Prior to coming to work for Giroux Glass, I had never stepped foot inside Los Angeles’ City Hall. In the past six months, I’ve been there three times, each time for a wonderful cause related to either city planning or a women’s organization. Most recently, it was to support the women responsible for having the City and our mayor, Eric Garcetti, officially proclaim “Women’s Entrepreneurship Day” (WED) an officially recognized day. I was invited to be the guest of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) Los Angeles president, Priscilla Chavez, to attend a breakfast and the city council meeting in which the proclamation took place. I met so many interesting and accomplished women, and enjoyed the additional perk of seeing the beauty of City Hall’s main floor decorated for the holidays.
Social entrepreneur, Wendy Diamond, and Los Angeles councilwoman, Monica Rodriguez, led the drive to declare November 19th the official day in Los Angeles to celebrate WED annually, in the same manner in which it has been celebrated at the United Nations and in almost 150 countries all over the world since 2013. It is the world’s largest grassroots movement and mission dedicated to celebrating, supporting and empowering women worldwide. WED encourages four billion women worldwide to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, with the goal of inspiring hope and alleviating poverty.
Working for Giroux Glass, as I do, a company that until its recent transition to employee-ownership, had been owned and run by one of the most entrepreneurial women I have had the pleasure to get to know, Anne-Merelie Murrell, I found it rewarding and appropriate to take part in this proclamation. Giroux Glass’ and my own involvement with NAWIC, an organization with the goal of enhancing the success of women in our male-dominant industry, aligns closely with encouraging women to be successful entrepreneurs. I look forward to witnessing, in the years to come, the increased success and achievement by women, and feel proud to be part of both a company and a city which can be considered progressive in inspiring women to reach for the stars and to fulfull their dreams. Sometimes, all it takes is a little encouragement to take a few steps in the right direction to ultimately reach a goal. May this declaration help many women to take those steps.
