“It is women who will lead the way in closing the racial divide in this country, building a future we can all celebrate. In whatever ways I can, I want to play a role in the movement.”
– Dr. Amy Gannon, Women’s Rights Activist and Co-Founder and Director of Entrepreneur Development, The Doyenne Group
Dr. Amy Gannon has been championing women’s rights for many years now. She tackles the issues of women’s rights head-on through her work at The Doyenne Group.
Fighting Racial Divide
“In my fight for women to have equal rights with men, I recently began speaking openly about the dysfunctional dynamics that surround most conversations about race between white people and people of color. I focus on how ill-prepared white people are to have these conversations. While people of color talk about race all the time, white people don’t,” notes Amy.
As a white woman herself, Amy feels that the issue of rights for people of color is one shrouded with discomfort for white persons. “White people are quite fragile when it comes to their white identity. Many have anxiety about being called racist,” says Amy. While she is comfortable addressing this issue, her white counterparts are definitely not.
Addressing the Discomfort
“I do the work because I believe the only thing that will save this planet is to have women of color and white women come together,” Amy affirms. She shares a recent experience as an invited speaker at a Black History Month celebration. “I know that having a white woman speaker on the agenda was provocative. People are thinking, “Why is she here? And, what is she going to say? While people of color could easily ask why a white speaker was at the event and white people could have easily gotten offended with her speech.” Amy wants to remove this discomfort and mistrust. She feels that empowered white women can become an instrument of change to overcome this divide.
Women Entrepreneurship
Amy Gannon and Heather Wentler are co-founders of The Doyenne Group. “We formed The Doyenne Group as a way to provide a space where women can meet other entrepreneurs and learn start-up activities hands-on”, says Amy. She guides women through different stages of leadership. Her expert mentoring helps empower women and makes for more inclusive workplaces.
