Pink Hope in 2018 For Women

As I awoke knowing I would be heading to Albany for a special event I looked out my back window to see the morning sky turning from grey to deep pink. It wasn’t your typical orange glow but the exact hue of my company’s brand color. I knew it was a message from above that 2018 was going to involve more to do with women – women in business, female athletes and women activists.

By the time the first business day of the New Year ended, I had received an invitation to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State Address in Albany the next morning, communicated for the third time with Billie Jean King inviting her to our January 20th event and had Twitter contacts with Patricia Arquette and Marianne Williamson about the state of women. If you don’t believe Twitter works, think again because all of my communication that day had to do with Twitter and using different hashtags especially #MeToo.

I entered the highly secured Empire State Plaza to find the woman who invited me to the State of the State Address. The room was filled with a ceremonial energy I haven’t experienced since President Deborah Stanley’s swearing in ceremony at SUNY Oswego. I found Kelli, Women’s Affairs Director for the Governor, and was shown to the “MeToo” row. We were told when the Governor mentioned us to rise and stand to be recognized. I had met Kelli in May by accident when I went up to her at an event and told her I thought I knew her. We didn’t but that chance networking encounter opened the door for a new relationship and my invitation to Albany. If you don’t believe networking works, think again.

Because we had to wait a couple hours until the Governor spoke, I had lengthy discussions with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and her partner Luz Marquez Benbow and Connie Vasquez, a Manhattan attorney and recent New York City #MeToo March Organizer, all three child rape survivors. I told them of my sexual harassment experience at my first corporate job which seemed to pale in comparison to their experiences. We agreed although that every woman’s story in this arena is essential and should be heard to inspire government action for future prevention.

Just like the annual Presidential State of the Union addresses, the crowd rose and clapped when they agreed with the speaker. Our #MeToo line rose when the Governor mentioned the legislation we were most interested in. When the entire address was finished, I had a new respect for state addresses, a reminder citizens must be involved with legislation and their government and gratitude for meeting a couple national women of influence. As I hugged my new friends good-bye and drove home late, I remembered the pink sky.

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom has lessons for you to take away today. First, do not underestimate the power of networking and approaching a woman you don’t know to start a conversation because she might be more important than you can imagine in your future. Second, don’t underestimate the power of a hashtag! The #MeToo hashtag is one of the most significant ones in today’s world for women. Remember hashtags lead you to a subject page on Twitter where other like minded people gather. Find new contacts there. You might just find some national women to connect with. Third, say YES to invitations and go with the thought the experience will embolden and enrich your life in some way.