Inspire Inclusion - IWD 2024
We are in the week leading up to International Women's Day on March 8. IWD is powered by the collective efforts of all and this year's theme is Inspire Inclusion. Imagine a world free of bias and stereotypes? I was reflecting on an old blog post I wrote in 2014, in the advent of the Lean In movement. "Having it all" was the buzz phrase. Imagine a world free of bias and stereotypes when it comes to everyone's unique approach and definition to "having it all"?
Check out my Engineered Sanity blog, originally posted on Thursday March 6, 2014, titled Direction-ally Challenged.
I have read the book, watched the TEDs, and participated in the circles. I quickly find a seat at the table so I can lean in, express my opinion and share my energy expertise. I think the Lean In concept and culture shift it has created is fantastic and means a lot to the female energy professional playing in what was once considered the boyz club. Lean In is realistic, simplistic, and achievable for all. It enables us to find work we love, take on new challenges, and remain passionately engaged. Lean In allows me to believe I can "have it all"! It's absolutely wonderful to know that "having it all" means I need a power position, a big team at the office, a family, a nanny to take care of the little ones while my husband and I vacation in the French Rivera…So, unlike the famous leaders that are spokeswomen for this concept, I've got a lot of work to do.
As I talk to more and more women in energy, I'm finding that "having it all" from one perspective isn't "having it all" from another. Hence, the Lean In platform is laced with one fundamental flaw in only looking at women "having it all" based on how society stereotypes today's female professional. Type casting is so Hollywood, so old school - how passé. This 2014 people and as with a lot of definitions in life - beauty, love, pain, success – "having it all" is up to the beholder for what an ideal meaning even is.
A wonderful friend and dear mentor of mine at the top of her game at the biggest oil company in Canada "has it all"…as she so claims. But when society takes a peak, they don't see very much and aren't impressed because even though she holds key decision making power and has significant influence within this energy super player, she is missing the 2.37 kids (one girl, one boy, one on the way). She doesn't sit on the school board or make PB&Js while dialed into her meetings with the CEO. Nor does she bash her female colleagues about their own lifestyle, family, or career choices. Not once does she judge the other "having it all" possibilities her female (and male) peers make or the rationale behind those decisions. She offers unbiased leadership, compassion, and support. She has a wonderful professional career and balances work with such fun and amazement at home. She's chosen something different from what society claims as "having it all". She and her husband have certainly elected to "have it all". Her all. Their all.