To those of you who may wonder why we need a month to celebrate women, you are the reason.

We have made strides in working toward gender equality, but we still have a long way to go.

One way that we can make progress is by being cooperative rather than be competitive. I know that I am guilty of comparing myself to other women or trying to be better than them, but that does nothing, for me or other people.

We still live in a man’s world and it can be difficult to face that world as a woman. There is still a gender pay gap, and in some fields women are few and far between. Even in the fields with a lot of females, we need to stick together.

As women, we are conditioned by society to compare ourselves to others and to judge others. This is something that we need to work to change. It is difficult to not compare oneself to the skinniest models or the most successful celebrities.

Comparing ourselves to other women is how we are separating ourselves from forming good relationships. Rash judgement is also a barrier. Last year, there was a mutual hatred between me and one of my classmates. I was quick to judge a lot of people that year.

Since we have managed to open up to each other, we are now super close. We support each other and have each other’s backs. That’s how all relationships with our fellow students should be. Competition should be a friendly competition, one that inspires everyone to work harder.

We still have a long way to go before reaching total gender equality. We as a society can start by getting to know people before we judge them, especially women to women. If you find yourself judging yourself or another woman, stop and think. Is your judgement based on appearance, or jealousy?

It’s hard to change how our minds react, especially when we have been taught to judge or compare all our lives.

Small steps make a big difference.