HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

This year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” is not just a call to action for fostering a mindset of generosity, reciprocity, and collaboration, it is also a call to action for us women to pause and reflect on: are we giving in ways that actually allow us to gain? And what kind of giving actually creates gain?

As women, we are natural givers. From mothers to mentors, colleagues to community builders, giving is woven into our biology, culture, and conditioning. We give, we show up. we support.

we hold things together and quite often the recognition, the opportunities, the reciprocity never seem to come our way.

Many women have been conditioned to give in ways that come from pressure rather than power. We give to avoid conflict, to be loved, to prove our worth or simply because we were taught that being selfless makes us valuable.

In relationships, this can look like over-functioning, fixing, and carrying emotional weight for everyone else. In careers, it can look like saying yes to extra responsibilities, working harder than necessary, and quietly taking on invisible labour.

Over time, we have seen how this creates burnout, resentment and depletion. When we give from exhaustion, we don’t actually gain, instead we slowly lose ourselves. Real gain comes from a different kind of giving; one that comes from choice, clarity, and self-respect.

It also means allowing something many women struggle with: Receiving.

For a long time, receiving felt uncomfortable and a part of me believed I had to prove my worth by giving more, doing more, and never needing anything in return. If I could just contribute enough, achieve enough, help enough… then maybe I would deserve my place. When we wake up to the truth that we are valuable as we are, we exit the loop of over giving and become open to receiving. And when we allow ourselves to receive, our giving becomes more intentional.

One of my most powerful shifts was not in learning how to give more but learning how to give without losing myself and learning how to receive without the need to prove myself.

On this special day, may we all learn to give from strength, not from survival and may we finally allow ourselves to gain.