Celebrating International Women’s Day 2019 — What Empowers You?
In spirit of celebrating the power of women, we asked our community what empowers them. How do you access it? Do you take a moment, or have a ritual to be your most confident, empowered self? ✨
Co-written by Julia Meriel, Fiona Yeung, and Bonne Marie Bautista.
March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD) — a celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world. The first International Women’s Day occurred in 1911, supported by over one million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups, everywhere.
This year’s IWD theme is a year-long campaign of #BalanceforBetter, a campaign providing a unified direction to guide and galvanize continuous collective action (source).
We asked our community about what empowers them. 3 themes stood out:
- Looking Inward
- Build that Support System
- Power in Body Language
Looking Inward
“It’s very empowering when you come to the realization that you hold the key to your success. You can never love yourself too much”
Self-awareness, affirmations, and practicing mindfulness are all integral parts of helping us understand ourselves better. When we give ourselves time to reflect whether, through meditation, daily journaling, or simply some quiet time, we allow ourselves to listen and see who we truly are. Through awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, we begin to build the courage to acknowledge them. With this lens, we can therefore begin to embrace and embody how badass we really are. 💪
Let’s talk a little bit about affirmations. What are they and why are they helpful?
Affirmations are phrases similar to mantras, repeated phrases to remind yourself of your greatness. This is especially useful when slipping downward spiral or finding yourself nagged by negative thoughts. Bringing mindfulness to our day-to-day allows us to catch ourselves before we succumb to negative thought patterns, making room for positive affirmations instead.
Some wonderful examples from Self Care Station
- I feel safe in the flow and rhythm in the ever changing flow of life.
- I breathe in calmness and breathe out nervousness.
- I may not understand the good in this situation right now, but it is there.
- My thoughts are my reality so I think up a joyful day.
- I have no right to compare myself to anyone, I do not know their story.
I’m at a point in my life where I feel more confident than ever. After years of self-doubt and fear, I woke up one day and decided I’m going to prioritize myself and not let anything stop me from achieving my goals. I surround myself with those that help elevate me, and I do the same for them.
It’s very empowering when you come to the realization that you hold the key to your success. You can never love yourself too much
— Kristin Singh, Toronto Chapter member
Build that Support System
It’s no secret that women often take on the role of nurturers in any group. This selflessness is almost programmed, a reflex. Taking care of others is simpler than nourishing ourselves. No matter how much we all preach about self-care, it proves to be the greater challenge.
I look to my friends who give me strength and think of how they’d want me to think and act. When I sell myself short, they set me straight.
Amy Kleinerman, Bay Area Chapter Lead
Similarly, women are often able to identify other women’s strengths and good qualities with ease. However, extending this gaze to praise their own positive attributes is almost painful, if not a struggle.
We know this is difficult to do on our own, why not look after one another? Collectively, as a tribe.
I feel powerful when my friends feel reassured that reaching their dreams is possible because I reached mine. I still struggle with it daily, to view myself as powerful, but I know I am and I know I always will be.
- Taamannae Taabassum, Toronto chapter member
There is no replacement for having an excellent support system.
Journeying alongside others who understand your perspective (yet offer new ones to consider), have your back, and genuinely care about your well-being and growth are essential. Of course, the same goes the other way around — symbiotic relationships are what we’re talking about here.
Empowered women empower women.
How do we do this? It starts with forming deeper connections. This can be tricky to cultivate in our fast-paced, digital realities. What small things can we do to help establish meaningful connections?
- Pause. Take the time to connect. A little effort goes a long way.
- Let others know of their impact. If a peer says something that resonates with you, let them know.
- Speak your truth — offer your perspective in a way that will be useful to others.
- Encourage open and honest communication. Embrace epiphanies.
- Be generous with what you know. In your path, someone has shared their experiences and imparted knowledge to help move you forward. Foster the same growth in others.
A true friend is a perceptive mirror. To have a tribe is to be surrounded by mirrors. Mirrors that show you your strength when not immediately visible. They catch light and reflect every shining facet of your being, No smoke, no tricks, just a luminous collective, empowered by one another, standing together in power.
Power in Body Language
Today we strike the #BalanceforBetter pose for International Women’s Day. Other days, when we might be going through a rough time, we harness power through powerful body language.
By power-posing — for example, sitting tall with your back straight and allowing your arms to come out rather than collapse inward — you draw on the body-mind connection and cultivate powerful, positive energy.
“Power poses weirdly help me get into an empowered mindset as cheesy as they are.” Mick Champayne, our Chicago Chapter lead shared. Strange as it might seem, there has been academic research done by Amy Cuddy, an American social psychologist and her colleagues on power-posing.
In her popular TED talk, Cuddy shared an observation. In her MBA class she saw two types of students; one type that is like “a caricature of alphas, really coming into the room, they get right into the middle of the room before class even starts, like they really want to occupy space” and another type that virtually sinks into their seats.
Cuddy highlighted that women are much more likely to exhibit the second behaviour than men and that this seemed to have a relationship with the success that the MBA student could have.
However, Cuddy et al. learned that:
A person can, by assuming two simple 1-min poses, embody power and instantly become more powerful. Source.
Let’s see your power pose!
Want more on body language? Read “Body Language” to learn how Anna McKenzie from Hexagon UX Toronto uses grounding to help her feel powerful through her body language.
We all have a role to play in leveling the playing field and a shared responsibility for driving a more gender-balanced world .Together, thanks to the many chapters around the world, the Hexagon community empowers and inspires every one of us. Women empower women, and at Hexagon, this is no exception.
In the words of world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem:
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
Happy International Women’s Day! #IWD2019 🎉
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Hexagon UX is a global community built to empower women and non-binary folks to bring their whole selves to work — building confidence, balancing the ratio in the UX industry, and effecting change on a greater scale while fostering personal and professional growth. Join us on Slack, where we continue the conversation.
