Dear Amanda and Lauren,

You both come from a long line of strong, courageous, independent women. My mom was one of six daughters who grew up with nothing but love, hard work and desire. They were just children when their right to a future vote became law in 1920. Your mom is the epitome of a fierce woman. She protects and is on the front line for you wherever she sees an injustice. With fierce loyalty she loves me and nurtures my humanity. These women and the women that came before them, were not content to be relegated to the shadows and back rooms of societal norms. In spite of what we see and hear daily, I believe that our social awareness and consciousness is changing for the better. Negativity sells and the provocative and lurid, momentarily feeds our natural voyeurism, but there are glimpses of goodness all around us. As a woman, your struggle to be heard and be valued not only for your outward appearance but for your intellect, continues on. Our institutions of power are still blind to the inbred sexism handed down from generation to generation. In corporate America I work daily with women who are the best and brightest of this generation. Though I often see them in the conference room, I rarely see them in the boardroom. Our churches have a heritage of pseudo-biblical sexism that welcomes a woman to bring a casserole to the next potluck, join the social or flower committee, teach a ladies sunday school class, but locks the sacred doors of leadership.

On the days leading up to this election, women paid homage to Susan B. Anthony by placing their “I voted” sticker on her grave stone. At the age of 17, Susan was collecting anti-slavery petitions. When she was 52 she was arrested for illegally casting her vote. 14 years after her death, the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote, was added to our Constitution. History records that “when she first began campaigning for women’s rights, Anthony was harshly ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage.”  From our vantage point of hindsight we can only shake our heads at the unconscious and ungodly lunacy of such thought – but one courageous woman from a Quaker family surveyed her world, reckoned that it was unacceptable and said, I will be the change.

Had Hillary Clinton been victorious in her pursuit of the presidency, her acceptance speech would have been symbolic in many ways. The room had a mirrored ceiling, and confetti was to give the appearance of shattered glass being broken, falling to the ground signifying that she had broken through the highest of glass ceilings. Little girls and women worldwide would now know that nothing was out of their reach. The returns did not go as expected, the speech was never given, the confetti never fell, the ceiling remained, and many women grieved.

My daughters, do not grieve, but be emboldened. You cannot look to others to change your world. The change resides within each of us. As parents we must raise our sons to value all people and to see and respect women for their intrinsic value to the very fabric of life. We must instill in our daughters that they can indeed overcome our societal baggage, can change hearts and minds, can break down walls and even crash glass ceilings. Greatness lives in each of you, and you must refuse to take an intellectual, physical, or emotional backseat to anyone or any institution. It grieves me that the price you will continue to pay is to be misunderstood, criticized, and accused of desecrating hallowed ground – but follow the direction of your heart and be undeterred. Know that I love you both with all that I am, and that I will stand with you wherever this path leads.