#IWD2022: Expectations of Being a Woman
This International Women's Day calls for breaking free from the expectations of womanhood and owning your perspectives.
During the conversation on Expectations of Being a Woman, our panellists - Grace, Jillian and Joan discussed how women are expected to balance their family, home, and career. Should they choose one over the other or do it all?
Read on to find out more about the different perspectives and unique narratives of our panellists and how they continue to champion them in their own ways.
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What does International Women's Day and its theme #BreakTheBias, mean to you?
I've always held a very strong view of being an independent and courageous woman. Perhaps it's because my mom has always been a huge role model in my life; her actions always spoke louder than words, and she inspired me to know my strengths and weaknesses as a woman and grow from them. There's no "definite" way to be a woman. In fact, although my mom inspires me daily, I'm still incredibly unique in my own way. What is more important to me, is not how we fit the mould and try to become like "others", but how we draw certain qualities from women we respect and then push the boundaries to be a whole lot more.
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If you could have dinner with one inspirational woman, who would it be and why?
If I could have dinner with an inspirational woman I would love to sit down with Reese Witherspoon. I remember watching her movies when I was just a young girl — Legally Blonde, in particular, challenged so many false standards that the world imposes on women, starting with the fact that you can have beauty and brains (and also be funny!). Reese continued to choose roles and projects, ones that inspire me on a daily basis. Like her, I am an avid reader too, and her book club is not only hugely successful, but encourages more women to communicate and interact in a fun, educational, and non-judgmental way! The last role I watched of Reese was in The Morning Show where she plays an incredibly fire-y, opinionated journalist with a passion for justice. It's so her, and it's so wonderful.
What do you think is the biggest challenge modern women face in balancing their families, homes and careers?
When I got married and had kids all in the span of 2 years, a lot of people were actually complimenting me on how I was handling the balance of work, family, and my own passion projects. While it may seem that way on social media, let me tell you, it bothers me a lot that women are constantly faced with this need to keep up with this 'facade' of having everything put together. Why must we balance all the aspects in our lives so perfectly when in reality, it's a constant and continuous work in progress. I say this without meaning to take away from any woman who is capable of doing this seamlessly, but if we aren't, please don't criticize or compare us with your expectations...life is hard enough already.
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For our #LBCommunity — amid the varied expectations women face in society today, how do you champion your own perspective or narrative?
Expectations are sort of a tricky thing. As a mother of two boys, I see myself subconsciously teaching or reflecting my expectations on them. When I catch myself doing that, I try to remind myself that we ought to allow everyone to grow at their own pace, through their own experiences, their downfalls and their accomplishments, and find out who they want to be and why. I would never want to tell someone how to live their lives, that's not for me nor for anyone to make the decision.
What I can say is this: if you can wake up in the morning looking forward to what that day brings, be it taking care of your family, going into a job that you love, working on a passionate project, or even nurturing a love relationship, then you're doing something right — and you shouldn't stop.