Women have weathered storms before – and we’ll do it again

Saturday is International Women’s Day. IWD has always been a “thing” in our household, mostly because I have feminist parents who have both championed women’s rights and fought for equality. So, I was that lucky kid who grew up never, ever questioning my worth based on my gender, and I’ve tried to parent the same way.

I think it’s fair to say that for successive generations of women, there was a general sense that things would continue to improve for us – that our global health care, education, professional, and personal options would expand and that our daughters’ opportunities would exceed our own.

So, it’s only natural that – in 2025 – as women in certain parts of the world continue to bear the brunt of violence, displacement, economic oppression, and climate change, and as once-progressive nations roll back significant advancements that women have fought decades to achieve, people are left feeling uneasy about what’s to come.

It is an ugly time in the world. It feels like things are spinning out of control, that decency and kindness are being thrown out the window, and that the basic world order we’ve come to rely on is disintegrating.

We’re never sure what the next day will hold, and it’s frightening.

But women have had hundreds of thousands of years to figure out how to overcome adversity, and we’re not going to stop now. This current situation is just a bump in the road. That doesn’t mean that the next few years are going to be easy, but it does mean that we women are well-equipped to keep calm and carry on.

For some of us, that means raising our voices nationally and internationally. For others, that means focussing on our immediate communities and making small but impactful changes.

For my part, I’m doing a few specific things. As a news junkie, I feel it’s critical to stay informed, but I’m restricting the amount of time I spend listening to, watching, or reading the news – and that goes for social media, too. Establishing limits helps me protect my emotional and mental well-being. 

When I do tune in, I’m focussing on the good news stories. There will always be things that go wrong, but the important thing is to look at what’s going right in the world for women and think about how we can amplify that. Those are the stories that feed my soul and reinforce my belief that things will get better.

But for others, it may be ensuring that women can find safe shelter, or upskill, or access a mentor – any of the multiple small ways that we can each help improve each other’s lives.

Finally, my co-founder Jen Stewart and I are deeply committed to growing The Honest Talk community as far and wide as possible because we believe there is strength in community and power in providing women with the information they need to live better, healthier, happier lives. 

We will continue to create a space where women can speak authentically about opportunities and challenges and personal and professional highs and lows because The Honest Talk has your back. We’re going to focus on the positive and ride out this storm together, just as women have done for centuries before us, and we’re going to try to help create a better world along the way. Thanks for being an essential part of it, and happy International Women’s Day.

by Catherine Clark

Catherine Clark is a nationally respected broadcaster, emcee, and co-founder of The Honest Talk.

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