On March 8, 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd, Russia protested for better working and living conditions. One hundred years later, women in the United States and around the world are striking and protesting for the same. International Women's Day – formerly known as Labour Women's Day — has a long heritage of bringing women together to demand that the world recognize and appreciate our contributions.
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As a millennial woman who graduated from college during the Great Recession, I watched myself and my friends scramble to seize every opportunity that presented itself. ours. We hid our degrees to don the uniforms and name badges of the low-paying hourly jobs the university was supposed to insure against. Twenty-somethings like me went straight from the dorm to the childhood bedroom.
These difficult times gave employers and managers tremendous leverage over us. Unpaid internships have become numerous. We worked long hours, reluctant to ask for raises and promotions, eagerly signing the dotted line for depressed wages. I knew women who cried in their car or in the bathroom during lunch breaks because they hated their jobs or their bosses but didn't feel like they could stop. It was the equivalent of staying in a bad relationship because you didn't think you could find someone better to love you. It stifled our creativity and put us at risk.
The recession may be over, but the mentality persists. Employers continue to expect young employees to cope with the circumstances they provide to us. I say. I was here. After a fulfilling career in sales and marketing, I set out to get my MFA in creative writing. When I graduated, I desperately wanted a job as an editor. Me too desperately needed a job because two years of college completely decimated my savings account.
For the first time, I found myself facing the disappointing reality that my peers faced in 2007, except that it was almost 10 years later. As I prepared to return to my hometown and with my mother in Kentucky, I scoured job boards trying to find something in the field of writing. The job I got paid $15 an hour, less than I made selling cosmetics at Nordstrom, and I would have to wait three months for my health insurance to kick in. But they were thrilled to have me and was told if I "knocked him out" I would get a raise in December along with everyone else.
I've always been a high performer, someone who constantly strives to be better at my job, but now it felt like I was being told to shrink.
Within two months, I was told I was the best writer they had on staff, selected from more experienced team members to train a new hire. I had ideas and I was there whenever my boss needed me. But when I asked about the raise during my exam, my boss seemed taken aback. I wasn't asking for anything more than what was promised, but it was like he was offended, I even mentioned it. I did not know what to do. If he had just said that I didn't win it, I could work harder. But it was clear I deserved a raise, he just didn't think it was my place to bring it to his attention. I've always been a high performer, someone who constantly strives to be better at my job, but now it felt like I was being told to shrink.
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I clasped my hands in front of me on the table and smiled. He felt small, like a little girl. A little girl who didn't know her place. The conversation continued, but my mind was stuck on the follow-up. Without even knowing it, I began to channel these women of 1917, the Russian textile workers who wanted better, who knew they were worth more. I started mentally listing my strengths — my work experience, my professionalism, my writing skills. I knew I had to leave because this man was never going to honor my worth.
Over the next several months, I took on freelance writing assignments, set up columns with local newspapers, and featured my work at national outlets, eventually doing as much as I did at my low-wage day job. So I stopped. It hasn't been easy. Freelancing is difficult. I never understood the fanatics of “No Days Off” until I started working for myself.
But I determine the value of my work. I don't look at the clock to get through the work day. I choose when and with whom to work, and I make sure that I am respected for what I bring to the table.
Things change. Women, it's time for us to honor our own worth, own it, and demand more of our employers, find new ones, or do it ourselves.
But before we can, you have to believe that you can. Sit down and make a list of your profitable skills. Get together with your friends and honestly evaluate each other's resumes. Contact your mentors and ask for an assessment. If there are weak spots in your resume, take classes or teach yourself the skills you need to increase your value and network with other women who can help you advance in your career. br />If you are undervalued in your role, explore other opportunities that may be available to you, or create your own:the YouEconomy is growing. You don't have to quit your job today, but it never hurts to start putting a plan in motion. For more than 100 years, working women have had to advocate for respect in the workplace. Now it's our turn to join the fight.
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