When we were kids, every little girl had a dream. Maybe you dreamed of being a veterinarian. Maybe you dreamed of being an adventurer. Or a CEO. I can’t tell you for sure what every girl’s dream was, but I can tell you for certain that none of them dreamed of being silenced. In today’s world, many people think we’ve made leaps and strides in women's rights and feminism in the workplace. But how correct are those people? I’m willing to bet not very.

There has been a rise in women leaders in the workplace and we have seen that across all industries. For example, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hershey, Michele Buck. She has advanced her career through several leadership positions to reach her current role. This success story is great to hear, but what about the other women in the workforce?

Whether you are born or identify as a woman, there are many battles we face as a group. I want to ask you, how often have you been cut off from speaking? How often have you been made to feel less than because your work style is considered “girly”? Even other women who are looking to match the part of the man in the workplace are guilty of silencing women. It’s not only the “big, bad man” who’s the guilty party here, and if we start by acknowledging this, we’re one step closer to finding our voices.

Our voices are one of the most important weapons we have in our arsenal to fight for our right to equity. Our “girly” ways of working are conducive to fairness and happy workplaces. We can’t let ourselves lose sight of who we are and the way we lead just because of the enormous history the world has of minimizing the ideas and power of women.

Now, as I say the fight for equity, I know many people will assume I’m talking about an overbearing and overzealous fight for feminism, where we put women ahead of men in all. This is not the case. As a fighter for women’s rights and for equity for women in the workplace, I am talking about creating an even playing field for all.

I want to take this opportunity to re-paint your picture of what a feminist is. There’s been a negative connotation attached to the word that has added to the struggles faced by our group. A feminist is someone who believes there should be equity for women and who acts to ensure this happens. It’s not negative. It’s not embarrassing. I’m proud to say that I’m a feminist.

With this new definition of equity and feminism, we should be better equipped to stop the silence. I leave it to the leaders of tomorrow, the students who are reading this article, to ask themselves: how will I act to ensure we’re moving towards an equitable workplace? How will my actions as an employee, as a manager, as a CEO fix the wage gap across all Canadian workplaces? How will I work to ensure that we’re not dominating conversations and taking the voice away from the women in the room? How will I adjust my behavior to make room for different thoughts, opinions, and strategies?

Yes, this conversation has started. But we can’t give up on trying because we feel we’ve made progress. There’s a lot of road for us to travel before this issue is solved, and even then, we can’t stop driving lest we fall behind again. Let’s not let any other little girl’s dream be silenced.