Written by Emma Harding, LMFT. Emma is the School Based Program Manager at Tanager.
As we make our way through March, I have been reflecting on Women’s History Month and how the influential women in my life have made an impact on me and where I am today. For generations we have seen women play a significant role in breaking barriers in the workplace, legislation, education, communities in addition to many other arenas. I am grateful for the impact and sacrifices that many women have made before me in order for me to have the experiences I have today. In today’s society women wear many hats both in the workforce and in their personal lives. In 2022 economists reported that if stay at home parents earned an annual salary for all the jobs they performed on a daily basis the median would exceed $184,000.
Traditionally, many of these stay at home parent roles women also take on in addition to being in the workforce. With the high demands of responsibilities of a job, earning income for your family and being a mother how do women also take care of themselves? I’m not sure if there is such a thing as “finding a perfect balance” when it comes to navigating the responsibilities a woman holds in 2023. Rather than tiring ourselves out with finding a perfect balance how do we lift each other up and support each other when we are in the trenches of life? I believe there are baby steps that we can take collectively as women to help lift each other up and offer care to ourselves that we often neglect.
I wonder if we reached out for connection more, allowed ourselves to sit with our feelings or were more gentle with ourselves how that might help. A simple text to a friend asking for a favor, letting yourself take 5 more minutes in the shower, allowing yourself to feel discouraged and then moving on when your to-do list wasn’t completed. What if we allowed simple practices like this into our lives instead of trying to do it all and “finding the perfect balance”. I find it empowering to see so many women leading and creating change in our everyday lives and I will forever be grateful for the women who paved the way for us to allow the opportunities that we have now. With the demands of our everyday lives and living in the moment let’s not forget that as women we can be empowering, leaders and at the same time be gentle and kind to ourselves too.
