I don’t often jump up on a feminist high horse but I have a declaration for y’all. I am a whole-hearted equal opportunity seeking, I-am-woman-hear-me-roar, cheerleader for errybody around me, wild romantic and optimistic kinda girl. I have been lucky enough to have been raised and surrounded by strong women my entire life. My grandmother is one of the strongest humans and most loving person I know. My mother is basically a giant heart with arms and legs, she is the soul of our nuclear family and essentially our lives are only on track because she is at the helm. My sister is a brazen lioness who is the most assured, fiercely loyal, intelligent and genuine woman in my world. My cousin is unapologetically herself, witty, passionate and insanely generous in her time and energy and love. My girlfriends all work in various industries and are each a force to be reckoned with in their respective fields. But my favourite thing about my amazing posse? Our supportiveness and genuine interest in one another’s passions. The stereotyped and mass-media-pumped image of women competing against one another and tearing one another down just does NOT fly with us. We are the first to celebrate one another’s wins and we are there just as fast, with a bottle of vino and block of chocolate (hey, some stereotypes do have merit), when shit hits the fan and things don’t go so well. Fellas who might be reading this – never underestimate the sisterhood. There ain’t no love like the love between girlfriends. We will forever be their number one fan, pom pom waving cheerleader and an unwavering source of unconditional love and support.

I recently was chatting with a girlfriend about how special and rare it is to be able to see one another as our professional selves. Tales of work are usually discussed casually over cocktails with an anecdotal account of a work win or challenge that completely under represents the persons’ fierceness and integrity. Hearing, in passing, about your friend achieving x, y and z is a completely different kettle of fish than being able to bare witness to their career selves and their passion and knowledge and inspiring zest for what they do. When we are lucky enough to experience these rare glimpses, a deep discussion of aspirations, goals and vision, or seeing your girl work her magic at a work event, it’s breathtaking and we are completely taken aback by their presence and bossiness (in the best way).

Which leads me to my evening. I just spent it in the company of over 130 local women in business. These women represented themselves in the various industries of retail, hospitality, services, health care, tourism, education, commerce and much more. They spoke with such passion and intelligence and grace and humility and divine femininity. I stood there soaking up all of the energy of the room and have never been so grateful for my double X chromosome.

Have you ever stopped to appreciate how fucking incredible women are? The past ten, twenty, thirty years have birthed a completely new era for women’s rights and roles. My girlfriend and I reflected on the drive home on how many women would have been in that room fifteen years ago. We bet very few. Far less than the 130 that filled every corner of the room this evening. We are so blessed, especially in Australia, to have a multitude of opportunities right at our fingertips. We can literally choose to be whatever and whoever we wish to be. And, more often than not, we choose to juggle a few different titles and hats and roles (because we are crazy like that). Housekeepers, mothers, wives, girlfriends, friends, sisters, cousins, waitresses, teachers, accountants, entrepreneurs, assistants … We can have it all, be it all, dream it all. In both the professional arena where three women in business were interviewed as part of the event, as well as within my own little chat circles, I was blown away by the heart that women brought to their work. We, as women, are generally more emotional beings, and everything we do is infused with love. Like the parable of Midas and his trail of gold left upon all that crossed his path, we women often leave love and passion in our wake and every project that we pursue is alive with this energy. Divine and wild femininity is infectious and I truly believe that it’s our unique take on business and entrepreneurialship and work ethic that is credit to our formidable strength and success in the big, bad corporate world

So tonight I want to raise a glass, ok currently a mug (of organic herbal tea), to all of the women out there who are bold in their vision, professional in their work ethic and inspired on their paths – I salute you, endorse you and will forever be an advocate for your success and triumphs.

Blessings, passion and ovaries x

Images sourced here | here |