Alte FriedmanDespite this, there’s a huge movement among women to empower one another, to secure equal rights, to challenge gender narratives, and to establish a brighter future for our daughters. This movement has traveled the globe, and we have inspiring women to thank for improved gender equality around the world. With that said, it’s clear we need to make some changes here at home.
Are you wondering how to empower women so that you can help make a difference and move us toward a better future for women?
Ways to Empower Women in your Community
1. Check Yourself
When you’re trying to make the world a better place, you want to ensure you’re lasting a positive change on you and the people around you. Sometimes, we’re our worst enemy.
When you’re talking to women – either those you know intimately or those you know not so well – be sure that your language for them is not belittling, or otherwise rude. Have self-control over your behavior, your anger, and your choice of words. Understand that you’re a good person, and you can make the world a better place for women. When you’re letting off steam, here’s a mantra you can use to give yourself the freedom to be loud and angry, but also make sure you’re using that to help others. It’s not just for women.
2. Start a Book Club
Why not start a book club with a few like-minded women? As a bonus, you can get some younger girls involved in the group to help them grow. It’s also a great way to introduce children to the act of reading and engaging with the written word. If you’re going to be starting a book club, you want to make sure that the books you choose aren’t what’s deemed to be more popular, or popular in the media. Look for books that showcase strong female characters. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a list of empowering books for girls, so you can get some great ideas of what books you can choose from for your book club.
3. Get Involved
By getting involved, you become a steward for the betterment of women. Joining committees, attending conferences, meeting with elected officials, and talking with the media are all ways you can get involved. When you’re doing this, stay steadfast in your mission. You’re helping, so be outspoken about it.
Consider these empowering books for black women, which are a great guide to give you the motivation you need to keep going.
4. Be the Leader
Women are lacking in leadership roles in America. Thus, you’re a good role model when you step up to leadership roles. You’re also a good role model when you share the spotlight with other women,Black Excellence like yourself. When you’re taking on leadership roles in the workplace, in your community, or with your family, you’re bringing positive change, and you can inspire other women to do the same.
5. Stop Critiquing Yourself
For whatever reason, women have a habit of self-critique. If you’re trying to empower women in your community, then there’s no room for you to focus on your insecurities, or on what you should look like, react like, or act like. There’s room for kindness and respect, and for you to lead by example. You’re not here to focus on how you can help women, but to keep a positive outlook on the lives you’re helping to change, and do so as a positive person.
6. Recognize the Power of a Name
Do you know the power of your name, as much as the name you’re giving someone else? Before you call another woman, or engage with another woman, double check your own name. Remember, by building yourself up and encouraging other women to do the same, you can truly help make the world a better place for women.
7. Don’t Assume Anyone Is Better Than You
Be aware of the fact that women, across all different races and cultures, have some damage done to them because of the root of their gender. There will be some women who will assume they’re better than you, just because of your gender. The truth of the matter is, you’re not any more feminine or any less valuable than this other woman. Recognize your value, and recognize it in others, as well.
8. Don’t Conform
Piggy backing off of the previous item, don’t conform. No matter how popular something becomes, or how everyone else sees something, don’t conform. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be a part of something or not have others join you. It’s saying, don’t do something because you believe others will judge you for it. Do what’s right for you.
9. Let Your Family Know How You Feel
Women do seem particularly attached to their families. Men, not so much. If you’re trying to empower other women in your family, let them know you’re trying to be a positive role model for them. Let them know you’re trying to help them have a better future. Let them know you love them.
10. Make Them Proud
Making other women proud is a big step forward in empowering women. If you’re a woman in a leadership role, for example, other women will see you just as any man is equated to. Then, your achievements become theirs, and they can relate to them, too, on a different level. Making other women proud in your family and your community can be worth the effort.
11. Stand With Women to Show Them the Way
Nothing says camaraderie like standing together, facing adversity, and kicking some butt. When you’re standing with other women, you can guide them, support them, and encourage them to do all that they can.
12. Get Out and Do Something
Go and challenge yourself. Go and support a cause. Stand up for the rights of other women. You don’t have to be in a leadership role to do something, either. You can put yourself out there by showing up for people who are going to be leaders. By supporting other women in your community, you can build bridges that support women as a whole.
13. Get to Know Other Women like You
Maybe you’re a black woman who loves other women. Maybe you’re just a woman who wants to empower other women through making the world a better place. Maybe you’re a woman warrior. In your life, there will be other women like you. Join up! Don’t be mean to other women, but do give them your support. They can nurture each other.
14. Recognize That You’re in a Good Place
Yes, you’re probably going to have to work a little harder than you would like. Yes, you’re probably going to have to take on more than you’d like, too. But you’re in a good place now, and you’re in a good place at home. This is a great place to start, and you owe it to other women to keep the progress going.
Why Sales for College Students by Joyce Johnson
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Battle Endurance by Nate Battle
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If you are searching for a tool to help you sift through the noise, overcome obstacles, and find your true purpose in life, this is your book. Let’s face it, life is hard, it is going to be unfair, and people simply don’t always play by the rules. Given that, it’s best to equip yourself, sooner rather than later, with a tool to help you manage through the challenges you will inevitably face in life so you can find and live your true purpose. This book will help you do just that. It lays out a roadmap on how you can look beyond challenges, expectations, and facades to empower yourself. It was written with the idea that as the reader, you can replace the challenges presented with your own, being able to see yourself while learning how to let go, work through conflict, obstacles, and difficulties and limiting negative self-talk, one step, action, moment and battle at a time.. Shared are many stories, and approaches on letting go, how to live in the present, and have a full and more peaceful life. It’s engaging and relatable while including an honest selection of experiences readers of all ages will find as useful tools to help live a full life. This book puts language around so many feelings I had. It also reminds me of a place of peace that must be maintained for me to avoid those pitfalls. A book which motivational speaker Les Brown calls instructive, informative, and inspiring … a guide to live your life victoriously.
Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
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Drawing from fiction, poetry, music, and oral history, the result is a superbly crafted and revolutionary book that provided the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought and its canon.
Stupid Black Girl by Aisha Redux
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Wicked Flesh by Jessica Marie Johnson
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Be Empowered by Rasheda Kamaria Williams
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More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
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More Than Enough is both a memoir and a relatable, uplifting manifesto by a half-Black young woman as she journeys through living and dating in her 20s in the magazine industry, eventually becoming Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue through grit and determination. It’s a page-turner filled with learned lessons women often experience, such as this one: “I realized that if we aren’t vigilant, we can move through our entire lives feeling smaller than we actually are—by playing it safe, by unconsciously giving away our power, by dimming our radiance, by not recognizing there is always so much more waiting for us on the other side of fear.”
The Black Girl’s Guide to Healing Emotional Wounds by Nijiama Smalls
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This book provides a compelling look at the trauma and emotional wounds suffered by Black women. Touching on the hard-to-discuss issues, this book sheds a light on the daddy issues, mommy issues, stigmas attached to mental health services and toxic relationships that are faced by black women. It provides a prescription for healing that includes a self-assessment, an attitude of self-love and total forgiveness. It’s also a call-to-action for black women around the world to unite to form a sisterhood called the black girl code. Read the reviews to see how well-received this book is across the globe.
The DNA of High-Performance Leadership by Eric Faro
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Eric Faro, the mind coach of some of the best MMA and Jiu Jitsu fighters in the world now shares his secret in order to help anyone become a champion in life. The secret is more simple than imagined, but it takes work and resilience. The DNA of High-Performance Leadership: 5 Daily Necessary Actions to lead an Extraordinary Life is a method that can be used by anyone to improve focus, outline life goals and dreams and to increase gratitude. Based on a belief system that spirituality is key for everyone in order to achieve success, this book will help you find flow and realize who you truly dream to become in life. It will help you break barriers and achieve dreams.
Secrets of Six-Figure Women by Barbara Stanny
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Secrets of Six-Figure Women is a powerful kick in the butt for any Black female business owners who are ready to get serious about wealth-building for this generation and the ones to follow. This book provides a great starting point for recognizing that you have the power right now to increase your lifetime earning potential, even if you have not yet eliminated your insecurities around doing so. Currently, despite starting businesses at a faster rate than any other demographic in the U.S., we are still not experiencing the same rate of revenue as other groups. And if you look at those of us in traditionally underpaid professions like psychotherapy or life coaching, the numbers that indicate net worth are even worse when compared to our white counterparts. As a business resilience consultant for practitioners and business owners in the wellness fields, I see women frequently selling themselves short and fearful of asking for more. This behavior is costly because asking for more in exchange for the value we provide, not only ensures our business longevity, but also benefits to the wider community. We really can have a lot more than we typically settle for!
Thriving Through The Storm by Lindsey Walker
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Imagine being an entrepreneur, creating your own opportunities and building the dream life that you’ve always wanted, only to be hit with a major blow: diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at the age of 27! That’s exactly what happened to author Lindsey A. Walker, “I allowed my work to become bigger than my health and I found myself paying the ultimate price. After 6 months of chemotherapy, I decided to begin my own journey of healing and my new book “Thriving Through The Storm” is a result of that.” In her book, Lindsey shares the challenges of enduring six months of chemotherapy and discusses how her diagnosis changed her perspective on life, love, and entrepreneurship. She wrote the book specifically for women to find encouragement despite the dire circumstances that life can bring.
Out of a Black Girl’s Heart, Flows Magic by Dasha Kennedy
This product was recommended by Oliver Bravo from Best Lawsuit Loans LLC
I like this book for several reasons. It is short and to the point, without any fluff. It doesn’t waste your time.The affirmations are very powerful, they helped me overcome some insecurities that I had due to some childhood experiences. It is light-weight and easy to carry anywhere. It applies to anyone from any background. I actually got a second copy to give my friend whose birthday is in August.
