Lucky me! I grew up with strong female role models in my mother, her sister, and both grandmothers. I also had a slew of great-aunts, each formidable in her own way. From the time I was young, my mother told me I could do anything, and she taught me about some of the more famous women who had paved the way. Eleanor Roosevelt was always a hero in our house. And by the time I was in high school, I had added Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger, Gloria Steinhem, and numerous women of my own experience who influenced, encouraged, and inspired me.


When I was in college, I kept a hand-markered sign in the back of my car: GOD LOVES UPPITY WOMEN. I considered myself a feminist and chose to enter the Christian ministry, a traditionally male profession. So much has changed over the past decades, but many young people today don’t realize how far we have come…or how far we still have to go. Women not only have the vote, but have been presidential candidates, yet the United States has not yet inaugurated a woman to the Oval Office. (Many other nations have been led by women.) Women still earn only 76% of what men earn. Worldwide, women represent 70% of the world’s poor. Women are chosen as astronauts, but in thirty years of space shuttles, only two women have commanded the crew.


I still consider myself a feminist. In my writing, I feature strong female characters who solve their own problems and fight for what is right. My current Work in Progress is about a quiet, timid girl who is inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1935. And on this, Women’s Equality Day, I encourage you to take a walk through your own history. You might want to check out this timeline of the American Women’s Movement, but don’t stop there. Think of the women in your own life who showed you what it meant to be smart, strong, unstoppable. If they are still alive, give them a call or send a call. And think of the younger women you know. Whether you are male or female, how can you encourage and support them to be the best individual they can possibly be?