John Johnson: Empowering My Daughter

When I think of female empowerment, I can’t help but think of one of my most important responsibilities–being a Dad to Courtney, my 11 year old daughter.  I don’t think any experience can make a man think about female empowerment more than having a soon to be teenage daughter.

I think about this a lot.  How do I foster her growth and confidence?  What can I do to give her the tools to face the challenges in the world?   How do I relate to her interests which are different than mine?

One simple example:  I love that Courtney loves math like I do.  She also loves fashion , something I know nothing about.  We have found common ground.  I share geeky math tricks with her and help her with her homework.   She has taught me to watch and even enjoy project runway. Last week, She even went with me last week to buy a new suit.  She definitely understands fashion better than I do. 

But we have intertwined our two interests to better relate to each other.

As she grows and our interests diverge, I hope I can continue to find ways to understand and empower her.  Awareness of the challenge is a great first step.