Chilcotin Holiday is a ranch unique in its own right. One of its main goal is to empower the staff and teach them to become better leaders. Is being a girl defined by 'Being continually mentored, subservient and controlled by men'? Is men's definition, 'Human beings who have control over the whole world including those of the same species but opposite sex?'. It is not. There is a strong connection between the way we visualise females and males and the way we name them. We often call females 'girls' and not 'women', but males are said to be men and not boys. We are told that we have to become women, but boys seem to naturally grow as men.
'As women, we must stand up for ourselves. As women, we must stand up for each other. As women, we must stand up for justice for all.' Michelle Obama. Here is what we do at the ranch as women. We stand up for ourselves, gaining assertiveness, confidence and working just as hard as everybody else. We wear cowboy hats, rubber boots and there is no difference between male and female work. Three quarters of the people working here at Chilcotin Holiday are females. Tasks and duties are distributed equally. When half of our team, including women and men, went to our Eldorado camp in the mountains to build a cabin, we found ourselves only amongst girls at the ranch. A great opportunity to take initiative and experience empowerment! As our numbers were reduced by half, we had new duties to add to our daily workload. It became our responsibility to run the ranch and ensure that everything that was usually done by the others was still being completed. We all became ranch hands, fixing sprinklers, taking care of horses, riding tractors to the garden and working on our carpentry projects. Everyday the ranch gives us the opportunity to empower ourselves, but that particular week with women only was for some of us a revelation: being able to do the same work as men do. We just never had the chance before and never thought of it. It was for men. However, nothing should ever be for somebody else. It is our responsibility to become the master of our own destinity, be our own boss and try as many different activities as we can to see what we like to do. We do not want to do what society expects us to do. We want to stand up for ourselves and choose our destiny. No matter what others think. It is our choice, our dreams, our life. We all start on the same level. We, as women, must make sure that we all step up together.