#Girls Can Change The World!

(Tonight I watched the final shows of the Oprah Show and it inspired me to express my feelings and thoughts about Girl Power that is emerging across our world. I will continue the CDI story in my upcoming blogs).

#Girls Can Change The World.

“…and then the day came 
when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful 
than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin

I received this as a thank you from the 2,000 women employees who attended the Hewlett-Packard’s 1995 Technical/Professional Women’s Conference.  Frances Hesselbein and I participated on a panel discussing the Power of Women. Throughout the ages women have been yearning for their voices to be heard, for the good of all girls, women and the world - I believe this is our time.

I feel our world is begging for us to blossom. The signs of our times, the conditions of our families, communities, organizations, institutions, nations and our planet are compelling reasons for women and girls to have our voices authentically heard, and our gifts valued! On an intuitive level I believe we feel this yearning. Now more than ever we need to go inside and find the courage and the will to live our dreams.

People all over the world are awakening their spirit in pursuit of freedom and self-expression. My vision is that a global movement arises that inspires girls and women to discover, develop and live their dreams. It is time to usher A New Day into our world - a day that feminine values, principles and energy participate in full partnership with men and the masculine energy. I define feminine values as compassion, peace, children and families, community, sustainability, patience, intuition, and most of all love.

I believe women have qualities and behaviors the world desperately needs. Most women have a deep commitment to nurturing the growth and development of life.  When confronted with conflict, most girls and women seek peaceful solutions - violence is rarely their choice. Women and girls trust their intuition; they make decisions with their hearts as well as their minds. Most women and girls tend to value compassion and grace, over arrogance and brawn, and unconditional love is generally at the heart of their relationships. When the feminine voice is authentically heard in partnership with the masculine voice, we will have all the mind and heart power to collectively overcome our greatest challenges and create a new and better world.


Compelling Reasons to unleash the feminine voice – To save our world! We only need to look at the state of our world to know things must change, and they must change soon! To continue to make decisions and take actions from a perspective that is predominately rooted in masculine principles and energy will have devastating consequences to us all.


When I first started researching the state of girls and women in our world, I was sure most of my sadness would be for women in the Middle East and Africa. Although in many of those cultures and countries the conditions for girls and women are severe, I have only to look in my own backyard to see the world way out of balance:

• Among 42 countries with “high human development” levels, the US currently ranks 37th. We are in the bottom five in terms of gender equality according to the United Nations

• Amnesty International reports “…over the last 20 years deaths from pregnancy and childbirth in the United States have doubled”. It's more dangerous to give birth in the United States than in 49 other countries and yet we spend more on healthcare than any country in the world.

• There are 12 women presidents and 12 women prime minister in the world - those countries with women leaders include: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, India, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Bangladesh, Croatia, Peru, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago. These are places many would label as developing countries

• In the current US Congress, women hold only 16% of the seats. The U.S. ranks #69 among countries with the highest percentage of women in government. Countries that have a higher percentage of women include countries such as Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uganda.

• Women still make 78 cents for every dollar a man earns in the United States, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity.

• In 2010 the report by the White House Project shows that U.S. women are still just 3 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.

• And the list goes on…

I have experienced first hand the unintended consequences of male dominated decision-making. As I shared in this blog in My Story which begain April 1, 2011, I was one of two women to be the first female probation officers to supervise adult male felons on probation in Detroit. I was the first female treatment director in an adult male prison in the Michigan Department of Corrections; I was the first female to serve on the senior leadership team at Herman Miller, Inc.  I have witnessed and experienced the damaging affect “group think” creates when the room lacks diversity. My colleagues at Herman Miller expressed to me that when a women joins the team something changes. The team becomes more thoughtful and considerate of consequences their decisions may have on the greater community. We need that thoughtfulness in our government and business leaders around the world because these two sectors fundamentally control the world.

I must admit to you that as I express my thoughts on women claiming our rightful place in life, I feel my own hesitancy and anxiousness. How does this feeling rise up in me given my background and experiences; a feeling that I (we) must release.  We (the females) must take responsibility for the state of girls and women around the world. Playing victim or helpless does not serve anyone. It is time for us to bring our world into balance. This is something girls and women must do. We too are children of God; we deserve to pursue happiness and live our dreams. Most important the girls and women of our world have the responsibility to find the courage to fully blossom and let our voices be heard. We the mothers of life can no longer be silent - we owe this to all life. This is our time!

I truly believe we can create a beautiful, inclusive world that values all people and all living things – we are all brilliant, and endowed the power of the universe.

I invite your thoughts, ideas and/or feedback on this blog - let your voice be heard, whether you agree, disagree or just want to say something!


May all your beautiful hopes and dreams come true!


Michele
Transformation Catalyst
www.dreammakers.org