Grace Pinto
Managing director
Ryan International Group of Institutions

March 8 is International Women's Day

Mar 8: "Be Bold for Change" is the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day. It exhorts everyone to stand for change for women of our society and help them achieve their ambitions and provide opportunities for them to make substantial contribution to advance and unleash the limitless socio-economic potential.

'Womanhood' is a very special vocation that God has given. Women are the foundation of the family and of society itself. Being a woman translates into solid determination to bring about positive change which comes quite naturally with a calling from above to invest a lifetime into encouraging all those with whom a woman comes in contact. All that a woman needs to do is to have faith in herself and believe in her own God-given abilities and accept her unique skills and talents, learn to own them, and to use them fearlessly and to contribute to the world. Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt has aptly said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Today, we witness a bold change taking place in our society. Women are moving out of their homes and taking up work, teaching, practicing medicine and even running global corporates. More and more women are looking at newer opportunities to exhibit their abilities. I do understand that women have always had a challenging task to be in the forefront in a number of male-dominated sectors. In terms of the challenges, I personally face as a woman leader, I would point to the challenge of continually motivating fellow women to envision what it is to set a life goal, to develop an intolerance for mediocrity and to aspire for excellence even if the going gets tough.

Women are blessed with unique traits, such as intuition, courage, and persistence, that if constructively exercised are extremely valuable and powerful. Women bring to the fore different skill sets as leaders with their multi-tasking, tremendous networking abilities which if channelised well potentially produce excellent results. Education has opened up new avenues for women that make them think differently and exercise their management skills exceptionally well. Women can wonderfully connect more easily with people and tend to be more empathetic. Another advantage is that of a woman being consistent and diligent in her attitude and approach. This results in the significant effect of her being a catalyst in whatever environment she finds herself in, whether that be her family, community, or society at large.

Women trailblazers and pioneers have added to human knowledge and skill in every field. They have made meaningful difference in the lives of people in both corporate as well as social entrepreneurship. However, today we need be bold for the right change and focus on empowering women through education that makes them independent thinkers and agents of change in society. Let this International Women’s Day be a day to connect with all women to inspire them to celebrate their womanhood with an assurance that the future is bright, equal, safe and rewarding. I urge you to dream big and if your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough, as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia would say. Finally, I would say, "Let us move from competition to contribution and our lives will become celebration." "Forward Ever, Backward Never."

Happy Women’s Day!