5 Books to Inspire You on International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day to the fearless women I am so proud to stand amongst. This year we have already seen what happens when females raise their voices and stand together with the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements. In my day to day life I am always impressed by the women I meet, whether it is through work or social media. Seeing the way we women are able to balance families, career, relationships and everything else is inspiring, but not surprising. I truly believe women these days can have it all and I thank those before us who helped pave this path. Over the last year there have been particular stories that have left an impression on me. The following autobiographies have inspired me, encouraged me and left me with a sense of duty towards the younger girls who continue to dream big.

1) Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg
Written by the COO of Facebook, this book taught me things about women in the workplace that I wasn’t even aware of. Sure I knew about the gender wage gap, but I didn’t know that women were less willing than their male counterparts to negotiate for their salaries. She gives advice on knowing your worth, speaking up about your skill set and being confident to take up leadership roles.

2) Bossypants, Tina Fey
I expected it to be funny, maybe with some jokes about the Mean Girls era, but I didn’t realize I would feel impressed by her work ethic and how she juggles motherhood. In one chapter she describes writing an episode for 30 Rock and having her crew over at the apartment after giving birth.  While it doesn’t sound easy to have to balance it all she gives several examples of how when you’re the boss people will move their schedules around to accommodate you- more reason to hustle!

3) What Happened?, Hillary Rodham Clinton
Whether you agree with her policies or not, this book is all about female empowerment. Letting us in on her personal take of how the public perceives her were some of the most jarring moments of the book. I still cannot believe she was criticized for the clothes she wore, her hair/make-up, decision to not change her last name- over and over again she had to prove herself in ways we would never ask a male politician to do. She discusses the extra work we as women do without even thinking of it, emotional labor, to points throughout history that have helped create change for women. My favorite part was when she thanks Beyoncé for reclaiming a quote that she was criticized for years ago but resonates with today’s independent woman: “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession.”

4) Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling
What was so great about the sequel to her Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) were the details she shared about getting her own show. One of the first brown skinned, non size 0 females to be the leading actress on network TV was groundbreaking. Representation matters and in this book Kaling shows what persistence can achieve. She was never satisfied with being just the side chick and now she’s not.

5) #GIRLBOSS, Sophia Amoruso
Creator of the retail company Nasty Gal, Amoruso chronicles her journey from selling clothes on eBay to heading one of the premier online fashion retailers. From her scrappy go-getter attitude, we can all learn to trust in ourselves first. When she realized there were parts of her company she couldn’t handle herself she decided to delegate, something I still struggle with myself but found to be an important lesson. As women we tend to want to do everything ourselves, but it’s also okay to ask for help.