Who Is She?

Written by Elizabeth Salter | Edited by Danielle Clough

133 feet of the Old Testament’s sprawling scenes line the walls of a 545-year-old chapel in Vatican City, Italy. A pair of eyes that follow tourists, yet seemingly never move, hangs silently in a gold frame on a wall within the Louvre of Paris, France. A 17-foot tall man of marble poses nude in a rounded room of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. Works of the Renaissance blanket Europe like individual stars sprinkled throughout the night sky. French for “rebirth,” the Renaissance was a period characterized by explosions of proliferation in the realms of art, music, literature, science, and politics. The works of famous artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci are revered and possess the power to leave tourists wideeyed and speechless. But, where is the work of women from this time period? Does it not exist?

Although the Renaissance was a time of mass creativity and expression, most of the individuals sculpting marble and waving a paintbrush were male. In fact, women of this time period were heavily repressed, having little to no social or political rights. It was only a man’s job in the 15th and 16th centuries to employ the use of their brain and talent. In 2018, everything has changed. Women today are rewriting the script in bold red lipstick. Inspired by a Renaissance mentality—where well-roundedness is a must—women are finally getting to chip away at the glass ceiling by making decisions, taking names, and running multi-million dollar companies.

Take LOLA as the perfect example. Founded in 2014 by Jordana Kier and Alex Friedman, the two took a very simple question: “What’s actually in our tampons?” and turned it into a successful business that now produces boxes of customizable 100-percent certified organic, cotton tampons. “If we care about everything else we put in our bodies, from our food to our face creams, this shouldn’t be any different,” said Kier.

Although the pair initially sought to establish transparency in a seemingly murky market, they also wanted to create and maintain a brand that was made for women, by women. “We believe in empowering women through equipping them with all the information and resources they need to feel confident about their reproductive health and make informed decisions on behalf of their bodies,” said Friedman. “Starting this brand together has been a journey, but a very fulfilling one that is helping to educate men and women alike about reproductive health and feminine care.” Empowered women empower women; a seemingly simple statement that packs a big punch. While a woman’s power can unfurl from knowing her strengths and weaknesses, it is not enough in 2018 to keep this all to oneself. Maybe what this country needs is an army of determined woman to push society towards more change.

Tracy Chamberlain-Higginbotham, creator of Woman TIES, a network of successful business woman who together inspire entrepreneurial success, believes in this badass girl gang. “I believe very strongly in women supporting other women,” said Chamberlain-Higginbotham. “We’re 52-percent of the population, we need to speak up. Men don’t know what it’s like because they aren’t living our life.” In creating Women TIES, Chamberlain-Higginbotham has strung together a tight knit community of women in an attempt to persuade them to buy from each other. “I have the mission to inspire women to think about buying from women first and foremost before putting their money in the hands of a man.” 150 members strong, this organization is making strides towards furthering women’s outreach which will in turn promote more visibility and recognition.

Despite all of these individuals and the companies they head, women are still facing adversity throughout the United States. On the 2018 Fortune 500 list of chief executives, there are 21 white men by the name of ‘John’ listed; there are only 23 women acknowledged. Fortune 500 literally recognizes the same amount of ‘Johns’ as it does women. This underwhelming lack of representation in top positions of power is an ongoing struggle for women. On top of simply not getting placed in senior level positions due to gender bias (a whopping 24-percent of senior roles reported in 2018 are held by women, the rest all men), women are also often undervalued for their work and time. A study conducted in 2014 concluded that women on average make 79-percent of men’s median annual earnings, regardless of the fact that in that same study, almost 41-percent of women over age 25 held college degrees compared to men’s 37-percent. As Chamberlain-Higginbotham explained, “there isn’t enough of a reason for there to still be a wage gap. Time has advanced enough to prove that woman are equal to men.”

Empowered Women empower women; a seemingly simple statement that packs a big punch”

Simply stated, women are still not getting what they deserve and the time for waiting is over. Ladies, grab those sculpting tools and paintbrush like Michelangelo and Da Vinci. In the wake of #MeToo, #Equalpay, #AskHerMore, #TimesUp, and #HeforShe, we have to keep putting in the elbow grease to effect much needed change.

Now, onto shattering that glass ceiling. Hammer, anyone?

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