Wednesday Wisdom: Women Rising – Thank You Kathy Hochul
Wednesday Wisdom, Motivation, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Women, Females in Business
Walking into a packed conference room, on a warm summer afternoon at the Burnet Park Zoo in Syracuse, to testify in front of the New York State Labor Commission on the need for a pay equality law for women, I arrived early. Looking for someone to talk to, I noticed a woman who looked familiar so I approached her and asked if we knew each other. What did I have to lose if the answer was no? It turned out she was the Women’s Issues Representative for New York State’s Governor and Lt. Governor’s Office there for the event and we hadn’t met before.
After chatting for a while, she handed me her business card and told me to stay in touch since my business mission was focused on women in New York State. I tucked the card carefully away and was called to testify first in front of a panel of eight people on why women entrepreneurs don’t earn equal pay because our culture has taught us not to ask for more money since our sisters in corporate America get paid less. I must have impressed her because she reached out to me several times afterwards for my help.
Since the Lt. Governor of New York State Kathy Hochul was the chairwoman of New York’s State’s Commission to plan and execute programs in 2017, which marked the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State, I was invited to attend different suffrage celebratory conferences and events to help promote event news with my feminist followers. Saying “yes” to those invitations, opened the door for me to get to listen to and meet Kathy Hochul multiple times which led to me asking her to be the keynote speaker at our annual conference for women entrepreneurs on September 27, 2017.
On that keynote day, I greeted her at the front of Welch Allyn Lodge to escort her to the conference room where she’d speak. When she saw the room full of 100+ women she said to me, “Tracy, this is a fantastic turnout, I’m impressed; tell me about this audience of women.” Other women were trying to catch her attention while she walked in but she was 100% committed to what I was sharing with her instead. She delivered a powerful speech about women rising if they worked hard enough.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is one day after the announcement that NYS Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul will become the first female Governor of New York State in fourteen days after tirelessly working on behalf of state citizens everywhere. Her travel schedule was beyond packed every time I heard about it but she attended every event I saw her at including the Women TIES Retreat with a glowing smile and enthusiasm for New York State – especially for women in the state. All I want you to think about today is how your hard work will help you rise one day as well. Use Kathy as an example.
The photo at the top of this post was taken on November 6, 2017, the exact 100th year anniversary of New York State women’s suffrage when Lt. Governor Hochul invited women, like me, along with my two sons in the new tall buildings of Hudson Yards on New York City’s west side high above the ground, to witness the event and celebrate how women have risen over the years. It was a night my sons still talk about which makes me proud to be a woman who has risen as well….. thanks to women like Kathy Hochul.
Women TIES 