On International Women’s Day yesterday, I saw plenty of inspiring posts about progress toward gender equity. Of course, there is more work to do in many areas. But what stood out to me was the limitlessness of what it means to be a woman today. You can be a scientist, an athlete, a teacher, a medical professional, an engineer, a journalist or many other professions. You can present yourself and express your interests in ways women couldn’t do just a generation ago. It reminded me that every woman has different views – you can see that clearly displayed in our 20th anniversary of Women of Influence special publication that came out last fall.  

In the publication, we asked one woman from each of the 20 classes to write a letter to their 20-year-old self. Each woman’s reflection was thought-provoking and inspiring. And again, I was struck by the varying views of each of them. 

On International Women’s Day and every day, I’m thankful for all those who have for centuries fought to redefine what it means to be a woman. May we keep fighting for a world where all girls and women have unlimited potential, uninhibited by oppression in its many forms. 

I love this quote from Reshma Saujani’s “Women Who Don’t Wait in Line”: “Celebrate competition, pursue failure, build your sisterhood, and free yourself from believing that you have to behave like anyone other than yourself.”