Queen Bey says, “Who run the world? Girls.” And we agree.
International Women’s Day is a well-deserved salute to strong women everywhere. Originally observed in 1911, this celebration is rooted in the fight for gender equality. While it’s inspiring to see women spread the message of unity and pride on social media, it is also important to remember that female empowerment is more than just a hashtag. In honor of this historic day, we wanted to get deeper.
From interns to directors, we spoke to the women of Faviana to better understand the significance of female empowerment.
For all the boss babes who live loudly and proudly everyday, this one’s for you.
Laura Cvikevich; Marketing Director
“To me, being a woman means tapping into a power that cannot ever be taken away from you. It means being both feminist and feminine. Being a woman means I can be anything and everything I want to be. Female empowerment means overcoming adversity. It’s a movement we should all be part of: women supporting other women! If I could give my younger self advice, I would say, ‘Don’t ever doubt yourself or what you bring to the table. It’s a complete and utter waste of time! Shoot for the stars. Hard work and a positive attitude pays off.’”
Dawn Shivers; Director of Design & Production
“If I could give advice to my younger self, I would say, ‘Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t smart enough or good enough, or that this is the best you can do. You are a strong, smart and capable woman who can achieve anything you want. You will come across situations in life where you want to take the easy road, but know you should trust your gut and push yourself through the hard road. That may mean sticking up for someone being bullied instead of joining in or refusing a job that isn’t in the field you want even though the salary is good. In the end, it will pay off, you will be able to see the rewards, and you will be able to assist other woman achieve their goals.’”
Sydney Lenox; Social Media Intern
“To me, being a women means taking pride in the opportunities I have, especially the opportunity to seek higher education. As a women of color and daughter of an immigrant, I am reminded daily of the women who came before me who struggled so that I can freely go to school and of the women who are still struggling for those rights around the world. Being a woman means taking pride in every choice I make for my education- no matter what it may be- because that choice is mine alone to make.”
Randel Santangelo; Content Marketing Coordinator
“The biggest piece of advice I would give to my younger self would be to say yes to everything, to travel everywhere and to take advantage of every opportunity, because you never want to have regrets or “what-ifs” in your mind about a path you could have chosen.”
Samantha Bruno-Tello; Merchandising Intern
“To me, one of the main parts of being a woman is being confident and determined. Although it’s generally not as tough for women in the world today compared to previous decades, success still doesn’t come easy to us in a largely male-dominated world. We have to work hard, and I think that’s just something unspoken, but widely understood between all women. Being a woman means knowing what you want and working towards it, and being strong regardless of how difficult certain things are. It’s independence and inspiration, and finding unique ways to leave your own footprint on the world. Women should continuously support other women and their goals. There are so many instances and ongoing situations where women “hate” on other women out of envy or anger or whatever else is going on in their lives, but I honestly don’t see the point in that. I feel like we are all one giant, collective team and if we keep clashing within ourselves, then we’ll get nowhere. It’s amazing seeing other women push each other closer to their goals, growing and supporting each other together, because that’s how we get somewhere and be proud of it. We should be proud and inspired when we see someone else doing well or getting somewhere in the world, we shouldn’t put them down or ridicule them or be like “Why isn’t that me?”. Female empowerment means empowering others but also empowering yourself and recognizing that everyone’s on different paths and moving at different paces… I wish I could tell my younger self not to be afraid to take “that step” or have my ideas heard… I used to be so afraid of taking initiative or taking risks and standing out, but I’ve realized how important that is for my growth and experience. Speaking up and valuing your own voice is so important and I feel like a lot of young girls don’t acknowledge that.”
Sonal Patel; Director of PR
“I come from a culture where being a woman was definitely not celebrated, and having a voice, opinion or mind of my own was looked at as a major negative. Hearing about some of the sacrifices my mother had to make and her own desire for independence in a culture that didn’t allow it, really showed me what being a woman means. You make sacrifices, you fight battles, you have to shout louder, and lots of times bang on that door more than you ever wished you had to. And you start to realize, you have created a journey (similar to your mother) and a path, for someone else to have it just a tiny bit easier than you did. To me, female empowerment is not a word, it’s a movement. It doesn’t come easy, you can’t stay in the shadows, and when you want to cry in a ball on the floor, you pick yourself up. Why?! Because for every moment you feel that way, there is a woman around you feeling the same. There are little girls looking up at you, thinking, “hey, she looks like me, maybe I can be like her when I grow up.” There are mothers looking down thinking, I couldn’t be, so I raised someone who could. Female empowerment is not just lifting the girls and women up around you, but allowing them to help raise you into a powerful force to be reckoned with. Happy International Women’s Day to all you lovelies that empower me to keep doing what I do!”
In honor of International Women’s Day, we invite you to stand together and celebrate the strength you possess!
Let’s continue this conversation. Tag us @Faviana on Instagram or @FavianaNY on Twitter, and let us know what female empowerment means to you.
With love,
Erica
Written by Erica Fouts
