Happy International Women’s Day! It’s definitely a day to celebrate all of the amazing women in your world, and the women who came before us who paved the way for us to have the rights we have today. While I feel incredibly lucky to live in the time and area that I do, I am well aware that our work is far from over.

As someone who works in the tech industry, I work with a lot of incredibly smart and talented people. What I have come across, however, is a disparity in the female representation in the more technical fields. It’s something that is constantly evolving as more and more women find career paths in technology. In my short career, I have noticed an uptick in the female representation in the tech space, which is an amazing thing to see. That doesn’t mean, however, that women are always treated as equals. In fact, I’ve had several instances where I can confidently say that if I had been a man, I probably wouldn’t have been met with such hostility and opposition by those in positions of power.

Whether it was intentional or not, men often have a way of talking down to younger female employees, referring to us as “girls”, or calling us too emotional or sensitive. The fact of the matter is that women and men often approach situations differently, and if we’re going to make progress, we need to understand this and move forward. As a young career person, I know that I am just as capable of having good ideas and am able to complete my work just as well as the next guy or gal who is a few years my senior.

Photos by Lauren Wilks Photography

How to Support Women on International Women’s Day

What I’m getting at here is that as much as I’d love to say that women and men are equal in pay and opportunity, I don’t believe we’re there yet. And until we are, we need to support our fellow women and work to be sure that our voices are heard. So what, as females, can we do to empower the other women in our lives? On International Women’s Day, I thought it was appropriate to share some of the ways in which I’ll be supporting my fellow females today and in the future, even if I’m unable to take the day off work.

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