Let’s be real: we are a far cry from the days when women had to fight just for the right to cast a ballot. In fact, it’s safe to say World War II would have ended very differently—and the economy would have completely tanked—if not for the thousands of bad-ass ‘Rosie the Riveters’ who rolled up their sleeves and flooded the factory floors.
Women have fought hard for every inch of ground gained, but make no mistake: we aren’t at the finish line yet. Dismantling the social, cultural, and political hurdles that hold women back isn’t for the faint of heart, and it certainly isn’t a solo mission. True change happens when women across the globe lock arms and present a united front about our worth, our abilities, and our massive potential.
Want to be part of the shift? Here are five highly effective—and surprisingly simple—ways you can empower the women around you and push the needle forward:
1. Fuel Her Mind (Support Education)
In the States, the gender gap in education is actually flipping—women are now out-enrolling men in college and pushing through to graduation at higher rates. But step outside our borders, and the reality looks drastically different.
In many countries, school-age girls are the designated water-carriers for their families, burning daylight walking miles just to secure something to drink. Improving access to clean water doesn’t just save lives; it literally gives girls their time back so they can sit in a classroom. (You can help make this happen by supporting organizations like Charity: Water).
Then there’s “period poverty.” Astonishingly, this isn’t just an issue in developing nations. Nearly 1 in 5 American girls have missed school simply because they couldn’t afford period products, and 137,000 girls in the UK face the exact same hurdle every year. In parts of India, a heartbreaking 4 out of 5 girls drop out entirely once they hit puberty. You can change this by petitioning your local government to provide free sanitary products in schools—take a look at the Red Box Program to see how it’s done right.
When a girl finishes secondary school, she is less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse, and suffer from long-term health complications. As a result, educated women and girls are more likely to have fewer, healthier children, who are then, in turn, more likely to get an education and pull themselves out of poverty.
2. Stand with Women in Crisis
Human trafficking isn’t just a plotline in an action movie; rates have drastically increased over the last few years. Millions of girls worldwide are still subjected to forced marriages, enslavement, and exploitation.
The good news? There is an army of agencies fighting back. They provide rescue, counseling, medical care, and the financial backing these survivors need to rebuild their lives from scratch. Donating your time or money to a vetted charity in this space is one of the most direct ways to fight for a woman’s basic freedom.
3. Look in Your Own Backyard
You don’t need a passport to find women who need a hand up. Poverty rates are climbing in many states, and underfunded schools are capping the potential of brilliant girls who just need a fair shot. Meanwhile, domestic violence remains a quiet, pervasive epidemic.
Want to take action today? Look up the women’s shelters in your city and ask what they need. Pro tip: advocate for them to start accepting pets. The fear of leaving a beloved dog or cat behind with an abusive partner is one of the primary reasons women delay making their escape.
You can also step up as a mentor. Organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters are always looking for people willing to share their time, listen, and help a disadvantaged girl realize what she’s capable of.
4. Vote With Your Wallet
Amazon will survive without your twenty bucks today. But the bakery down the street? Or that row of local boutiques? They rely on you. Many of the small businesses anchoring your community are run by local women and their families, and they are constantly battling to stay afloat against retail giants.
Take that same energy global by shopping from female artisans on Etsy. If you want to go a step further, fund a woman’s dream directly. Platforms like Zidisha allow you to provide microloans to female entrepreneurs in developing countries, letting you communicate with them directly as they build their businesses.
5. Speak Up — Unapologetically!
Use your voice for the women who are routinely silenced. Despite all our modern medical marvels, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are still claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of mothers and newborns globally. Preventable issues like malaria and pneumonia are still devastating communities. You have the power to make noise about it.
Get involved with aid organizations, or better yet, go straight to the top. Flood your congressional representatives’ inboxes and voicemails. Demand that global women’s health remains a priority, and rally your friends to do the same. (Global Citizen is a fantastic resource if you need a place to start).
And Lastly…
Sometimes, the most empowering thing you can do for a woman is simply to see her.
Tell her you notice how hard she’s working. Write a quick thank-you note to your child’s teacher. Grab an extra iced coffee for that co-worker who looks like she’s carrying the weight of the world. If you’re a leader at your company, actively champion and promote the women on your team. You have the daily opportunity to make sure the women in your orbit feel fiercely valued, deeply respected, and completely unstoppable.
I just finished reading this article and I just wanted to say that you spoke beautifully! Thank you for being such a positive influence on the people you reach out to, this helped me a lot! To know there are women like you trying to help other women out, really calms me down and gives me faith in the world. wow that sounded cheesy, sorry haha ? ??
The most important thing I did , in order to become an “empowered woman” , was to stop hiding behind my parents. I remember I saw this written somewhere: ” Thanks dad for paying all my bills, so that I can be a strong, empowered and independent woman”. It was meant to be a funny meme, but it is so true for many people. I took my life in my hands, started paying for my rent, my bills, my food and my clothes. I went hungry a few times as well. Ok, a lot of times. But that is when I started appreciating things, everything I have and also myself as a person. When you don’t have backup from anyone, you NEED to start making better choices, seeing others as they trully are and be more aware of who you are, what you want or where you are headed. Plus, when you go hungry, that little “no you can’t ” voice shuts up and you just go out there and do what you need to do. You tell yourself “I am not going to live like this any longer” and just pursue your dreams. Focus on that and put your effort /energy into it.
We really do not need people to discourage us, we do a fine job ourselves. When we change our mind positively about ourselves and our dreams we feel like overcomers. Success is in the person, not in others opinion of us.
This is so inspirational. My dream was always to achieve the acceptance to the Naval Academy ever since I was in the second grade, almost everyday I come up against human beings that tell me that it’s not worth it, women don’t go to the Academy and all I can say is that it was a dream and all I got was discouragement instead of encouragement.
You are a great personality please carry on and make the people aware. Hats off girl…???
I work for a company that does princess character classes. We would like to offer classes for young girls to teach empowerment. What type of curriculum would you recommend?
We must empower both feminine and masculine systems to be at their highest potential. So called divine feminine and divine masculine. The world is in a mess not because men have made a mistake, but because they don’t know how to be true men. Same goes with women. Women do not know how to be true feminine. But the world is changing and we are becoming authentic selves. This is a correct assessment of so called female and male energy systems. If a human being doesn’t know which system she or she is then burnout can happen at any stage of life and work. So a woman can be born with a genuine male energy system, meaning she will be thriving on competition, singular decision making and a man can be born with a female energy system which means he will be more collaborative, compassionate. Find out which system you are as a human being, and simply adopt your life to what suits this system to prevent overwhelm, overwork and burnout. When one is disconnected from the core, thats when the mess comes in and takes hold.
I absolutely adore and love this woman. She is so real, strong, talented and empowering. I just want her to be my friend ? I love her
Such accurate and powerful words. Hitting and feeding my soul. Merci. I have always believed that education and to be well educated is the best way to fight against poverty and opression.
Thanks so much, Hilary. You have done so much for women. For me you have taught me that I am enough. I am working towards my purpose. Bless you.