Women Power

There are a lot of strong women in my life. There always have been, and I’m incredibly happy to have them on my side.

During post-work cocktails, I told Leslie (who is now officially part of the leadership of the firm) the story of my crazy old roommates and how abusive they could be. She said, “Oh my God — Let’s take them down, Catherine. We’ll destroy them.”

I beamed. I have no intention of seeking revenge, but hearing Leslie offer to defend me — and knowing her wit and intelligence would, in fact, destroy these two girls — felt incredibly empowering.

On the T home after this conversation, I buried myself in the pages of Wizard of the Crow (a satire on political corruption in Africa), but was struck after the first paragraph. It just seemed to resonate in many ways:

The condition of women in a nation is the real measure of its progress. You imprison a woman and you have imprisoned a nation, we sang in a song of celebration... Her eyes were still flashing with pride at the memory of the women’s courage and their well-earned victory. “And that night I kept on repeating the words. Women power did it.”