Hope is Making a Comeback
by Tabby Biddle
Have you been watching any of the Democratic National Convention?
I have been watching it with my family over the last couple of nights and I feel like something slumbering has awakened in me.
“Hope is making a comeback,” Michelle Obama said so aptly last night in her speech.
I would add to this that joy is, too.
I feel so ALIVE and joyful when I see clips of Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail, smiling and laughing with folks, and embodying joy.
As Kamala’s husband Doug Emhoff said about her last night, "As I got to know her better and just fell in love fast, I learned what drives Kamala. And it's what you've seen over these past four years and especially these past four weeks," Doug said. "She finds joy in pursuing justice.”
This made me do a happy dance inside.
"She will lead with joy and toughness, with that laugh and that look, with compassion and conviction," he said. "She'll lead from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like, we're strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear."
Here’s to that!
It is so refreshing to see a female leader, especially a woman in politics, smile on stage and still be considered powerful. This is a change.
It is so refreshing to see the joy in Kamala’s eyes, face and whole body as she jiggles and lights up with laughter when she meets with people from all around the country and celebrates what a big moment this is for all of us.
I’d say that Vice President Kamala Harris is bringing back joy to women’s leadership, which is such a gift. Because our joy—your joy—is such a gift!
Photo credit: Erin Schaff/The New York Times
As Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, so famously said in the 2011 Sundance documentary Miss Representation: “You can’t be what you can’t see.”
My experience with this is that many of us as female leaders and emerging leaders have intuitive feelings about what we want to do and who we want to be, but unless we see someone else ahead of us modeling that, we tend to struggle with showing up in our full truth.
As some of you know, I started my career in politics, helping pro-choice women leaders get elected into political office. It worked! In 1992, when i worked for the Women’s Campaign Fund, we successfully supported the most women into political office in American History.
Although the numbers seems paltry now, never before in the United States had four women been elected to the Senate and 24 women to the House in a single election year.
Also, never before had a U.S. state been represented in the Senate by two women. In this case, California, with Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein.
The following decade, the number of women in the Senate more than doubled. And today, there are 25 female Senators and 125 female representatives to Congress. Still less than 29% of the seats, but progress.
From 2013 - 2016, one of my professional goals was to support more women to find their political voice. It was a time of hope and possibility. We were in the second term of the Obamas, and it was looking like we could possibly have our first female presidential candidate and president.
Then you know what happened in that 2016 election.
But now we are at a new precipice. Hope is making a comeback. Joy is making a comeback. And we have the potential of a “joyful warrior” female president.
"She finds joy in pursuing justice.”
Maybe this is an invitation to all of us female leaders and emerging leaders to allow more joy into our own leadership.
Every emotion has a measurable frequency. Joy and love are at the highest. They bring healing to our body, mind, spirit and emotions. When you are in leadership and in your joy, you bring these benefits to your people. And it feels great!!!
"She finds joy in pursuing justice.”
Where do you find your joy?
"She'll lead from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like, we're strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear."
What do you believe in? (Permission to DREAM BIG.)
About Tabby
My life’s work is dedicated to uplifting, amplifying and championing women’s voices as writers, public speakers, and feminine thought leaders. Over the last 15 years, I have supported thousands of women leaders and emerging leaders to find and use their voice to grow their influence, income and social impact. Curious about how I can support you? Get in touch.