It was in front of a 100% feminine audience that, in the flagship of our dreams at New York, we received Letty Cottin Pogrebin, writer, activist and co-founder of Ms. Magazine and Ms. Foundation for Women. By sharing her life story, Letty showed what it means to live and value female power.
Awareness, unity and firmness: as women, where can these actions lead us?
Getting to work since adolescence made it so Letty’s power blossomed naturally, without limitations or preconceived notions. Still single, she began a long, successful career at a time when the role of women was limited to being married, having kids and being a housewife.
• Being aware of the lack of women’s rights is the first step
This was the first step for Letty to wanting to learn more about women’s rights and to becoming a true feminist. It all began when, in the ‘50s, she realized that, in the working world, opportunities were vastly different for men and women. This led to Letty writing her first book “How to make it in a man’s world” – a bold and irreverent work. What Letty didn’t know is that she was letting other basic rights that many women didn’t have access to fly by, a turning point regarding her perception of the place women had in the world.
• Unity of all can change the system
After the publication of her first book, she was invited to be a female columnist at “The Ladies’ Home Journal”, which she used as a platform to debate feminist questions with 9 million followers. But the journey continued, being subsequently invited to start the National Women’s Political Caucus where she realized the impact of social policies over women and that social change only happens when there is a collective effort.
• Feminism is a movement that deserves to be defended firmly
Along those same lines Ms. Magazine was born, alongside Gloria Steinem, with the idea of showing what was happening in the world and being a means to inspire change. With the notion that any one of us can change the world, as long as there is a firm, planned and collective action, and with the certainty that feminism is a movement that deserves to be defended, in the same way that other causes and movements of Humanity are defended.
Letty became a feminist from head to heart and thus realized that there is only one road to follow to make our rights count: Be aware, be the change through unity with more women and be firm in the fight, even when it’s underappreciated.
Find your own female power as well with June’s Talk here and do good for you and for all of us ?