Empowerment event in Norwalk reminds girls that they can ‘do anything that they want to’
NORWALK — A low turnout could not dampen the enthusiasm at an in-person event at Brien McMahon High School celebrating female empowerment.
There were dozens of local women on hand Thursday evening for Empow-Her — a joint venture by the Norwalk Public Schools and LiveGirl, a New Canaanbased nonprofit aimed at empowering school-age girls.
They came to share their experiences, including details about their professions, and to send a message that girls and women can “make a difference.”
“Women have always had to fight for a space at the table,” Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella said. “But we have proven time and time again that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
With March marking Women’s History Month, she said it was important to teach young women “that they have the power to change the world and make a difference.”
“Women have been at the forefront of social and political movements throughout history,” Estrella said. It is everyone’s responsibility to help create “a more just and equitable world for all,” she said.
Stacey Bergin, education administrator for curricula and professional development with the Norwalk Public Schools, organized the event. While she had expected
more school-age girls to show up, Bergin still stressed that the event was a worthwhile vehicle to help promote awareness and empowerment for young women.
“It’s important that we remember that we need to empower our young girls,” she said, noting that many are susceptible to depression and suicidal ideation at their age, and in even greater numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to make sure that we offer opportunities for girls to see themselves in all different ways, so that they’re not just girls, not just sexual entities,” Bergin said, and not equipped only for traditional female roles and jobs.
“The idea is that they can be and do anything that they want to,” Bergin said. That is a message that she said she strives to share with her
own daughter, as well as students.
New state Rep. Tracy Marra, a Republican who represents part of Norwalk and Darien, was among the attendees.
“I think supporting girls, I think supporting mental health, is so important,” she said, especially after the pandemic.
While Marra said she would not want to push a young woman into any career, including even politics, she said it’s important that they come to recognize their strengths, as well as the reality that no one has to be perfect in anything they do.
“Understanding that they don’t need to be perfect, accepting themselves,” Marra said, is vital for girls and young women.
“Too many girls get caught up in perfection,” she said.