Women’s Inclusivity is Our Superpower

Thoughts on This Year’s International Women’s Day Theme

Get out the streamers and balloons!

“Why?” you ask. “Because Blank hit the USA Today bestseller list?”

“No,” I respond. Then shyly add, “But it did!” (Blush emoji.)

“It’s really because today is International Women’s Day, a global, annual celebration of women’s rights that kicked off in 1910 in which social, cultural, and political achievements of women are feted. Big time.”

“Ah,” you say. “Okay!”

Every International Women’s Day has a different theme. 2024’s is Inspire Inclusion. Meaning: Inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion thereby creating a better world. When women feel included, they feel more empowered.

We need empowered women. We need women stepping up and leading with empathy and sensitivity. Women don’t just need to be included. We need to be encouraged to take charge and be role models.

As you all know, I run a book-centric media company of 30+ full-time and part-time employees, two of whom (which?) are men. More are moms.

It isn’t that I don’t like men. I do! Very much. Especially my husband. But when it comes to collaborating and inspiring, I’ve found that leading a team of women has been ridiculously fun and an effective tool in our company.

My leadership style is motherly, although that sounds like a grandma has just popped into the boardroom in her apron and slippers with a new loaf of banana bread. I lead as me. To make others feel included, I open up and let people in emotionally, not as a workplace trick but because I want to.

My team and I work in the office three days a week. On those days, we take a break at noon and walk to my apartment where we sit around my dining room table, have lunch, and chat. We laugh. We bring up work, yes, but we also discuss fun shows or movies we’re watching, books we’re reading, travel plans, and our thoughts on Taylor Swift. We connect. We enjoy each other’s company as people, as women, and then, fortified, we walk back together to work. Everyone is invited to lunch so that small factions don’t break off and get cliquey. To be a good team, you all have to all be on the playing field at the same time.

In my novel, (USA TODAY BESTSELLING!!!!!) Blank, my main character Pippa Jones decides to take a stand professionally when she hands in her novel entirely blank, devoid of words. Not everyone thinks this is as brilliant idea as she does, nor do they all stand by her side. When friends behave poorly, Pippa has to create a village around herself and gets a bit adrift, unmoored.

What if Pippa had headed to an International Women’s Day event?!

At Zibby Books boutique publishing house, all but one of the 30+ authors whose books we’re publishing are also women. Connecting them to each other has been central to our team-building ethos. A WhatsApp group. Team retreats. Regular events involving groups of them. They’ve become not just colleagues but close friends, lifting each other up emotionally and professionally. They cheer on each other’s Instagram posts, attend each other’s book tour events, help each other with edits. They’ve formed a tight-knit group. A rising tide lifts all ships.

Women don’t usually need to be reminded to be inclusive. That’s who we are at our core. Community builders. Coalition creators. We’ve learned through evolution to depend on each other to help raise kids, cook, and create. And while gossip may make some women feel excluded, it’s usually not mean-spirited and rarely finds its way into the most loving organizations.

That’s really what we do: lead with love. Lead with group formation in mind, not to enhance work flow but to enhance lives which, in turn, helps the company.

March 8th is a day to celebrate inclusion. But we women know that’s something we celebrate every day, from the alternating car pool pick-ups to the watching each other’s kids and more. Yes, we want to be included in some rooms that don’t value our style. But… do we? Really? Or could we continue to create fabulous new places and spaces designed by us for us.

Let’s lead by example, ladies. Inspiring inclusivity. Every day.

Happy International Women’s Day, dynamos.