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Dear Friends,
For me, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a moment to reflect on the tremendous achievements and contributions of all women in every aspect and domain of our lives. It is also time to put at the forefront the work that needs to be done. I am particularly mindful of the gendered landscape of volunteering in our country and internationally—of the spaces and places where women feel more comfortable participating, and more so the spaces and places where they don’t.
I reflect upon my own first moments as a volunteer on a board of directors. I was in my late 20s, on my first board and feeling my way into leadership as a young woman. I am thankful to those who helped create space for me, who pushed me to step up and who created the conditions for my contributions. I am also mindful of my own privilege—of my whiteness and my class. I know there is considerable work to do to enable and encourage women from all economic and ethno-cultural backgrounds to have the supports and resources necessary to contribute and participate in all the ways they might desire. More space for women to lead grassroots initiatives, at the board table, and in places where they might not have historically seen themselves as naturally fitting.
I have a five-year-old daughter, and I wonder what conditions we need to collectively create that will enable her to feel like she can contribute, without prejudice, in all domains of her life—as she grows from a child to an adolescent and an adult and older adult. I wonder how the actions we take today might create greater capacity for her to contribute over the course of her lifespan—what seeds do we need to sow now? I also reflect on my grandmother who was the first Deputy Mayor in the town where I grew up—a widowed mother of five at a young age, she saw ways of contributing to civic life that I find remarkable.
As we celebrate IWD, I would urge you to reflect on the ways that you create space and access for all women to step forward and contribute—to leading, to forging, and to building new paths in all shapes and ways in our communities. I am hopeful that as we work towards building a National Volunteer Action Strategy, we can work collectively to address the ways that women’s access to participation may be limited because of social, cultural, demographic, or place-based dimensions. And I remain hopeful of what we can do together to continue to open doors to greater, more fulsome volunteering and participation for all members of our communities.
