While every day we recognize the contributions of all of our extraordinary team members, this National Women’s Month, we decided to ask our female colleagues about the women who inspired them to be who they are today.
Leslie W. Bailey, PHR, SHRM-CP, Human Resources Director took the question in a slightly different direction, noting that she credits her father with shaping her into the successful woman we know and admire:
“Though he was not a woman, my father truly believed in the power of women and believed in me even when I did not believe in myself. He pushed me to be the best I could be and encouraged me to believe that I can do and be anything I wanted, if I was willing to work for it. He never promised it would be easy, but said that anything worth achieving was worth working hard for.
He taught me independence, integrity and self-value and that though it is nice to have people proud of you for your accomplishments, it is more important to be proud of yourself. As a result, often before moving forward on a decision about which I am unsure, I look in a mirror and ask myself, ‘If I do/don’t do this, will I still be proud of who I am tomorrow’ I hope to instill the same confidence and values in my daughter. She is an amazing young woman and has and will continue to accomplish anything she sets her mind to. My daughter is also someone that inspires me to continue to be the best I can be in whatever I face.”
Brittney Fitzgerald, Accounts Payable Representative: “The woman that has inspired me the most, besides my mother of course, is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has been very influential to not just me, but to all women in the workforce. Ruth paved the way for equal-pay of women by ultimately fighting her way through the male-dominated court systems to lay the legal framework of women’s rights. Without her fighting so hard for our equality during the Women’s Movement, we would not be able to accomplish all that we have today. I do indeed aspire to be Ruth Ginsburg for the sole reason she has guided me throughout my life to fight for what I believe in and to go any length to see that there is equality for all.”
“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” –Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Check back to hear from more of our team members!
