The Power of Women

I am starting to understand what it means to be a writer. Finding those moments in your life that tie together and give you the inspiration to put some words together that make sense.

My inspiration for this post came to me through the brilliant women in my life recently.  I had a great conversation this week with a women who has been” giving back” through her business since her early twenties ( she is now in her early forties). We chatted about how women had changed over the past 15 years. Fifteen years ago the climb to the top was a tough one. Every stepped had to be earned and sometimes repeated. Now we are women of power. We are the women of Sex in City. Brilliant, strong, sensitive. We can do anything and we want to do it all.

Over the past week I have had an unusual opportunity spend time with 3 remarkable women. This is unusual for two reasons.

1) They are all brilliant in their own right.

2) I am a mother of a 3 year old that works from home and finding the time to talk about something other than potty training, preschool or temper tantrums tends to be a remarkable feat these days.

At the end of each conversation, I left with the same though evoking experience: I was so inspired and excited to talk to women that are all social entrepreneurs. They are each business owners with very different skills from one another. One is a marketing guru that writes the stories of individual business, another an expert in sport marketing and the last, a brilliant musician and artist. They each “give back” through their business as well. They all have a unique skills related to their business that give back through volunteerism, creativity, and fundraising. It’s not something they have to do, they do with a natural compassion and understanding for the world around them. They use their creative ability, their intelligence, their passion for their trade and there intuitive need to give back.

I recently came a across a site called social edge. The did a feature article call “Women donors had emerged as a power in philanthropy”. Here is a paragraph from the article:

“Women’s giving is growing in amount and power.  According to a study on the role of women’s funds by the Foundation Center and Women’s Funding Network (WFN), the member funds of WFN have assets of $465 million and give an estimated $60 million a year and leverage millions more through networks and relationships. The US IRS reported that 43% of people with assets over $1.5 million  in the USare now women. Plus, because the majority of women engaged in giving also volunteer and engaging in social action, their power is even greater than their money implies.”

The Women Moving Millions campaign who have raised $180 million in 3 years in partnership with Women’s Funding Network and state in their story:

“History is shifting. Women are funding women at bold new levels – millions of dollars. We are inspired by this new path in philanthropy to make the leap from giving charitably to investing strategically in women, first and foremost. We are united, based on our shared passions, instinct for democracy and belief in the power of women and girls to be vigorous agents of change on every pressing social issue we face today.”

I read a book I recently read called Building Social Business by Muhhamad Yumas. The book is all about social entrepreneurship and how the micro-credit system.  They specifically support women becuase of their ability and commitment to not only rising up from extreme poverty, but also their ability to give back to their communities. These stories are remarkable about how women have so many solutions for sustainability and longevity in villages where there is nothing. They pass on this education and the skills to the next generation.

All over the world women are a major part of how families and companies give.

Women guide their families on where and how they will give.
Women are very specific about who they give to and why.
Women give time, effort, compassion and brilliance.
Women give to create change. To understand, support by solve problems. They are specific and clear about their giving.

This post is celebrating women and how far we have come.For the inspiration we give each other. For our power within ourselves and for creating change in the world.