Blog

Women’s History Month

By Omobonike Odegbami

April 3, 2023

At a Women In STEM event, a speaker urged the audience to encourage young girls to aim higher and enter male-dominated spaces instead of settling for “low hanging fruits” and becoming secretaries, teachers, and cosmetologists.

The statement infuriated me and made me realize the importance of this year’s International Women’s Day theme - #EmbraceEquity. As we fight as a collective, we must also fight stereotypes within our gender. While some women choose creative industries due to lower barriers of entry, such as start-up costs, upskilling and market penetration, we shouldn't overlook their challenges or dismiss them by calling their chosen paths, “low hanging fruits,” especially when they are starting out on a small scale.

Our perception must first change and we must understand that we have to operate from a place of fairness and justice, bearing in mind that there’s uniqueness in our differences and in achieving success.

We must consider that not everyone begins at the same start line and we must think about how we handle people based on their individual needs and circumstances.

Today I choose to celebrate every woman at every stage of her journey, who is pushing boundaries regardless of the religious, medical, psychological, social, economic, financial and political challenges we face. 

Happy International Womxn’s Day! Happy Womxn’s Month.