Thank someone who made your walk easier.
All too often I talk with women who do not seem to appreciate the work of women who came before them. They believe they have to invent the wheel all over again; that is someone did it before them, it just can’t be good.
This is particularly evident in women of my generation (youngest baby boomers). I think part of our “ungratitude” comes from the fact that we did have to do so many things before those women who are younger than we are had to do them. For example, I was one of the first young women to gain access to the previously-male-only weight room at my high school. Today, my daughter can use whatever facilities she likes at her school.
Because we were trailblazers in so many ways, it is likely we even think about the fact that someone could have done something before we did. So today, I’m taking a moment to thank one who came before me.
Liz Carpenter was the founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus and a tireless fighter for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. She also was instrumental in gaining admittance for women into the National Press Club in Washington, DC. I am grateful to Ms. Carpenter, and thousands of other women of her generation, for blazing trails that I merely had to walk down.
It’s still Women’s History Month. Thank those who came before you.
