Letter to my younger self: Women’s history month edition

Dear Younger Me, Oh, how much you have to discover about your exciting place in this world as a female. The ballot will welcome you. The decision-making tables will have a seat for you. The field will belong to you. The library shelves will hold your voice. The altar will shift to include your presence and leadership. But none of this is possible now. When you were born in 1963, women made up just 2% of Congress, and no Armenian American women held national office. Fast forward to today, and you will find Armenian American women serving on city councils, school boards and state legislatures across the U.S., including Anna Eshoo, who served as a U.S. Representative from 1993 to 2005, and Jackie Speier, who served in Congress from 2008 to 2023. You will see Armenian women in positions of power and policymaking. When you were born, there were no women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies until 1972. Thankfully, we have made progress, and today women hold around 10% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, and many women of Armenian descent have founded or held significant roles in major organizations. For instance, Carolyn Rafaelian, a philanthropist and founder of Alex & Ani, Metal Alchemist and &Livy, has made remarkable strides in brand innovation while honoring her Armenian roots through philanthropy. You will be among these leaders, serving as the president of a women’s leadership organization partnering with Fortune 500 companies, in addition to serving as the board president of a nonprofit organization. You will be proud to know that you will serve as the CEO of a nonprofit organization for years, where you will step onto the prestigious TEDx stage and deliver an innovative talk titled “Today’s Girls Are Tomorrow’s Leaders.” One day, you will see Armenian women sitting at decision-making tables … And you will be one of them. Let’s not forget the strides we have made in finance. It’s hard for me to believe that when you were born, women couldn’t obtain credit in their own names and needed to co-sign with a man, even a son in extreme cases. Thanks to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, all that changed. Today women sign their own mortgages and hold key positions in banking. Your first job out of college, which will last for the next 20 years, will be in the banking and mortgage industry, where you will initiate a program to assist divorcing women in navigating one of their most challenging life transitions, both financially and personally. You will one day buy your own home and sign your own mortgage. In 1963, the phrase “women’s history” had not yet been coined, and women's contributions to history were largely marginalized. Armenian women preserving the memory of the genocide were mostly unpublished, as genocide survivors focused on assimilation rather than retelling the past. Fast forward to now, and we can read about inspiring authors like Aline Ohanesian, Nancy Krikorian, Elyse Semerdjian, Gil Harootunian and Khatchig Mouradian, whose novels showcase the strength of women. The untold stories of brave and resilient women are emerging through various art forms, and one day, you will write your own story and become an author. Armenian women will tell our stories in our own voices, and you will be among them. When you were born, altar service in the Armenian Apostolic Church was predominantly male, with girls' participation limited to choir or Sunday School. As Sunday school director today, you will proudly encourage both your male and female students to take meaningful roles during the Divine Liturgy, contributing as candleholders and participating in the sacred washing of the feet ceremony on Holy Thursday. This was unheard of when you were in Sunday school. While the tradition within the Armenian Church allows women to become deaconesses, the question of gender equality in our faith is still evolving. One day, when you grow up, you will see young women stepping into sacred spaces in front of the altar, and you will become a proud trustee. In your early years, when your twin brother played Little League, you watched from the bleachers with no other options for young girls to play sports. It wasn't until junior high that girls could sign up to play a sport. I recall two options: field hockey and basketball. It wasn't until 1972, when Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, that girls’ sports began to expand. Today, girls have equal opportunities to participate in sports alongside boys, and you will witness the rise of Armenian women athletes, from local high school captains to Olympians. You will one day watch Armenian girls lead varsity teams, earn scholarships and run marathons without apology. When you were born, you were required to wear skirts or dresses to school, just as your mom wore to work and your teachers wore in the classroom. This cultural norm began to shift with the rise of feminism in the 1970s. Although you didn’t fully understand it at the time, you embraced your mother’s enthusiasm for shopping for stylish pants outfits. While some might argue that the pendulum has swung too far toward decorum for both men and women, it is certainly nice to have the option to wear pants on cold New England days. My dear younger me, you will stand on the shoulders of the women who came before you. It is now your responsibility to encourage the next generation to understand that the freedoms they enjoy today were hard-won, and that they need to stand on your shoulders and others like you to see even farther and pave the way for future women to continue making history. With love, Older Me

Letter to my younger self: Women’s history month edition

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Victoria Atamian Waterman

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This story is FREE for you...

Victoria Atamian Waterman

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