Women Who Pay It Forward (Guest Post)

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Christy B

Hi all! Today I’m pleased to welcome Sharon Phillips to the blog to chat about networking and empowering women. Her project titled the “Empowering Women Exchange” provides an exciting opportunity for females that I want to share with you. Without further ado, here is Sharon:

♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥

Empowering Networking Women to the Highest Degree

So many years ago, I discovered the power of paying it forward, and, once I did, the blessings and rewards began for me, and have not stopped. What a concept!

Then a dream project rested on my heart and I started “Empowering Women Exchange” We shared business tips and ideas, showcased businesses along with quest speakers, and began relationships that I still have today, 4 years later. The Exchange doesn’t hold meetings anymore, however, empowering women never stops.

And then I discovered International Women’s Day, March 8, in 2014, and told myself, here is my chance to spread the word, not just on a local level, but on a more global scale. And to bring Women together for networking and fundraiser events.

The first 2 years were a bust! 1st year, no one showed, last year, it was our guest speaker, and my self, ha! We had a blast, since we did a BLAB podcast, sharing our networking tips and suggestions.
Continue reading →

For International Women’s Day 2017: 5 Women Reaching for Gender Equality

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Christy B

Fighting Gender Equality is Hard Work, Like Exercise

Let’s Aim for Women and Men to be Equals.

The day is almost here! March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017. I hope this special day will be full of actions that help move the world toward being gender equal. On IWD, which dates back to 1908, let’s celebrate the accomplishments of women around the globe. Here are five of the many women championing for equal rights for women:

Manal al-Sharif

As a women’s rights activist from Saudi Arabia, Manal al-Sharif inspired a campaign for women’s right to drive. She went against the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and was imprisoned for nine days after filming herself driving a vehicle and then posting it to YouTube.

Her 2011 Women2Drive campaign put pressure on the government to change the law, particularly when social media picked up the story of this woman who questioned why women did not have the same rights as men. She continues to speak out about female oppression in her country.

Alma Gomez

In the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, Alma Gomez campaigns against feminicide. She co-wrote a chapter of the Terrorizing Women: Feminicide in the Americas book, as well as penning several articles on the killing of women who were involved in human rights causes.

Continue reading →

On Purple Nails and Reflections about International Women’s Day

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Christy B

I was going to call this ‘randomness’ but then you might not have read it. Nooo don’t stop reading (Enter The Matrix slow movement of Neo, note to self to see if I can get a full-length coat like his but in deep purple instead). Oh yes, purple.

I told Cassidy, whose blog I have been following for a long time now, that I would share a photo of me with my nails. Purple, sparkly, OPI brand, here you go:

Showing my purple nails and Sunday face. Photo via Christy Birmingham (me!)

And then my mind started its usually whirring. More notes to self and such. I mean, it’s Sunday, so it’s a day to rest, right? Nope, apparently not. Does your mind go on its hamster wheel a lot too? I began thinking about purple, the shade of International Women’s Day. It was a #paintitpurple movement earlier this month. Okay, so here’s the thing. I wondered why purple?