TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL WOMEN...
Janine Mendes-Franco
Happy International Women’s Day!
It is difficult to fathom that a year has come and gone since we did our last IWD greeting in March 2021, which highlighted some of Trinidad’s most treasured women. It’s been a tough year to say the least, but therefore even more important to praise the women in our lives — the hardworking mothers, the believers, the researchers, the survivors. When I reflect on what being a physician and mother during the last year of this pandemic has meant to me, the word “empowerment” keeps resonating.
The creator of New York City’s famous “Fearless Girl" statue, artist Kristen Visbal, wanted to "call attention to the glass ceiling in the Wall Street community that so many women have faced. […] for promotion and for equal pay. I wanted her to be, essentially, a teaching tool.” She was meant improve diversity and increase the number of women sitting on corporate boards and she is doing so.
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), which commissioned the statute, claims that since “Fearless Girl” was installed on March 7, 2017, the firm has identified 1,486 companies without a woman on their board, of which 862 now have a female director. I think this is truly fantastic.
Former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, put it perfectly when she said, “For me, being a mother made me a better professional, because coming home every night to my girls reminded me what I was working for. And being a professional made me a better mother, because by pursuing my dreams, I was modeling for my girls how to pursue their dreams.”
Businesswoman Sara Blakely also hit the nail on the head when she spoke out in support of working mothers: “This struggle is real. The juggle is real. That's why everyone should hire working mothers. They are put in crazy situations all the time and are forced to problem-solve. They are some of my most resourceful employees.”
For me personally, I feel that I am teaching my kids a solid work ethic. We truly have to put in the effort and work hard for the things that are important to us in this life.
Tonya with her family
According to actress Angelina Jolie, “If you love what you do […] somehow that drives you forward to enjoy it all. Even the chaos, even the exhaustion of it, and even when it seems out of balance.”
Finally, it’s crucial that as women, we support one another. In the words of another very accomplished woman, Amal Clooney, “choosing to protect and celebrate each other instead of competing or criticizing one another […] is something we can practice every day, no matter where we are and what we do.”