today, this is still a challenge for women in certain areas of the world, largely due to certain religious beliefs. These barriers were highlighted prominently in the stories of Malala Yousafzai, Patsy Mink, and Christina Stembel. No wonder Helen Gardner was a vocal supporter of women’s rights and a detractor of Christianity and its impact on women. On a similar note, I loved learning that Coretta Scott King insisted the word “obey” be removed from her wedding vows.
Nikki McIver-Brown was determined to bring excellent care to birthing women, especially black women that don’t get quality treatment. She opened one of very few black-owned birthing centers in the US and established a fund to help low-income mamas.
Amelia Earhart once refused to fly an actress to a flight contest because the contest refused to allow entry to female pilots. She went on to break many records and founded an international organization for female pilots.
Emma McIlroy is challenging the gender norms that come with clothing by creating attire for anyone.

As hard as it may be to believe, some rules really are made to be broken. Rules often exist to keep those with power in power, maintaining the status quo and keeping marginalized groups in line. As research has shown, women tend to be rules followers because these expectations have been socialized into women from a very early age. Rules can be both explicit and implicit. Explicit rules are the kind you might go to jail for breaking whereas implicit rules are reinforced by cultural norms, like when you’re told you’re being too aggressive at work.

Eleanor Roosevelt held women-only press conferences since, at the time, female reporters weren’t allowed in the White House. By creating a forum for otherwise disenfranchised people, she was able to wield widespread influence by having her message carried by many media outlets.
Rosa Parks wouldn’t be a common household name if she hadn’t decided to take a stand, or rather a seat, for what she believed in. Her refusal to give up her seat on a bus led the way for a major shift in civil rights.
You’ve heard the phrase, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” But a critical part of that phrase has to be missing… It really should say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and then beat ‘em from the inside.” Thanks to amazing women that have gone into politics and law, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Helen Gardner, and Patsy Mink, we have actually seen “the rules” change for the better.

Put it into action: Where can you challenge what’s generally thought to be acceptable? Where have you been silenced? Take inspiration from the game-changing women mentioned here and resist being put into a box. Remember the words of AOC, “The reason women are critiqued for being too loud or too meek, too big or too small, too smart to be attractive or too attractive to be smart, is to belittle women out of standing up publicly. The goal is to ‘critique’ into submission. & That applies to anyone challenging power.” Maybe it’s as simple as a man talking over you in a meeting. Think about times in your life where this has happened, or even if it’s happening now, and think about how you’ll address it going forward. What can you learn from your past and what can you change going forward?

The importance of teaming up

Whether you build the team, inherit the team, or simply participate, change and success require more than one person. As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler co-founded SoulCycle after sharing their passion for fitness and their desire to make exercise something people loved. Julie used her connections in talent management to recruit instructors and gain famous, devoted followers.
Co-Founder of Mented Cosmetics, KJ Miller, met her partner, Amanda Johnson, at Harvard Business School. They both felt the gap in the marketplace for a good quality nude lipstick for African American women and decided to fill it.
In the spirit of furthering research into human lactation, breastfeeding, and the surrounding struggles, Donna Geddes now leads a research group at the University of Western Australia that is informing clinical practices around the world.

As important as it is for women to be willing to stand up and demand change, it’s equally as important for men to stand behind them, advocating for them and being willing to speak truth to power. Change occurs when those that have power are willing to see the unfairness towards those that lack it and make efforts to right those wrongs.

If it hadn’t been for Ted Skopinski telling their supervisor at NASA that Katherine Johnson deserved credit for a report they’d worked on together, she wouldn’t have become the first woman in that division to have her name included on a publication.
If it wasn’t for Swedish mathematician Gösta Mittag-Leffler who happened to be a member of the Nobel Prize Committee in 1903, it’s likely Marie Curie wouldn't have received any credit for her contributions to the Novel prize for Physics.

Put it into action: Have you found a mentor with whom you really connect? If so, then the next step is to make them your advocate or partner. Do you already have an amazing advocate at work, home or school that can help you achieve your goals? Consider how you’d get people on board to further your cause or your business.

You only fail when you quit

One thing all of the women we featured have in common is their unwavering commitment to their dreams. They put a ton of focus into learning, growing, and achieving their goals. More than simply being employees, each of them followed their life’s passion. Despite numerous challenges and setbacks, they didn’t throw in the towel. Often they pivoted their direction, but they never gave up. And they put in the hours, the sweat, and the tears to bring their dreams to life.

If you aren’t getting the appreciation or opportunities you deserve, stay true to who you are and find another path, like Bozoma Saint John.
When you look up “hustle” in the dictionary, you’ll see Sara Blakely’s photo. She is an amazing example of how to relentlessly pursue your dreams. Similarly, Emily Weiss is another great example of a woman that started a massive business while still working to pay the bills and burning the midnight oil.
If you’re passionate, you don’t quit. Georgia O’Keefe created art until she was 96 years old, two years before her death, well after her eyesight failed her.
Like a phoenix from the ashes, Suzy Batiz overcame two failed businesses, a suicide attempt, and domestic violence to become a multimillionaire. She has great advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Put it into action: I am sure that every single one of these women has had those “dark night of the soul” moments where they feel like giving it all up. The difference between those that almost made it and those that did make it could be one more pitch, one more interview, one more email. When you know that the difference between winning and losing could be just one more attempt, you’ll never give up. Take a look at where you are and where you want to go. What will it take to get there? Is it connections? Is it education? Determine what those items are and make a plan to achieve them. As a runner, before I set out on my long runs (usually five miles), I used to visualize every mile as a series of bowling pins. And I would simply tell myself that I was “setting them up and knocking them down.” It’s the same with every goal, personal or business. You just have to set them up and knock them down in order to succeed.

While these are general guidelines, they are not like the laws of physics that everything in nature must conform to. Even amongst the women we featured, many of them followed different paths. We hope you find their stories as inspirational as we have. For the full list of women feature in the month of March, visit our Women’s History Month page, and please do choose to challenge.