By Carmen Donnell, CAPP

Did you know we recently celebrated National Grilled Cheese Day? And quickly after we celebrated National Take-Out Day? For the record, I coincidentally made a grilled cheese the day before it was recognized and did order take-out on the appropriate day! I digress–however it seems there is a day to recognize almost anything under the sun and, of course, we can all pick and choose which ones to honor based on what is important to each of us.

I imagine at this point you are asking yourself what this has to do with female mobility. Well, we recently celebrated International Woman’s Day, which is a globally recognized day to honor the women in our life, the women of the past who have given us the many freedoms and equalities we have come to expect, and gave us all an opportunity to check in with where we are at today–expose areas that we still need to improve upon as a society, remind ourselves to lift women around us up to fulfill their greatest potential, and check our own biases with regards to the gender gap.

This gap still exists, to a greater or lesser degree based on the part of the world one lives in, but no culture is immune. I am, however, so encouraged by what I have seen in our small ecosystem of parking, mobility, and transportation, and the growth we have realized in the 13 years I’ve been part of this industry. More and more women are taking and earning positions of leadership, finding their voices, and strengthening their own organizations and the organizations that rely on them. Our professional associations and our individual organizations are creating opportunities such a webinars and Q+A panels to address this important topic and uplift all of us–men and women alike.

Females, keep putting yourself out there, know your worth, and go for it! Our industry will continue to benefit from our unique perspectives and skills. So our movement, or mobility, is upwards!

Carmen Donnell, CAPP, is vice president, sales, West, with PayByPhone.