This year marks 250 years since Abigail Adams sat down and wrote her husband John, then at the Continental Congress, a letter that would outlast both of them:
“I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation.”
Do you not adore Abigail Adams? A bold woman who spoke for all people:
“We will not be bound by laws in which we have no voice.”
And how we wish this were true.
That phrase could have been written yesterday. It’s the same principle behind everything I share regarding Voice Equity: that a seat at the table means nothing without a voice at the table.
Abigail knew it in 1776. Women were still fighting for it when the ERA passed Congress in 1972. The ERA was never ratified. That effort continues.
This is the same principle behind everything I share about Voice Equity: a seat at the table means nothing without a voice at the table.
This work was never about one woman finding her voice alone. It’s about the room learning to hear it, and that only happens when the people already comfortable in that room, often men, learn to make space rather than take it.
The ask hasn’t changed in 250 years. Neither has the resistance to it. And more importantly, the willingness to advocate for it in every meeting and conversation.
Today’s post is an Ode to Abigail. 🙏
Interested in learning more? Check out Pat Mitchell’s post here.
