I am a woman. I am a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother. I am the continuation of my mother, my grandmother, and her mother and so on. As I have been shaped by those who came before me, I too will bear some responsibility for influencing those who come after me. This notion is at the crux of my journey. About a year ago, I began to ask myself, "What sort of legacy will I leave to my daughters?" Immediately, I began to take inventory of my life. I was an educator of young women, a writer of multi-cultural children's books, an involved and devoted parent...but I couldn't help feeling as though there might be something more out there that I could do. Gandhi has said that "we must be the change that we wish to see in the world." But what change did I wish to see? The answer came to me one day in my Political Science class, during a rather heated debate between my students and I. We were exploring the concept of feminism and its place in the 21st century, when one of my students suggested that there was "no need for feminists now because men and women are equal." Most of the class nodded in agreement, while another young woman added that "feminists hate men, and don't shave their legs or armpits...and they want to fight in war, too...I mean, that's just silly!" I was floored. And yet, as we began to discuss women as political leaders, the girls' opinions seemed to shift- "If a woman wants to be a leader, she has to think and act like a man!" "I would NEVER vote for a woman! They're so bitchy and emotional!" Was what I was hearing real? As a product of the feminist era, I was the first to recognize the tremendous advancements women had made in the last 30 years. But I was also conscious of the vast disparities between men and women- Women were often paid less than men, less likely to be promoted because of maternity- Women were more likely than men to be the victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse by a ratio of 5 to 1. Moreover, while women made up roughly half of the US population, they were tremendously underrepresented in state and federal government (At the federal level, women comprise only 16% of the Congress, and 24% at the state level.) But if young women truly believed that equality had been achieved, how might that reflect in their future actions as tomorrow's leaders? I applied for a year's sabbatical from my school and thus began my journey- an in-depth exploration of women in leadership, and the influence of gender on womens' leadership pursuits, sucesses and failures...with a heap o' activism and advocacy work on the side. I hope that you'll check in with me periodically to learn of my experiences. Feel free to comment as you wish! -H