March, for Women

March is national Women’s History Month, designated as a time to honor the contributions that women have made to American history. March (8^th) is also International Women’s Day, which this year is embracing the theme #ChooseToChallenge. On the website, the theme is expressed with the words: “A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.”

I love the word challenge. It implies action. It is by definition a summons to engage. You can’t sit back and effectively levy a challenge. You have to sit forward, stand up, lean in. What I choose to challenge in 2021 is passivity, inertia and lip service.

She Runs It is all about action. When 2020 dealt our community the multiple blows it did, we physically went home, but we spiritually and mentally got to work.

• We accelerated our programming and showed up stronger than ever for our community with events, coaching, training, and conversations to help them stay strong, current, and connected.
• We increased our #Inclusive100 outreach to bring like-minded partners together to amplify our mission and expand our ability to crowdsource best practices for diversity, inclusion, and equity.
• We broadened our mentoring program – the industry’s most robust with 1,000 participants per session – adding group mentoring to accommodate more people. (I personally lead a mentoring group and the experience has been one of the most rewarding of my career.)
• We created an eMembership to enrich our community and provide greater support to women who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the recession.

I have always said that She Runs It serves as the “feet in the street” for women (and men), who are looking for a community that actively listens to them, advocates for them, and fuels them with insights, energy and inspiration. We do this with intention and with action.

We do this in March, when all eyes and minds are focused on women. And we do this every day of every year.