“When sleeping women wake, mountains move.”
In a new guest column, leadership speaker and coach Dima Ghawi says this Chinese proverb kept repeating in her head during the recent Women’s March on Washington.
“What started as a Facebook post calling for women to march in the nation’s capitol resulted in the birth of hundreds of ‘sister marches’ that spread throughout cities across the U.S. and world,” Ghawi writes. “The marches sent powerful messages that extend far beyond politics or political parties. These peaceful marches signified a deep desire that people have to elevate women’s status in society and business.”
Ghawi says it was not only inspiring to see millions marching as one global nation, but also served as “proof that the challenges women face are beyond geographical borders and cultures.”
Now, Ghawi says, it’s time for each one of us to address these issues individually and as one humanity.
“As women, we should not just march one day to voice our daily challenges,” she writes. “We need to march every single day.”
Ghawi says there are four ways in which women can march each day: By investing in themselves; believing in themselves; questioning the norm and driving change; and empowering other women.
“Let’s march each and every day by continuing to grow professionally; believing in our abilities; questioning and being an active driver of change; and influencing the new generation of women. When we do these, we will wake up and our eyes will open wide to endless possibilities,” she writes, “and then mountains will move.”
Read the full column, and see a TEDx speech Ghawi recently delivered at Spring Hill College. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
