Pioneering Women

This morning I took out a copy of the Woman’s Declaration of Independence, my son bought for me last summer in Philadelphia. I realized as he handed me the antique parchment with a glint in his eye, that at the tender age of 12, he understood the depth and breadth of my devotion to helping women succeed in business.

Elizabeth Cody Stanton was one of the pioneering women behind the declaration. After seeing how women where treated unjustly before the law, in the office of her father, Judge Cady, she vowed to change the laws one day. Together with other women by her side, she planned and executed the first Woman’s Right Convention in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19^th and 20^th, 1848.   

As I read the declaration, I am thankful there were women who came before us willing to take a brave stand for women’s rights. Where would we be today if it wasn’t for these women? Frequently I am asked, usually by men, why I have been promoting women entrepreneurship so strongly for the past twelve years. They don’t understand there is a need for women to forge stronger economic connections with other women to increase our financial opportunities because they never faced this situation. Until national statistics show women equal men in earnings, corporate revenue and growth, I believe women should do business with other women whether it is in our own local communities, regionally or across the great state of New York.  

Elizabeth Cady Stanton knew 150 years ago that with women by her side, she could change the world. Remember with women entrepreneurs side by side, we can change the world not only for ourselves, but for other women, our daughters and even our sons.