Rising Women Leaders in Grand Rapids

One of my most favorite things about Grand Rapids are the women leaders in this community.  There are a lot of them, they are very intelligent, very well respected and for the most part, they all seem to have each other’s backs.

The other day I had lunch with a woman who is absolutely spectacular.   She has achieved tremendous success in her career and still has quite a list of goals she wants to achieve. She has a strong passion and desire to see women my age become successful.  She was one of the founders of a program in Grand Rapids called Rising Women Leaders.  It is a program sponsored by Huntington Bank and the Center for Community Leadership.  Their mission is to connect rising women leaders in the community and share knowledge, opportunities and information in the community that will help them succeed.

I’ve been thinking about her, and many of the other successful women that I have met, and I wonder, how hard was it for these successful women to break through the “glass ceiling”?  And, could I have done it?

I feel fortunate to be a part of a generation of women that didn’t have to face as many of those challenges.  Throughout my professional career I believe that most promotions and raises were earned based off of hard work and job performance. I am so grateful that these amazing women have led the way.  But, I can’t help but think to myself, because I didn’t face as many obstacles, how am I going to remind myself over the next 10, 20 or 30 years to be the same advocate for women younger than me, or am I going to even have to?