The X Factor

I would like to make a toast to all the wonderful women out there in celebration of International Women’s Day.  We have come a long way since prehistoric times, and although women are still suppressed and victimized in many parts of the world today, we continue to strive for equal rights and freedom.  There have been many women throughout the ages that have taken a stance against what is morally wrong and unfortunately have paid with their life—to you I raise my glass and thank you.  The injustice that women and children face on a daily basis is appalling and disheartening, but we must remember the great strides women have made in the last century—the right to vote, equal pay, the right to an education and more importantly the right to leadership and self-empowerment.

Tina Deszi and Lia Bandola are a prime example of two women who are empowering others in their field.  Authors of The Power of Women United, a collection of 20 biographies of women who’ve achieved success, Tina and Lia continue to inspire women in the field of business through the Power of Women Exchange, an organization that promotes female business owners to network and promote their individual businesses.  Having met both of these women, I was inspired by their tenacity to succeed and their dedication to the empowerment of women.

Women possess what I like to call the X Factor—that extra X-chromosome that allows us to bond like no other species on the face of the planet.  They say that behind every great man there is an even greater woman, for throughout history, women have been the pillars of civilization.  Having both a son and husband that I adore, at no point do I ever think that women are better than men.  But I do believe that women hold the key to balance, to peace, and to equity.  We must continue to fight for one another in a world where many women fall victim to the hands of men as we must celebrate those men who have broken the traditional roles set before them and have embraced their own X Factor.

Here’s to mothers, daughters, aunts, and grandmothers!  May your X Factor imprint on the people you inspire each day!