I just finished reading Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. It was one of those books that felt very impactful and has left me wondering all day what I can do to help the lives of women around the world. Sex trafficking, maternal morbidity and mortality, and the absurd disparity in opportunity–even for basic things, such as life, are all issues that can’t help but move anyone who reads this book to want to pitch in and help in some way. Did you know there are actually more slaves (most of them captured women and girls who are drugged and brutalized into working in the sex industry) today than there were at the height of the formal slave trade industry??? I actually can’t imagine any more compelling issues of our time.
The book is also full of stories where people stood up and made a difference, and it feels like an empowering read. At the end, they even have an action item list of things you can do in the ten minutes after finishing the book, along with a long list of organizations you can support.
So, aside from my book, what did we do today? Well, Abe had a good day at work. Qualtrics schedules people who are doing well to be observed by others who might need pointers or who are struggling a bit, and today was the second time Abe was scheduled to be observed. He was really nervous and told me beforehand that once everyone saw him on a call, they’d all be nonplussed by what they saw and figure out that he’s just a person of average ability who must work really hard. He figured by the end of today, “the gig would be up” and everyone would stop fussing over him.
Anyway, on the call where people observed Abe, the customer told him immediately that she had decided to go with another company. Abe could have just given up and let everyone observe a ten second interaction that concluded with him losing business, but he managed to somehow turn the call around and convinced her to give Qualtrics another chance. Somehow, I don’t think “the gig is up.”
Anyway, I took a video this morning when the girls came in my bed to snuggle. Mary started singing, and I caught it on video.