Today’s inspiration comes from Aung San Suu Kyi, the human rights champion from Burma (Myanmar). 

via topyaps.com

We like this quote because it reminds us of how far we’ve come in terms of gender equality, and how far we still have to go globally.

Societies where women are valued and respected are, overall, more stable and prosperous. Gender equality in the work force allows women to demand equal pay, ask for and receive maternal paid leave, and be protected from sexual harassment.

But income gaps still exist across the board, demonstrating just how much work we have left to do.

If women’s paid employment rates were raised to equal those of men’s, the U.S. GDP would be 9% higher; the Euro Zone’s GDP would be 13% higher, and Japan’s overall GDP would increase by 16%.

So Suu Kyi is right: women are valuable, in every sense of the word.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner certainly knows something about perseverance and gender equality.  After two decades of house arrest, she will be running for president of Burma (Myanmar) in 2015.