*insert “Girls” by Beyonce playing in the background* Since it’s International Women’s Day, I wanted to write a blog post about eight women that inspire me daily. I think this day is to really focus on women, celebrate them, and acknowledge how far we’ve come in just a short period of time.
Y’all. 100 years ago women couldn’t vote. WE COULDN’T VOTE YALL. I also want to point out that African American women even couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It’s crazy to imagine that a world like this existed, and such a short time ago too! Just three years ago we had a woman as the Democratic elect to run for PRESIDENT.
Women are strong, powerful, and inspiring in so many different ways! I wanted to choose these women to write about because they have inspired and empowered me to be the woman I am today. I hope you love them and that after reading this post hope they’ve inspired you too!
1. Michelle Obama:
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Okay now if you know me you know I love Michelle Obama more than life. Like seriously. I told my boyfriend I want Michelle Obama to be there when he proposes or I won’t be happy (I’m half kidding). Why do I love her this much you might ask? Well other than being America’s second mom for eight years, she’s done SO MUCH GOOD in this country. I read her book, Becoming, and it just shows how great of a person she was/is.
While on the campaign trail with Barack, she was chastised and called racial slurs constantly, but still remained the picture of poise and sophistication. She helped to make school lunches more healthy for children, remained a working mom of two (even while her husband was campaigning), and brought awareness to important issues.
She was a lawyer who worked for a great law firm and then CHOSE to step back a little to help her husband run the country. Through her platform, she started a learning initiative called the Reach Higher Initiative and also launched Let Girls Learn. This initiative helps girls around the globe go to, and stay in, school.
“Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
– Michelle Obama
2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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This is another icon of a woman who I think is one of the most inspiring of them all. You may not know who “The Notorious RBG” is, but you seriously should! She is the pioneer who broke barriers getting into Ivy League schools as a women and who changed America.
At the beginning of my post, I said how it hasn’t even been 100 years since women gained the right to vote. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of the reasons why women continued (and continue) to get more and more equal rights under the law. She was also the second woman on the Supreme Court EVER.
She argued sex discrimination on a man in order to get the laws changed for women. Like wow can you believe? She directed the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1970’s and also took 6 landmark discrimination cases to the Supreme Court.
A movie came out this past December called “On the Basis of Sex” and it’s about her career path and landmark case Moritz v. Commissioner. There’s also a Hulu documentary about her (also amazing) called “RBG.” Did I also mention that she voted against Asylum restrictions from her hospital bed after her lung cancer treatments? Because she did. Also updating this to say “RIP Ruth, we’ll always love you!”
“If I lose today, there’s hope that tomorrow will be better.”
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg
3. Elaine Welteroth:
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Elaine Welteroth was Conde Nast’s youngest Editor in Chief! She was the HBIC of Teen Vogue starting in 2017 and broke so many barriers by achieving what is a dream position for a lot of people! (Can we also talk about how poppin’ her curls are too?)
The reason she is an inspiration is because she turned Teen Vogue away from just being a younger version of the fashion bible, Vogue. She introduced politics into the pages of the magazine and all throughout the website. Elaine helped to make Teen Vogue more outspoken on social issues and get younger women (and men) involved!
She also has a book called More Than Enough: Claiming Space For Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) which I am very excited to read. She talks about her journey as well as what it feels like “being the only black face in a room” which is something I have felt on multiple occasions.
“We all learn life’s lessons the hard way, but there is nothing like the satisfaction of fighting for what you believe in, overcoming the odds, pushing through fear by faith, and coming out on the other side with your head held high…”
– Elaine Welteroth
4. Keech Combe Shetty:
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This is most likely a name you’ve never heard. I’m not saying that in a mean way! It’s just some CEO’s are often in the shadows (unless something bad happens of course). Keech Combe Shetty is the CEO of Vagisil and honestly such an inspiring woman.
I had the opportunity to hear her speak (I was FRONT ROW!!) at HerConference last summer. If you check out (this post) you can see my curls in the corner of the second photo. Women’s vaginal health is often taboo and no one wants to talk about it. It was so nice having a safe space to ask questions that you might not feel comfortable asking anyone else.
She is a strong advocate of making sure you keep the pH of your lady parts balanced and healthy. She has an interview linked (here) where she literally gives ways to keep your vaginal health on point! I would definitely give it a quick watch.
“And now, the gains that women have made around reproductive rights and contraception in the past three decades are being threatened, so we’re at risk of going backwards not forwards.”
– Keech Combe Shetty
5. Sophia Amoruso:
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Sophia Amoruso has been a role model for me for years now. She is honestly probably the reason I’m such a go getter who isn’t afraid to take risks. I first found out who she was my senior year of high school!
I took my first business class and I had to do a presentation on a CEO and talk about how they run their company/their background. If you didn’t know, she was the owner and CEO of NastyGal (up until a few years ago). She inspired me because she came from nothing.
She built herself up from nothing and created an empire. She started by selling vintage finds on eBay and it exploded. Almost a little too quickly sadly. NastyGal filed for bankruptcy in 2017 due to large deficits in earnings which made me sooo sad.
Sophia is an inspiration though because she regrouped and started Girlboss which is an empire in itself. She talks about ways women can save money and live their best lives. She also invests in female start-ups! This is something that is so important.
“I believe that there is a silver lining in everything, and once you begin to see it, you’ll need sunglasses to combat the glare.”
– Sophia Amoruso
6. Tracee Ellis Ross:
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Aside from being one of my favorite humans, she’s also such an amazing actress and activist! She is well known for her role as Rainbow “Bow” Johnson on Blackish (a show I know and love too, you should def watch it). It’s how I first came to know her!
Tracee is on this list because she is a woman who is extremely successful, happy with her life and herself, and is over 45 without kids. I feel like a lot of women my age think they need to get married (especially right now for some weird reason).
Tracee shows that you don’t have to be married or have children to be any less of a woman. She is a boss who doesn’t have kids and that is okay. She mentions in an interview with Glamour, “I’m a good friend, a solid daughter, a hard worker, my credit is good, I take out the garbage before it gets smelly, I recycle, and I won a Golden Globe!”
Since I first created this post, Tracee has even started her own haircare line, Pattern! It was curated specifically for women with curly hair and I have wanted to try it since the release. If you want to shop the collection, click (here)!
“I’m going to pay attention to the reality of my life and the audacity of my dreams instead of the expectation I was raised with.”
-Tracee Ellis Ross
7. Stacey Abrams:
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I may be partial towards Stacey Abrams because she’s a Georgia transplant like me. We were both born up North but ended up living in the south! That being said, Stacey is one of the most recent women to give me the one thing we all need. HOPE.
If you keep up with politics, you know that in Georgia, we had one of the craziest, and closest, gubernatorial races in 2018. So much so, that is literally made headlines everywhere because we had so many issues going on with it. Fast forward to 2021, and Stacey is part of the reason Georgia went blue during this past election cycle!
We had ballots being thrown out, voter registrations being purged (my bf had his purged), poll stations being closed….the list goes on! We also had a candidate presiding over his own election. Because that seems legal. Stacey Abrams, a black woman, lost the race by less than two points even with all of this disenfranchisement!
A black woman was almost governor in Georgia. This is unheard of! Even though she lost, and even though everything was very messed up, she remained calm and respectful. She then gave the Democratic response to the state of the union address in January! She is a role model and an outstanding woman.
“The most significant successes come from letting your light shine, embracing failure, and getting good at being wrong.”
– Stacey Abrams
8. Samantha Barry:
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Samantha Barry is another amazing woman I had the privilege of seeing speak at HerConference this past summer! She is the Editor-in-Chief of Glamour magazine and also Irish and extremely hilarious. The coolest part about her is that she’s the first Editor in Chief with a background that was exclusively in television and media.
In the growing climate of the internet and online media, this made her a shoe in for the position! This also meant that she had to prove to everyone she could also do print work well too. Trying to bridge the gap between new and old media is so inspiring to me!
She was so fun to listen to and it was refreshing to have someone who I felt understood the trends in digital marketing/media. She also prides herself on being open to the public about her decision and is extremely down to earth. Hilarious, hard working, and authentic! Things Samantha Barry is that I strive to exude every day.
“Fashion Can and Should Reflect the World Around Us”
– Samantha Barry
9. Amanda Gorman
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Amanda Gorman is someone I only recently came across because of the 2021 inauguration. She was the first Youth Poet Laureate, and read her poem “The Hill We Climb.” It was one of the most moving moments of my life. If you didn’t watch, I recommend you do so ASAP! Her words are so impactful.
She even performed at the Super Bowl and was the FIRST person to ever perform poetry at a game of this caliber. Talk about Black Girl Magic! Another notable feat in her life is the fact that she is currently attending Harvard and studying Sociology. I hope to see her in The White House some day!
Last Friday, Amanda proved why we need the youth to be more outspoken. She was tailed by a security guard on her walk home, and then demanded if she lived there. Black men and women are constantly dealing with issues like this and more light needs to be brought to these issues. She spoke at the inauguration, performed at the Superbowl, and at the end of the day, the only thing that mattered to that guard was her skin color.
A security guard tailed me on my walk home tonight. He demanded if I lived there because “you look suspicious.” I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat. https://t.co/MmANtQqpBs
— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) March 6, 2021
“The only approval you need is your own.”
– Amanda Gorman
10. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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Where do I begin….AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) has become one of my favorite SHEroes in the past few years. Her story from the beginning was inspiring to me, and it’s just grown from there! She supports everything I dream for in this country such as: the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and so many more necessary programs.
Not only does she answer regular people’s questions about politics on her Instagram lives (where she literally cooks mac & cheese), she also hosts twitch parties to closer connect with her younger constituents all over the country! She is a politician who brings politics down to people who might not understand the nuanced language used (which includes myself at times).
One of my favorite things she has done is responding to Republican Representative Yoho who had the audacity to call her a “fu*king b*tch.” She wasn’t even going to acknowledge his childish, immature remark until he began defending his actions. One of my favorite quotes to date came out of this which I’m going to add below:
“I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter — and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
I hope you guys enjoyed this post and found some new inspiring women to appreciate! These nine women inspire me with their thoughts and actions on a daily basis. They’re the reason I want to help the world become a better place to exist!
If you know any other inspiring women, be sure to leave them in the comments below! Tell me why YOU think they’re amazing and list their awesome achievements. Women are powerful, amazing human beings and deserve to be celebrated always!
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