Celebrating International Women’s Day as a Team
by: Gybell Bobadilla, Livia Rafaela and Muskaan Dave
International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated globally every year on March 8th to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. For us, Student Life Coordinators (SLC’s), IWD is an important day to acknowledge the progress that has been made towards gender equality, while also recognizing the work that still needs to be done.
Our position in the SSU has given us some incredible opportunities. According to Gybell, working as SLC for HMC was very empowering because she learned to be more organized and independent and this role gave her more leadership opportunities, encouraged her to be more confident in her professional life and to meet amazing people that are part of our team like Livia and Muskaan. As Livia said, landing this student leader role and making critical contributions to campus events has personally been remarkable. In times when she doubted herself, she would be surrounded by supportive managers, event team members, and other SLCs. Being able to get up on stage and find confidence when leading an events team has especially been empowering as a woman in the industry.
One of the primary goals of IWD is to empower women and girls to become leaders in their communities and beyond and it is important for women to support other women too. We organize various activities that aim to promote and celebrate the achievements of female leaders, while also encouraging young women to become leaders themselves.
For us, this is also an opportunity to connect with and support other women. This day provides a platform for women to come together, share their experiences, and offer each other guidance and support. As Muskaan mentioned, “We are three SLC’s who come from three completely different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences and have been given this amazing leadership position at SSU. I can confidently say Gybell and Livia are some of my closest friends and have motivated and encouraged me throughout the year. Very often, women get so caught up in fighting for a seat at the table that they forget to support other women. As SLC's we would like to create a sense of community and solidarity among women on campus and around the world to demonstrate that they are not alone in their fight for gender equality.”
Finally, International Women's Day is a significant day for us as it provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, raise awareness about the challenges that they continue to face, and mobilize individuals to take action towards creating a more equitable world and we will try to use our positions in SSU and life to make these changes a reality. These steps may include advocating for policy changes, participating in marches and demonstrations, supporting women-owned businesses, and volunteering with organizations that support women and girls.