There are times when empowerment sounds like a nice fru-fru word. Something printed on a coffee mug, stitched onto a tote bag, posted over a pretty photograph of a woman standing on a mountain with her arms triumphantly raised toward the sky. And then there are times when empowerment becomes something else entirely. It becomes necessary. This is one of those times.
Women are carrying a lot right now. We are working, caregiving, creating, leading, surviving, rebuilding and trying to make lives for ourselves and the people we love in a world that can feel increasingly uncertain. And for far too many women, the danger isn’t theoretical. Millions of women in the United States continue to experience intimate-partner violence, sexual violence and stalking. Women continue to shoulder enormous caregiving responsibilities while trying to maintain financial security and independence. Many are raising families, caring for aging parents, rebuilding after divorce or loss, starting businesses, changing careers, escaping unsafe situations or simply trying to figure out what comes next.
That’s why empowerment cannot just be about telling a woman she is strong.
Sometimes empowerment means making sure she doesn’t have to be strong—alone.
We Need Each Other
Somewhere along the way, our culture became very good at teaching women to compare themselves with one another. Who’s prettier? Who’s thinner? Who’s more successful? Who’s younger? Whose marriage looks better? Whose children accomplished more? Who has the bigger business, the nicer house, the better wardrobe, or the more impressive life? You get the picture.
Enough already.
Another woman’s success is not evidence of your failure. Her beauty doesn’t diminish yours. Her opportunity doesn’t steal yours. Her voice doesn’t silence yours. Helping another woman climb up does not move you one rung lower on the ladder. There is room for us both.
There is room for all of us.
Empowerment Is an Action Verb
Real empowerment isn’t just something we believe. It’s something we do. It’s recommending a woman’s business to others.
It’s telling her about an opportunity.
It’s mentoring the young woman who doesn’t yet understand how capable she is.
It’s checking on the friend who suddenly got very quiet.
It’s believing a woman when she tells you she is afraid.
It’s sitting beside someone whose life has fallen apart without trying to fix her with a motivational quote.
It’s sharing information.
It’s sharing contacts.
It’s sharing experience.
Sometimes it’s sharing money, food, childcare, a ride, a spare bedroom or an afternoon.
And sometimes it’s simply saying, “I see you. What do you need?”
Those may be the most empowering words one woman can offer another.
Strength Isn’t Always Loud
We tend to picture strong women as fearless women. But some of the strongest women you’ll ever meet are scared to death. They just stay in motion anyway.
The woman leaving an abusive relationship may be terrified.
The woman going back to school at fifty may wonder whether she belongs there.
The woman starting a business may secretly think everyone else knows what they’re doing and she somehow missed the meeting.
The woman beginning again after losing everything may have absolutely no idea what happens next. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Sometimes courage is whispering, okay—one more step—then taking it.
That is why empowerment matters. Because sometimes a woman can see possibilities for another woman long before she can see them for herself.
We can remind each other:
You still have a voice.
You still have value.
You still have dreams.
You still have choices.
And you are still allowed to pursue them.
But our empowerment means very little if we celebrate a woman’s right to dream, lead, build a business, earn a degree, and create her own future while refusing to talk about whether she has the power to make deeply personal decisions about her own body and life. We will not all agree about abortion and reproductive rights. We don’t have to pretend we do. It’s personal. But disagreement should never require silence. These are precisely the moments when women need reliable information, education, compassionate support, access to qualified medical and legal professionals when necessary, and communities willing to stand beside them rather than shame or abandon them. And, News Flash: Women on all sides of the political spectrum are affected by these issues. Empowerment isn’t pretending every woman has unlimited choices. Many of us don’t.
It is fighting against the circumstances that leave us powerless, making sure we know what choices we do have, and standing beside one another when those choices are threatened. And that is one more reason we need each other.
Taking Care of One Another Is Not Weakness
We live in a culture that celebrates independence. Do it yourself. Build it yourself. Fix it yourself. Save yourself.
There is certainly power in learning to stand on your own two feet. But there is also extraordinary power in community. Human beings were never meant to navigate every hardship alone, and women do not become weaker by depending on one another. We become harder to isolate. Harder to silence. Harder to convince that we don’t matter. When women share knowledge, resources, encouragement and opportunity, individual strength becomes collective strength, and collective strength changes families. It changes communities and sometimes it changes generations.
So, What Can We Do?
Start small. Check on a friend you haven’t heard from lately.
Buy something from a woman-owned business.
Recommend a woman for an opportunity when she isn’t in the room to recommend herself.
Teach another woman about something you’ve learned the hard way.
Listen without immediately offering advice.
Encourage the teenager who has a big dream.
Help the woman who is starting over.
Speak up when another woman’s voice is being dismissed.
And when you have climbed high enough to reach back down behind you—REACH. Not because we are helpless. Quite the opposite. Because truly empowered women understand something important: Strength was never meant to be hoarded.
Dream Strong. Then Help Her Dream Strong, Too.
The DreamSTRONG Foundation was built on a simple belief: Dreams Matter.
But dreams need more than wishing. They need encouragement.
Opportunity.
Safety.
Resources.
Someone who believes.
Someone who says, Try.
Someone who says, I’ll help as much as I can.
Someone who says, “Don’t you dare give up yet.”
During difficult times, taking care of one another isn’t sentimental. It is powerful. So dream your dream.
Build your thing.
Find your voice.
Stand your ground.
Create the life that calls to you.
And while you’re doing it, look around you. There may be another woman standing nearby who has forgotten just how much power she carries.
You remind her.
Then keep going. Together.
Wishing You Many Brightest Blessings,
Founder, Director
DreamSTRONG ™ Foundation, Inc.