By: Amanda Abernathy, FLIGHT team member
March 8th is International Women’s Day and many organizations around the world came together to create the theme ‘Each for Equal’ with the goal of creating a gender equal world. To celebrate International Women’s Day, FLIGHT is partnering with UPMC Women in IT (WIT) and Women Inspiring Talent in Health Care (WITH) for an empowerment celebration. This event, consisting of two speakers and a networking event, will take place on April 9, 2020. Loan Hutton will speak on behalf of the International Women’s Club and Liz Mims will speak on behalf of Dress for Success. I had the opportunity recently to speak with Loan Hutton about International Women’s Day and what this year’s theme means to her.
Loan Hutton is the embodiment of an empowered person. She has held several different leadership roles, including President and Director of Activities, in her 27 years with the International Women’s Club of Pittsburgh. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Saltworks Theater Company, a non-profit organization that addresses social issues through performance arts.
When asked what ‘Each for Equal’ means to her, Loan responded that people should receive each other with an open mind. There should be no pre-judgement based on appearance and surface characteristics. This spirit is what Loan views as the biggest success of the International Women’s Organization. Despite their many differences, everyone is welcome into the group as equals.
I also asked colleagues at UPMC Enterprises what this year’s ‘Each for Equal’ theme means to them, check out what they have to say:
- “To me, #EachforEqual means creating a workplace, classroom, or social space in which we can recognize our differences but use them to empower personal and professional growth. It’s about each individual – man, woman, healthy, wealthy, young, old or anything else – teaching and inspiring others from the cards they’ve been dealt in life to create a culture in which equality can be achieved. A key element of promoting this culture is allowing and respecting questions about what makes us different to be asked.” – Kat Robertshaw, Business Analyst
- “I think ‘Each for Equal’ means that every person matters. It means that every person is responsible for respecting, listening, and valuing their neighbor. We are all human, we are all in this together.” – Tanisha Smith, Technical Program Manager, Project Management & Software Development
- “To me, it means expanding the conversation to include ALL people, not just women, as well as giving people the tools and confidence to speak up and be heard regardless of title, age, race, or gender.” – Aishwarya Shivkumar, Product Analyst, Digital Solutions
- “By each one of us standing strong for equality, whether it be equality in gender, race, age, etc., we can individually and collectively make a difference and affect change.” – Lisa Madden, Program Manager, Technical
