Women, Vote for Yourself

Since 1987 (a fabulous year I might add), our country has been observing Women’s History Month each March. In 2020, the selected theme for Women’s History Month is “Valiant Women of the Vote.” 

In the spirit of the women who have gone before us and fought so diligently to ensure women were assured this basic right, I would like to impart a new take on this theme. Vote for yourself. Women of the Space Coast, hear my cry! 

As we dive deeper into 2020, vote for your skillset. Vote for your confidence. Vote for your ability to leave no task unfinished. Vote for your pay increase. Vote to scale back your schedule, or vote to jump back into a schedule.

The moral of the story here is, bet on you. No one can be a bigger advocate for you than you. On top of that, I implore women to support your fellow females. Whether you’re a single woman, a married woman, a mom or child free, stay-at-home or working 40-plus hours a week, the time for complacency or judgements is beyond over.

In 2011, to coincide with Women's History Month, the White House issued a 50-year progress report on the status of women in our country. It found that young women are now more likely than their male counterparts to hold a college degree and that the number of men and women in the workforce has nearly equalized. This is exciting news for women everywhere because we are now in a day and age where the stigma of being a working woman is over. Women no longer are a minority in the workforce. Instead we are all collectively just, the workforce.

I feel blessed to have been raised in a time where a fight that was so visceral and palpable 100 years ago is now a memory. I also find tremendous hope in the fact that attitudes are adjusting towards women in the workplace and how they should be treated. It’s important to drive all decisions in business based on your value system and not by fear of not getting ahead. Whether you work in a highly visible high-pressure industry or own your own small business, we all deserve respect.

I look forward to a new internal fight to be won among women everywhere. Bet on yourself, and vote for you! 

Jennifer Sugarman, President and CEO of the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce, is a busy working mom to son, Emmett. She formed the Cocoa Beach Chamber’s Young Professionals Group in 2016, currently serves on the board for United Way of Brevard and is an active member in Brevard County’s business community.

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