This is not a bra-bashing, patriarchy destroying campaign to promote women in the workforce. I have never agreed with these movements, despite being a college women pursuing a degree in the medical field. I have seen the statistics as far as the numbers of women accepted to medical school, the number of female surgeons versus males, and the percentage of CEO’s of whom are women. However, none of these statistics have ever made me passionate about the feminist movement. While I did find these numbers slightly bewildering, I honestly did not have any motivation or passion to change this.
This past weekend, I attended the Pi Beta Phi Leadership Institute, a convention promoting leadership among members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority across the nation. At this convention, I listened to over 200 college women share the visions they had for the world, along with the steps they planned on taking in order to achieve their goals. I was truly in awe of the wide scope of visions each woman spoke of; I had never heard a group of women known as “sorority girls” speak of such amazing things they wished to accomplish. While some women wished to reform education, others promised to promote confidence among young girls. On the first day, I was told that this conference was less about being a leader in Pi Phi, and more about being a leader as a woman. Immediately, I thought ‘Oh great, another campaign of girls talking about how so totally unfair it is that girls make less money than men.' Needless to say, I was a little nervous about how the rest of the convention would unfold.
Fast forward to this morning, four days later, and my entire outlook on the feminist movement has changed. This past weekend, I witnessed a large group of college women from completely different backgrounds and from all across the country, come together to inspire, encourage, and empower each other. That, I believe, is the form feminism should take; not a campaign focused solely on raising the statistics or closing the gender gap in the workforce. In my opinion, feminism should be focused on women empowering other women, encouraging each other to work towards our goals and visions for the world.
Over the weekend, I witnessed some truly incredible things. Out of all the things I experienced this weekend, however, one resonates with me the most. One woman stood up in front of the group and said “If you really knew me, you would know.. that I am a graphic designer, and I am damn good at what I do." Now, while this is a powerful statement, it was the group’s reaction to this that inspired me to write this article. How many times have you, as women, ever felt the need to downplay your successes by saying something along the lines of “Oh it was really no big deal” or “Oh I just got lucky”? Personally, this is something I am always conscious of when speaking of something I am proud of. Amazingly, all 200+ women in the room, most of whom had never spoken two words to her, cheered for her that she had the confidence to proudly say she is good at what she does; not a single woman in that room make a statement on how ‘full of herself’ she must be. Rather, we all encouraged one another to pursue our passions, and to make the difference we want to see in the world. So, ladies, lets make a vow to stop downplaying our successes in fear of coming across as cocky. Own your successes, and be confident, for you have the backing of the rest of the female population!
As I walked off the Washington University campus this morning to travel halfway across the country home, I had one line that remained in my head. Throughout the convention, the motto used was “Turning the impossible into the inevitable”. If we, as women, come together to support, encourage, and empower each other, then I truly believe closing the gender gap will become inevitable.
So, I thank you, Pi Phi, for changing my entire outlook on feminism. Now, I am proud to call myself a feminist.
