This morning, I woke up and began seeing the images.
Women who had worked hard, persisted, navigated systems that were not necessarily designed with them in mind, and secured their place at the table.
I sat with those images longer than I expected. Something stirred in my spirit. It wasn’t just excitement or even celebration. It was something deeper.
I found myself thinking about the generations of women who came before them. The women who opened doors they would never get to walk through themselves. The women who challenged expectations, raised families, built communities, educated children, led organizations, and kept showing up even when the doors remained closed.
Some never got to see the fruit of what they planted. But here we are.
And I couldn’t help thinking about the little girls and young women who would wake up today and see something that might change how they imagine their own futures.
There is something powerful about seeing possibility take shape in front of you.
I had a conversation with a white colleague recently that has stayed with me.
We were talking about women in leadership and representation. She shared that she had never actually had the thought that seeing someone who looked like her in a particular space made the possibility real.
I responded, “That’s because it was always possible to you.”
I’ve thought about that exchange several times. Because sometimes what we take for granted is precisely what someone else has had to fight to believe.
When you have consistently seen people who look like you represented in positions of influence, leadership can feel like an assumed possibility. You may never have to stop and wonder whether there is room for you.
You may never have to look around a room and question whether someone like you belongs there. You may never have to search for evidence that someone with your background, your identity, or your experience can lead at that level.
For many Black women, that experience has been different.
Not because the possibility wasn’t there. It was. The intelligence was there. The leadership was there. The experience, vision, courage, and capacity were there. What has not always been there is equal access, recognition, opportunity, or the willingness of institutions to make room.
And those are not the same things.
I think about the women who have led without the title, carried responsibility without the authority, and contributed to decisions without being invited into the rooms where those decisions were made.
I think about the women who were qualified long before anyone considered them for the position. And I think about what it means when the next generation gets to see something different.
Representation doesn’t create our capacity. But it can change what the next generation believes is available to them.
Imagine being a young girl and seeing women who look like you occupying positions of influence, shaping conversations, making decisions, and leading institutions. Not as an exception to be celebrated once in a while, but as a visible part of what leadership looks like. That matters.
And this morning, I felt the weight and beauty of that in a way that is difficult to put into words.
But there is another part of this moment I don’t want us to overlook. Getting a seat at the table is significant. What we do once we get there matters, too.
Leadership is stewardship. It is the responsibility to use influence thoughtfully, to listen, to make decisions with integrity, and to recognize that our leadership affects people beyond the immediate room.
I will be praying for these women. Praying that they lead well.
That they have people around them who will tell them the truth. That they have the support, wisdom, and relationships necessary to navigate the weight of leadership. That they are not expected to carry every hope, every disappointment, and every expectation placed upon them. That they have room to lead as whole people. And that they remember the women and communities whose lives will be affected by the decisions they make.
I also hope we recognize that representation cannot become the finish line.
Opening a door matters. Keeping it open matters. Making sure others have a genuine opportunity to walk through it matters. We need women who will build, mentor, challenge, collaborate, and create opportunities for others. We need leaders who understand that influence is not simply about occupying a position. It is about what becomes possible because you were there.
And perhaps that’s what has touched me most today.
I am thinking about the generations behind us. The girls who will see these images. The women who will reconsider what they might pursue. The leaders who will begin to imagine a different future.
May they understand that their capacity was never in question. May they have opportunities that generations before them were denied. May they find the courage to occupy spaces without apologizing for their presence. And may those of us who have been given opportunities recognize the responsibility that comes with them.
The possibility was always there. But not everyone has had the privilege of assuming it was.
Today, more people get to see it. It’s a new day.
May we steward it well.
Well put. Thank you, Keisa!