2017 was the year - the year a whisper was heard 'round the world.  A deafening, life-changing, horrific whisper. 

One woman dared to whisper. 

Her painfully revealing whisper ushered in a windfall of painful memories, embarrassment and humiliation.  These whispers grew, gathering other whispers in their cyclone, pummelling mountains like a massive avalanche.  The firset whisper ushered an avalanche of honesty, revelations and truths.

From a whisper.

Because that is all she could mutter after being broken down.  Violated.  Humiliated.  Destroyed.

The whisper grew.  Slowly, "#Metoo" courageously escaped the lips of more women.

And the whisper grew.

2017 was the year of the WOMAN.

2018 is the year of the WOMEN.

Without judgment or condemnation, women shake their heads in solidarity, understanding.  Understanding the overwhelming powerlessness mixed with the realization that prostituting one's body was a means to an end - a way out.  And up - towards freedom.  And, tearfully shuttering at the stabbing memories when their was no decision.  No consent.  No agreement.  Just brute force.  The ultimate violation.

Powerlesness.

From a whisper.

2018 will be the year of the "women".  Standing on the shoulders of courageous, vulnerable women, the whispers expand, squeezing out all the air in the room, shoving people out of the way, screaming so loudly everyone will hear.

Women.  Plural.  Women supporting women.  More experienced women protecting younger women. Women rising without sacrificing their humanity, bodies and souls. 

What does this mean for you?  Look around.  Categorize the women you work with.  Listen.  Understand. Observe.  Are they being harassed?  Are they being underpaid? Is it time for you to step in and step up? You don't have to do it alone.

But don't let it just be a whisper.

Rise to the top.