I’m currently seeing the prompt on LinkedIn asking, ‘Who is a woman who has inspired your career?’ and it makes me think that I wish I had a woman who had truly inspired my professional journey.
In many ways, my career is one of firsts, not only in professional accomplishments but also in breaking personal and familial boundaries. As a woman, I find myself reflecting on my journey and, with some bittersweet reflection, acknowledging that no woman, despite the women who have come before me, directly inspired my career. While I wish I could recount tales of powerful, trailblazing women who shaped my path, the reality is different – though the absence of such direct inspiration has only fuelled my drive to create a legacy of my own.
I am proud to say that I was the first woman in my family to attend university, and I also took the bold step of becoming the first person in my family to set up and run my own business (Jooce Marketing & PR). In many ways, these milestones represent the defiance of limitations imposed on me, whether consciously or unconsciously, by tradition and societal expectations.
Growing up, my mother was a housewife. She embraced her role, providing security and a sense of familiarity, but never sought to push for more. I was raised in an environment where women were expected to focus on the domestic sphere – caring for the home, raising children, and offering support. Yet, deep down, I always knew that my path would be different.
Perhaps it was this contrast that sparked my fierce determination to forge a different path. My mother’s role as a homemaker didn’t disappoint me, but it inspired something deep within me to aspire to more than what was typically offered to women in my community. It drove me to fight against conventional norms and embrace my own potential. Looking back, I can see that the very role she played propelled me into feminism, not by example, but by motivating me to challenge the confines of tradition and to pursue independence, self-determination, and equality.
As the first in my family to venture beyond the role that was typically reserved for women, I faced challenges that felt isolating, especially as I struggled to find role models or mentors who reflected my own experiences. The absence of female figures to guide me was both a hurdle and an opportunity. While I lacked the direct influence of a woman’s mentorship, it was this very lack that turned into the inspiration for my passion for feminist ideals. I began to carve out my own narrative, one that was not dictated by the gendered expectations placed on me but rather by my own desires to grow, lead, and make my mark.
As I built my business and navigated through professional landscapes largely dominated by men, I realised that the empowerment I sought had to come from within. No woman had yet blazed this trail for me, but I was determined to change that for those who followed. I turned my experiences into opportunities to become the type of leader that, when I look back, I wish I had had – an advocate for women, an ally for those seeking their own paths, and a fierce feminist who would not let anyone tell her what she could or couldn’t achieve.
My journey has been marked by moments of self-doubt, also periods of growth and empowerment. And though I didn’t have the privilege of a woman who directly inspired my career, I now recognise that I might just have become that very figure for others. My commitment to feminism, to breaking down barriers, and to proving that women can – and should – be everything they choose to be, is now part of the legacy I am building.
I’ve learned that while inspiration can come from many sources, sometimes the strongest motivation arises from the need to change the narrative. Perhaps, for me, the lack of an early female role model didn’t stifle my potential – it liberated it. It allowed me to build my own identity, to be the first, and to inspire others along the way.
As I continue to break new ground, I am reminded that the fight for gender equality and empowerment isn’t just about looking back and admiring those who’ve paved the way – it’s about looking forward, creating new paths, and ensuring that the next generation of women doesn’t have to walk in solitude. My journey has been my own, but it has been my hope and my mission to make it easier for others to walk beside me.