I have a daughter, Molly, and I want the world to be a place where she is treated like a human being and not devalued because she is female. During the early months of the pandemic, we were cleaning out our basement and I found a box of documents and evidence from a claim I filed against local city government and my union, and I shared it with Molly and I told her what happened. Some of the hate mail I received is above. I need to keep telling my story and so do other women. My #Dear Daughter journey started with Molly that day and I will continue to share with her and other daughters the inequalities I have endured in an effort to imagine their future lives with equity and inclusion.

The first goal is to make connections with women and their allies who are working toward equality and to have conversations. Because of the pandemic and the advantage of the internet, these conversations can take place online through social media platforms. In the conversations women will discover what they have in common, what is different, and what other experiences women are undergoing. Women all over the world are experiencing the pressures of the pandemic whether they are single, married, or if they have kids or not. Gender inequality spans into other marginalized groups of LGBTQ+ and women of color. Inequality may look different for certain groups of women but the struggle for and the goal to achieve equality will be the same. Working toward equality will create solidarity for women, and women will discover they have more in common than they think.

The next objective is for women, guardians, and allies to make #Dear Daughter connections with girls ages 10 to 20 to talk to them about a world that is better for women so that we can realize a better world for all. For women to bring the #Dear Daughter dimension to life they need to talk about imagining gender equality to each other as well as with allies and girls. Talking about issues regarding pay gaps, education, helping women start and sustain small businesses, and empowering women in today’s world should belong to everyone not just women and the conversations should start with girls. Gender equality will be achieved by encouraging men to share the care work, empowering girls to speak out, and stopping the body shaming.

Allies of gender equality are important for imagining the success of the #Dear Daughter movement and mission of inclusion and equity. The term daughter is intended to be imagined in the broadest sense as the mentors will vary from grandmas to neighbors to anyone who feels connected to the movement to improve gender equality. The purpose of planning a social media campaign that will propose ideas that are dynamic and work in the pandemic environment we are living in is to empower women and bring light to gender inequality. Our real world has been redefined and working with women, their allies, and guardians the social media campaign #Dear Daughter will reach out to girls to mentor and empower them in age-appropriate mediums.

In order for the movement to thrive, natural leaders will be identified to continue and carry on the #Dear Daughter messages and stories to the next generation. The long-term goal will be to incorporate more men into the movement to imagine equality for all. Men have the ability to be the greatest allies when the movement can successfully integrate them into the project to realize equality for all. We posted a brief video on this claim on TikTok and Instagram.

Please stay tuned to our blog and Facebook because we have a Men’s Panel on Gender Equity scheduled for Thursday, November 19, and we will post a video of that panel discussion.