A Note on Crafting a Future of Women-Powered Impact

Today is International Women’s Day and I’ve been thinking a lot about community that drives not only impact, but actual relationship to bolster lives.

I’m a girl dad. My daughter is insatiably curious, already bold and full of ideas about how the world could be different. Watching her switch gears from a deeply thoughtful student, a protective friend and an active interest in politics (!!), I think constantly about what it means to build for her future. It’s not lost on me that in just a few years I’ve been able to see how she shows up as a leader in multiple situations.

I also have the privilege of coaching some of the most dynamic women leaders I’ve encountered — executives and founders in healthcare and social impact who are navigating real complexity, challenging systems of oppression and doing it often with less margin for error than their peers. They’ve taught me so much.

The work they are leading and the things they’ve built? Not done alone. Every one of them points to a community — a mentor who opened a door, a peer who stayed on the phone through the tough times, a sponsor who said her name in rooms she wasn’t in yet. Ecosystem isn’t abstract. It’s what saves you when the road gets hard and amplifies you when you’re ready to move.

I recently came across this post on LinkedIn from Anna McMaster — Founder of Amie (tackling pelvic floor PT) — on her feature in an upcoming photography exhibit created by Erika Bahr. She essentially shares that Erika saw a need for visibility of female founders and is using artistic expression to make it happen. I loved this because of the community/being seen aspect but also the medium of going beyond another “top list” and really showcasing women in powerful visual ways.

Anna McMaster of Amie in upcoming photography exhibit created by Erika Bahr.

So today I’m thinking about the leaders who deserve real community, not just applause. And about my daughter, who deserves a world where she doesn’t have to think twice about what she can accomplish.

Let’s keep building.