The TV show "Mad Men" shows, in part, the journey of Joan Holloway from stereotypical secretary who dreams of nothing more than being the pampered housewife of a wealthy doctor into a bad-ass single mother and entrepreneur. Through the course of the show, she manages to climb the ranks until she becomes a partner in her firm and even brings in her own clients. At the end of it, her company is taken over by a larger company which refuses to take her seriously and essentially pushes her out simply for being a woman in a high power position.

“Courage is what a woman has left when she’s lost everything else.”

On Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Women for Women International celebrated the courage of women everywhere at their 10th annual Match Her Courage Luncheon in New York City.

Internationally-acclaimed author and spiritual teacher, Marianne Williamson, joined the event as an ambassador for Women for Women International. When asked what this event means to her, she said, “If we want peace, we can have it. It’s not a mystery; it’s a lack of political will. There is no force more important than the awakening of American women to what’s happening in the world.”

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives who love and care for us unconditionally. Women who bring us hope, joy and meaning. Women who comfort us when we’re sad and know just the thing to make us laugh. Women who walked before us to give us a better life.

This Mother’s Day, consider giving another woman a better life. As we celebrate and honor the women who made an impact on us, we can partner with Women for Women International to make an impact on the world.

Photo credit: Monilekan/Women for Women International

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. This year, that date fell on April 10th, meaning women must work more than 3 extra months to earn an equal salary to our male counterparts.

The gender pay gap – which states that women, on average, make 77 cents for every dollar that men earn – is often mocked as a myth, a mistake or a lie. And not just by men; my female boss didn’t believe me when I shared this statistic with her.

In a recent blog post, I shared an even more deflating statistic: at this rate, gender parity is over 200 years away!

Happy International Women's Day 2018!

Women have made great strides in the pursuit of gender equality over the last few decades, but we still have a long way to go.

The World Economic Forum's 2017 Gender Gap Report tells us that gender parity is over 200 years away!

I don't know about you, but I'm not that patient. I want to see parity in my lifetime.

That's why I'm so passionate about empowering my clients and followers to discover their natural strengths and talents, harness their inner power, and step boldly into their dream lives.

This year's IWD theme is #PressforProgress. There has never been a more important time to keep working toward equality. 

On the heels of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, IWD has the power to fuel momentum for women everywhere to stand up and take action.

Are you ready to be the change we all want to see?