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READ TIME: 4 MINUTES

Most of us move through today without stopping to think about what it took to get here.

Not here as in 2026. Here as in: able to vote, able to open a bank account in your own name, able to walk into a room and be taken seriously as a leader.

International Women’s Day is easy to scroll past. Another hashtag, another round of appreciation posts. But if you slow down for just a moment and look at the last hundred years, really look, what you see is extraordinary.

And sobering.

The Numbers Tell a Story Worth Sitting With

In the United States, women couldn’t vote nationally until 1920. Today, women are the majority of voters in most elections and hold more elected offices than at any point in history.

In the early 1970s, women often couldn’t open a credit card or secure a mortgage without a husband or male co-signer. Today, women control over $10 trillion in U.S. financial assets — a number projected to grow dramatically over the next decade.

In 1960, women earned about 35% of college degrees in the United States. Today, that number is close to 60%.

Globally, girls’ access to education has expanded in ways that were unimaginable just a few generations ago, with literacy among young women rising in parts of the world where education once seemed out of reach entirely.

These aren’t small shifts. They represent the accumulated effort of women who pushed, sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly, often without knowing whether the change would come in their lifetime.

None of it happened because society casually drifted in that direction.

Progress and Completion Are Not the Same Thing

Here’s what tends to get glossed over on days like today.

Women still hold a minority of CEO roles in major companies. Women remain underrepresented on expert panels, keynote stages, and in the rooms where decisions are actually made. Even in industries where women are the majority of the workforce, leadership representation often tells a completely different story.

Progress is real. And progress is incomplete.

Both things are true at the same time.

Which means we’re not done. And the question each of us has to sit with not just today, but in how we move through our careers and our lives is this:

Every generation inherits progress it didn’t personally create. Which raises a question every generation has to answer: what will you do with what was handed to you?

Where Self-Leadership Meets the Bigger Picture

I think about this a lot through the lens of my C12 self-leadership work.

The C12 framework is built on a core belief: who you are on the inside directly determines how you show up, how you relate, and how you lead. That energy doesn’t stay contained. It moves outward. It shapes the culture around you whether you intend it to or not.

This is why self-leadership isn’t a solo pursuit. It’s a contribution.

• When a woman decides not to shrink her voice in a room that hasn’t made space for her yet
  —> that’s self-leadership in action.

• When she actively supports another woman stepping forward, whether that’s a young girl just starting out or a seasoned executive stepping into her next chapter
  —> that’s culture-shifting leadership.

• When she makes herself visible even when visibility feels uncomfortable
  —> that’s how change compounds.

History doesn’t move forward on its own. People move it. One decision at a time.

Three Questions Worth Sitting With Today

These are the questions I’m holding this International Women’s Day, and I think they’re worth more than a moment of reflection. They’re worth acting on.

1. What progress in your life exists today because someone before you pushed for it?

It’s easy to take for granted the freedoms we were born into. Name them. Feel the weight of them. Let that create a sense of responsibility rather than just gratitude.

2. Where do you still see barriers that need breaking?

Not just in the world — in your industry, your organization, your own inner dialogue. Where are the ceilings that no one is talking about?

How are you using your voice, position, or influence to widen the path for others?

You don’t need a platform or a title to answer this question. You just need a decision.

One Action This Week

Commit to one action that supports another woman’s progress.

Recommend someone for a panel. Make an introduction that expands opportunity. Speak up when a perspective is missing in the room.

Progress rarely requires a grand gesture. It often begins with a single decision to open the door a little wider.

That’s always a choice.

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I partner with executives, business owners, and leadership teams navigating complexity, building sustainable organizations, and creating lasting impact. → Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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