How will you use your power?

In many parts of the world, women are powerless. They do not have the power to stop violence from happening to them, or the power to make changes in their communities.

While we often discuss the ways in which we still have a lot of work to do for gender equality, we are lucky enough to live in a country where women can stand up and use their power. Yet we sometimes choose not to. Maybe we are afraid of what people will think. Maybe we are afraid of stepping into the limelight, calling attention to ourselves.

By shirking away from our power, we are allowing the status quo.

The U.S. Women’s Soccer team recently prompted a discussion of the double standard in sports after members chose not to play a match due to unsafe conditions on the field. The turf at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii was reportedly littered with jagged rocks — a situation never faced by male soccer teams, whose fields are inspected by a U.S. Soccer representative.

It’s not the first time this double standard has been made public. But the women of the team chose to stand up and use their power to make it known (again) in hopes that things will change.

This time of year we begin to look ahead, pondering our goals and resolutions for the next year. Of course we are making plans to lose weight, get organized, improve our businesses. While those are wonderful goals, they are all things we do for ourselves. We have the power to make change. We just need to stand up and use it.

Although that sounds like a tall order, using our power to make positive change does not have to be a massive project that shakes your city. Remember, a pebble dropped in a pond makes only a tiny ripple at first, but the rings grow larger from there.

• Stand up for yourself or those around you. Workplaces often offer opportunities to fight injustice. Remaining silent is not going to fix the problem, big or small.
• Stop mansplaining in its tracks.
• Stop yourself from saying, “I’m sorry” constantly.
• Be who you are without fear, explanation, or apology.

How can you use your power to make a change in your community in 2016?