Future is Female poster designed by Kimothy Joy

We asked 11 women the following question in anticipation of International Women’s Day (today!!), a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Q: If you could steer the conversation around International Women’s Day, what would that dialogue be about?

These are their badass answers.

LAUREN MILLER ROGEN

Oh man, so many important things! I think there are many conversations worth having. But, I think one of the biggest issues that women still face is breaking gender stereotypes that have been laid out for them for generations and generations, so for me I love to celebrate women who really broke the mold whether it be Eleanor Roosevelt, Malala, Beyoncé, or Kamala Harris. Women are doing AMAZING things and I think that there are so many worth highlighting to inspire women everywhere by examining the choices trailblazers made along their way.

DAYA

As women, we need to focus more on building each other up rather than tearing each other down. We need to lead the way to change and we are not going to make progress unless we focus on bringing other women with us so we can rise together.

FRANCHESCA RAMSEY

I'd encourage more women to be intersectional in their activism. It's important to acknowledge our privilege and remember that there are all types of women from a variety of walks of life that face challenges that we do not. If you're truly committed to advocating for women you have to be willing to stand up for all women regardless of race, sexuality, physical ability, religion, class or gender identity, not just ladies that look like you.

CONSTANCE ZIMMER

Equality. I find it unbelievable that a woman doing the same job as a man is not making the same amount of money. That's mind boggling to me.

SANAA LATHAN

I want us to focus on anything around mentoring and empowering young girls-- from body image to cultural pride to self-esteem and self-worth.

NICOLE BYER

That all women are beautiful, smart, strong as fuck and special. We also have to listen to each other and remember to be inclusive. There's feminism and intersectional feminism.

LAUREN CONRAD

I think the progress we've made in recent years is fantastic, but we still a lot of work to do. As women we should do all we can to support each other and continue to move in the right direction. We are always stronger together.

LAUREN PAUL

I would hope that the conversation is well rounded and that it would make every woman feel celebrated. Whether you are a politician, CEO or a mother. There is no specific definition to what a strong, empowered woman looks like because that varies for each person. To define that, ultimately creates exclusion because we are all different. In this beautiful chapter where feminism and girl bosses are highlighted (yay!) I really want stay at home mothers to feel celebrated and reminded that they too are hard-working HEROS.

PIERA GELARDI

The world is sitting on a huge untapped natural resource: billions of women who have not been able to reach their full potential. I’d love to create a vision statement and paint a picture of what the world would look like — what greatness we could unleash by bringing Women’s Equality and Empowerment to the forefront. And show that there’s a huge business case for doing this.

MANDY MOORE

I hope the dialogue continues around gender equality and recognizing the need for a larger political, cultural and social shift when it comes to pro-women policies on a global level. When women and girls are empowered, educated, healthy and free of violence, they can recognize their full potential and make an enormous impact on their communities and ultimately the world economy.

SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR

I hope to see more women supporting other women. I have always believed that when women work together we can do anything. So often we are pitted against each other instead of remembering we are a big tribe.

What do you hope for today? Share below!