I’m here first and foremost in my home. And that’s not just because we’ve all been working from home since mid-March, 2020. First and foremost in life, I’m a husband and a father. I have an almost 7-year-old daughter, a nearly 4-year-old son & a 9-month-old daughter. Like any other parent, I want to see the best possible future for all of my children. It’s not an option for me to continue to propagate privilege solely to other white males like myself. It’s a duty for me to teach my daughters that there is nothing in life that they can’t pursue just because they were born female.
We talk about “girl power” in our household. Whoever identifies an example of “girl power” shares it excitedly and everyone else joins in (we’re into cheers/excited exclamations in our family). From the mama bear protecting her cubs from the male bear that is literally 3x her size, to the female chef & restaurateur just down the road, to my wife who is an amazing mother and also an amazing Labor & Delivery Nurse (she literally won the award for the Most Outstanding Nurse in Women’s Health in the Twin Cities metro in 2018), to the fact that I have been taught so much by my female colleagues and two amazing female Directors (Briana Birkholz & Nikki Stephens), to my oldest daughter’s ability to draw amazing pictures of animals. Examples of “girl power” abound. The way my daughter’s face lights up when we identify yet another instance of “girl power” is just amazing. She’s getting the idea that there are many amazing women in the world and that she can be one too when she grows up.
It’s important for my daughters to grow up knowing that “girl power” is a thing. And it’s important for them to know that their daddy cares about it and can identify it. It’s also important for my son to know this truth and he loves taking part in the “girl power” cheers in our house. I want him to know that his mother and sisters are amazing people and that there’s nothing that he can do that they can’t just because he’s one gender and they’re another. He is learning about “girl power” too. He may be three, but it’s never too early to start learning that message. We’re all learning about the power of women and I’m glad that I can be learning this truth along with them and hopefully fostering the message as well. Thank you to all of the amazing women at SPS and for your awesome displays of “girl power” on a daily basis.
“I’m Here” is an initiative that SPS Technology launched to strengthen our culture, improve diversity, and become a more inclusive organization. We feature “I’m Here” stories to share experiences and perspectives from volunteers across our teams.
