“Women earn 30% less as compared to men in various fields in America, be it medical profession or selling insurance this disparity has come across as a startling fact in an advanced nation like ours,” commented Aaliyah. She put down her Wall Street report and looked at me accusingly. I gave her a what-did-I-do look and said, “There are multiple things that a woman handles besides her profession and men focus mostly on the job hence they work more hours and get paid more,” I thought I rolled it off my shoulder but wait! I had invited more trouble when she retorted, “Bob that is more of a reason she needs to be paid, if not more, at least equal.” I hadn’t really thought much about it but I did get a little startled because of the International Women’s Day buzz on empowering women world-wide has been around. The movement is to empower women socially and economically and it all started in the NYC back in 1909.
We were sitting in the cafeteria having her favorite chocolate cheesecake. I was trying to defend my case, “what a single person or an organization can do to remove the disparities that are going on for ages?” Somehow, I knew I wasn’t speaking from a leader’s perspective but at the same time, based upon facts it seemed rather practical at the moment.
Aaliyah stood up from her place and walked across the street where a child was standing, I have really upset her I thought and followed her. She gestured to me to just observe the child. I noticed the child would run to her dad sitting in the cafeteria, come out with one dollar and a few cents, buy a bird from the pet-seller’s cage across the street and free it. She kept doing this several times. I could not help myself and walked up to the little child to ask her why she was doing this. She said, “I am freeing the birds, they don’t like the cage.” “Well!” I said, “That’s a good intention but there are so many of them, what difference it will make if you free one or two of them?” she wasn’t wavered, she cupped her hands around a beautiful white dove and raised it above her head and opened her palms gently, the bird fluttered and flew leaving behind a feather in the child’s arm as if it were a thank-you note. The child gave me a winning look and said, “It makes a difference to this one.”
Aaliyah smiled and I realized it’s the attitude of each individual to make it happen. Justice and empowerment are milestones of human evolution. The magic is in understanding the difference that can make all the difference.
Send warm and inspiring greetings to the remarkable women in your life.
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