This post is for all the women of the world. Happy Women’s History Month. Now, I’m sure you’ve seen the typical early 2000’s trope, it’s a girl in middle school (or high school). She’s unpopular and gets bullied on a regular basis by another girl. Some of us have had first hand experience with bullying or (unfortunately) being the bully.
Women are often taught by the media to compete with each other-to tear each other down. And at a certain point we have to stop and ask ourselves-why? Why tear each other down? Why not lift each other up? Isn’t it difficult enough for us having to deal with the misogynists in this world? Shouldn’t we be working together to tell these misogynists to shut up instead?
Today I want to discuss how women can support each other.
- Compliments
One of the simplest ways to make a woman’s day is with a compliment. Now, never make a comment about a woman’s weight. Whether you think she’s lost or gained weight, stay away from these types of comments. These can be triggering for a lot of us.
Compliments can include anything from “I love your top today,” to “Great job on that presentation today Kelly.” These compliments may seem small, but they can really make someone’s day. These could be huge for that woman. It’s not much, but can really make a difference.
- Getting to Know Them
Of course I want to preface this by saying that you want to make sure that this woman actually wants to get to know you before continuing a conversation with her. Look for social cues on that such as her being short with you.
But taking the time to do more than just say hello to someone, can really brighten their day. Who knows? Maybe they are having a bad day and could use a laugh? Or maybe they have nobody to sit with them at lunch and you asking them to sit with you makes them feel included? Words are powerful-so get to know the women you go to school with/work with. You might just make a friend out of it.
- Stand Up for Each Other
As women-we have to stick up for each other. For example, maybe you’re in a meeting and a male coworker makes an inappropriate comment about a female coworker. Say something. Call him out. Report him if you have to. Because if you were in that same situation (where he made that comment about you) you would want someone to be in your corner as well. We have to stand against misogynistic comments.
Another example, Janice is in a marketing meeting at work and Molly has a great marketing tactic that she brings up. Nobody acknowledges the tactic or says anything about it. Then, 5 minutes later Tim brings up the exact same idea as Molly-claiming it as his own. Janice then says “Yes, that was a great idea that Molly brought up a few minutes ago.” Janice prevented Tim from stealing Molly’s idea. Having someone’s back like that can make all the difference.
- Leave the Judgment at Home
Now, trying not to judge others can be tough. My advice on this is to try to put yourself in other women’s shoes.You may not agree with everyone’s life choices. But they still have every right to make whatever choices they want. It’s 2022 and women can be whatever they want to be. And just because you wouldn’t choose Sally’s career path, house, outfit, or lifestyle for yourself, doesn’t mean that Sally isn’t valid in choosing that lifestyle for herself. We are all different and that’s what makes us all special.
So before you start gossiping about Carrie’s outfit or Sally getting a 4th cat, just step back for a moment and think about it. What do you really gain from gossiping about other women’s choices? Nothing at all. And I’m sure you’ll just feel crappy about it after you do.
So those are just a few ways that us women can try to build each other up. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with. So let’s try to stick together instead of tearing each other apart.
Topics We Often Think About 