I have been itching to write this kind of post for a few weeks now. Observing fellow female colleagues throughout my career so far made me realize just how much we, as women, need to encourage and empower each other. We got a long ways to go sistas. So here’s my contribution, complete with gifs, to give y’all a little pep in your step.

 

Speak up.

So you’re in a meeting and people are discussing an idea and you just know, deep down inside, with all of your being, that this idea is terrible and that it won’t work. Actually, you have a much better alternative into which you invested hours of research and can actually prove that it’s the best solution. Speak. Up. Say something! Don’t be afraid to interrupt! Don’t be afraid to say: “yo, I’m real proud of your idea and I’mma let you finish, but I actually have the best alternative of all time!” Of course, if your job and your peers are extremely business professional, I suggest wording it in a different way – know your audience! But you get the gist right? So many times I have witnessed my female colleagues just politely smile and nod and pretend to agree with something only to turn around and spend hours bitching about it. If you disagree with something, if you have a different opinion, say it! Your opinion matters. Stop being shy and just do it!

You deserve that promotion.

Stop being a wuss and apply for that promotion (or another job) already! Who cares if you don’t think you’re qualified enough. What do you have to lose? 15 min of working on a cover letter or resume? Guess what? You just made a cover letter and resume for countless other jobs you can apply to. Don’t let fear of failing slow you down. Trust me, there are much harder things in life than not hearing back about a job you applied or interviewed for. This is coming from someone who sent out over 200 applications since starting her last year of University. Apply for the positions for which you don’t have enough “years of experience” for! Some employers will surprise you! This also goes for asking for a raise! If you truly believe you deserve one, then ask for one! You’re awesome at what you do, you deserve to have an awesome job and an awesome manager that values you.

Stop being catty.

Still to this day, I cannot believe how vicious women can be towards one another. Stop being part of your office rumour mill. Stop talking behind each other’s backs. Just be nice to one another. It really isn’t that hard. I’m not saying you have to like everyone you work with, but disliking someone is not carte blanche to be nasty whether it’s in their face or behind their backs.

Don’t let yourself be dismissed.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been shut down either because I wasn’t taken seriously because of the position I was in (student, admin, etc.) or, in some extreme cases, because I was a woman. But I never let that stop me. In fact, when things like that happened, I would fight back even harder. I would prove to everyone how wrong they were in doing what they did. Don’t let others bring you down. Keep your head up, speak up and just do it! See what I did there?

Know the difference.

There’s nothing that I hate more than when women in powerful positions are called the B word (the B here stands for both Bitch and Bossy). But sometimes, you just gotta call a spade, a spade. In my professional life I have met women of power that have inspired me tremendously and others that have simply left a sour taste in my mouth. Know the difference between being a boss and being…well…a bitch. Don’t get me wrong, men have the same problem too; when power gets in somebody’s head, it can make them do crazy things. Here are a few things that I have observed from women in powerful positions in my life that will explain what I mean. Constantly encouraging and supporting your employees: Boss. Getting your employee to fetch you a kleenex: bitch. Giving your employees constructive feedback on a project they didn’t perform well on and look for ways to improve in the future: Boss. Smiling and nodding when talking with your employee about said project and later talking behind their back about how awful they are at what they do: bitch. Get what what I’m saying?

Werk.

Last but not least: good things come to those who work their butts off. You can’t expect for things to just be handed off to you. You have to work hard. I talked about speaking up for yourself and asking for promotions and all that good stuff, but you need to understand that if you don’t do your part, nobody else will. You can’t expect to be handed a promotion or for your opinion to be taken seriously if all you have been doing is sitting around doing nothing. Werk it gurl! (I hate myself for saying that). If you find it hard to be motivated to work hard at your job and succeed, you’re probably at the wrong job! Find something you’re passionate about and fully immerse yourself in it! Hard work really does pay off – never forget that.