Courage

The “I CAN” Energy That Moves Women Forward

David R. Hawkins, in his book Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender, describes courage as:

“The hallmark of courage is the knowledge and feeling – I CAN. It’s a positive state in which we feel assured, skillful, adequate, capable, alive, loving and giving, with an overall zest for life. We are capable of humor, activity, confidence, and clarity. In this state, we are centered, balanced, flexible, happy, independent, and self-sufficient. We can be inventive, creative, and open. In courage, there is a lot of energy, action, letting go, capacity to ‘be there,’ to be spontaneous, resilient, resourceful, and cheerful. In this state, we can be very effective in the world.”

For me, no word embodies the essence of women more than courage. It has been the driving force behind every step of progress, from where we’ve been to where we are today. Even the pants I’m wearing right now are a testament to the brave women who had to fight for our right to wear them.

Women like Barbara Mikulski had the courage to fight—and win—the right to wear pants on the Senate floor in 1993. I can’t believe that in my lifetime, someone had to fight for the right to wear pants to  work. That victory was built on the courage of countless women who challenged restrictive rules, a fight that began as early as the 1850s with the women’s rights movement. Feminists were seeking liberation not just from patriarchal oppression but from the discomfort and limitations imposed by corsets and rigid dress codes. Feminism just makes sense, doesn’t it?

International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909 in the United States, organized by the Socialist Party of America. It gained global recognition in 1911, with marches and demonstrations in multiple countries advocating for women’s rights, including suffrage and labor rights. The United Nations officially recognized it in 1977.

As I write this today, I’m sitting in Santa Rosa, California—coincidentally, the birthplace of Women’s History Week (which evolved into the month). It began here in 1978 when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women organized a week-long awareness campaign to coincide with March 8th, International Women’s Day. In 1980, the National Women’s History Project successfully lobbied for national recognition, leading President Jimmy Carter to issue a presidential proclamation declaring National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress passed a law designating March as Women’s History Month, and every president since has issued an annual proclamation recognizing the month as Women’s History Month. As of today, no such proclamation has been made for  March 2025.

The global movement for women’s equality has been ongoing for centuries, gaining momentum with the fight for suffrage in the 19th century, workplace and legal rights in the 20th, and broader social justice movements in the 21st. From early feminist writings to modern activism like #MeToo, the push for gender equality has been ongoing and evolving. It is also a constant struggle with systemic barriers persisting. But make no mistake—this is not what some would cynically dismiss as a ‘woke’ movement (and I say that with full awareness of how absurdly the term is misused as a pejorative)—it is a historical and ongoing pursuit of basic rights, fairness, and opportunities that women have been fighting for long before the term was twisted.

Each year, as International Women’s Day approaches, I find myself grappling with its significance within our industry. While the day is meant to advocate for equality  and protest imbalance while celebrating women’s achievements, it often feels more like a performance—acknowledging women for a moment while failing to truly give them power the rest of the year. Real strides toward equality remain frustratingly slow, and the systemic barriers that keep women from a seat at the table, leadership, decision-making, and influence are still very much in place and it seems like many in “power” would like to keep it that way.

But this year, I feel extremely positive. I feel less inclined to share the cynicism I still carry on the subject. Which, admittedly, makes me giggle, because if ever there were a time ripe for cynicism, it would be now given the political climate in my own country, contrasted against the openness I feel in my global perspective of people.

Today, I have laser focus on the courage I see around me and in me—something that gives me hope, promise, and a deep sense of pride in women (and people) everywhere. More and more, I see women embracing the powerful quality of courage and I believe courage is essential for progress, both personal and collective. And I believe that no matter what happens, it can’t be quelled or stopped and in fact, its more powerful than ever, which may explain a lot of what I see in the world.

In nearly three decades in the global produce industry, I’ve seen courage as the force that moves women forward, individually and collectively. Today, it’s more accessible than ever—whether innate, learned, or even faked—driven by technology and our growing awareness of interconnectedness. Women, after all, excel at seeing and connecting.

But courage isn’t just an abstract virtue; it’s a dynamic energy that fuels growth and progress. I see it everywhere, in myself and others, and it excites me. I know my daily choices to be courageous contribute to a larger momentum, just as the way I’ve led myself in this industry has shaped collective success.

Every decision, no matter how small, shapes this energy. Even the smallest acts of courage can shift trajectories, while fear, complacency, and submission hold progress back. We feel that too—even from other women who, in theory, should be allies.

Courage is what the world needs today, what women need to embrace more than ever.  It transcends politics, religion, and socioeconomic status. It’s what allows us to challenge inequities, navigate complexities, and create meaningful change in every part of society.

The more courage we exude the more inwardly powerful we become, the more flexible we are, allowing us to remain open to all that is beneficial. This internal strength is cultivated through daily dedication—learning, growing, and challenging the status quo. It’s a continuous cycle: do the work, reflect, and repeat.

Courage doesn’t look the same for everyone. Some women feel it more naturally, while others must fight to summon it. For those of us who find courage easier to access, we have a responsibility—not necessarily to lead in a traditional sense, but to clear the path for others. I’ve never thought of myself as a leader, my fierce independence and fast assertive pace make me a poor leader traditionally, yet I have always had courage, for whatever reason. And that courage allows me to cut through the thorny brush so others can move more freely.

If there’s one truth I’ve learned and what countless women before me and around me demonstrate, it’s that courage is a choice—one we must make again and again. It’s work, constant work and to achieve any success its absolutely necessary; but the formula is simple:

Show up. Speak up.
Do the work every day. Day after day.
Show up. Speak up.
Learn. Grow. Challenge. Change.
Repeat. Repeat again. And again, and again.

And I’ll emphasize—it’s not often the most rewarding work. Even after all these years, real female power remains rare. It’s easy to be cynical. It’s easy to give up. But women have a strange, innate ability to summon courage, again and again. So do it. Do it now.

The very essence of International Women’s Day, Week, or Month is protest—challenging the status quo to create change. And that will always take courage.

Courage is the catalyst for advancement. When we embody it, we empower not just ourselves but the women beside us and those who come after us. It is the energy that fuels progress, propels change, and ensures that women’s power—real power—becomes not the exception but the reality. Just like the current reality that there are more women than men on the planet. Just like the reality of our industry—food, which is still predominantly purchased and prepared by women worldwide—men continue to make the majority of decisions.

The majority of grocery shoppers in the U.S. are still women, with estimates showing that 60–70% of all shopping is done by women. Despite the growing role of men in grocery shopping, women remain the primary decision-makers—by a landslide.

The “boardroom” is still dominated by men. Women hold only about 25-36% of upper-level board and senior management positions at the largest U.S. retail companies, but research on this remains limited—much like many other issues affecting women (think periods and menopause), so who really knows. Ultimately, this means that it’s mostly men—most of whom do not regularly grocery shop—shape the majority of strategies around consumers, demographics, product marketing, varieties, flavor, packaging, store layouts, and promotions for grocery stores, which in turn dictate what farmers grow and sell. The small percentage of women who have risen to the very top did so by demonstrating significant courage along their paths.

This male dominance likely also contributes to my greatest pet peeve about the produce industry and one I try so hard to change and that’s the lack of importance of culinary commodity education for fruits, vegetables and herbs. Despite men’s growing involvement in home cooking, the majority of cooking responsibilities in U.S. households still falls predominantly  to women, who spend an average of 52 minutes per day on meal preparation, compared to just 22 minutes for men. The fact that we act like our jobs are done at the point it lays on the grocery shelf is a glaring flaw in our system. Connecting the dots from the farmer to the eater, which is of utmost importance in my mind means that last piece is crucial, just like caring about the farming communities that grow our food is.

In terms of the farming aspect women continue to get overlooked  as essential contributors in commercial farming and export agriculture from Latin America ( and everywhere) into the USA. They make up a significant portion of the workforce in packing houses, processing facilities, and on farms, handling critical tasks such as harvesting, sorting, grading, food safety and quality control— all essential for meeting export standards. Women’s labor continuously ensures that high-quality produce reaches global markets, yet they often face lower wages, job insecurity, and limited access to leadership positions. Recognizing and investing in women in Latin American agriculture is not just a matter of fairness— it’s vital for the long-term success and sustainability of not just the export sector but farming communities in which they live.

Supporting women isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s smart business in the global world we actually live in. Companies and industries that invest in women and women’s rights see stronger leadership, greater innovation, and increased financial performance. Equity creates opportunity, and opportunity drives success for everyone.

So, my advice today, this week, this month—just as it is every day and every month—to women everywhere is this: keep being, be, and become courageous.

I’ll end with a passage on courage from my favorite writer, David Whyte, from my favorite book, Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words:

“Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work; a future. To be courageous is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences. To be courageous is to seat our feelings deeply in the body and in the world: to live up to and into the necessities of relationships that often already exist, with things we find we already care deeply about: with a person, a future, a possibility in society, or with an unknown that begs us on and always has begged us on.”

 

 

For the record, I see being a woman as less about biology and more about identity—how one sees themselves and moves through the world. Whether in a packinghouse, a boardroom, or beyond, strength and resilience, just like power, aren’t defined by biology. I support anyone who identifies as a woman and lives that experience. It takes great courage to do so.