This year has been an interesting year to be a woman. Some are scared. Some are empowered. Some are angry. Some are moved. Whoever you are and wherever you come from, the one thing we know is that we are better when we stand together.

We’ve heard a lot of people use the phrase “the future is female” and it seems that this means something different to many woman. So we asked a few of our authors to share what it means to them. And their answers were as diverse, surprising and inspiring as they are.

From Stephanie Elliot, author of Sad Perfect

“I think the future is female – I think many women are upset by the election and are going to try their damnedest to make their voices heard in the future, whether it be through their political actions, their religious beliefs, their parenting standards, through their art, their musical talents, their hobbies. Women are tired of being body-shamed, slut-shamed, told to sit back and look pretty, be quiet and do as they’re told. Women want to be more than equals, we’ve proven we can break through glass ceilings, now we have to prove we can stand on that shattered glass ceiling and be the ones to call the shots and make the rules.”

From Anne Leigh Parrish, author of By The Wayside

“The future is female because women choose. They make choices every day, particularly where reproduction is concerned. They know how to strike a balance between career and family, having children now or later, being a caregiver or an executive.

The future is female because women cooperate. Working together is much more valuable than pursuing goals that don’t benefit all of us. Women know how to listen, how to empathize, how to extend the hand of friendship.

The future is female because women multi-task. Their broad focus makes them ideal leaders in any field from politics to medicine to art. Those who stand in a number of different worlds at once have a greater chance of bringing us all together than those who isolate themselves along ideological lines.”

From Christine Nolfi, author of Sweet Lake

From Germany’s Angela Merkel to IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, women impact the world in far-reaching ways our daughters appear to take for granted. Some of the feminists from my generation view this as indifference, as if our daughters are unaware of the struggles we undertook to secure gender equality. I see a different calculus at work.

The more intuitive, nurturing, and inclusive instincts we traditionally view as feminine are no longer seen as secondary to the rational, me-centered, exclusionary practices that generations of men were taught they needed to master to “get ahead.” Today, men share in the joys—and frustrations—of childrearing. In the developed world, they work for women bosses, and have grown accustomed to power sharing in both the public and private arenas. If we’re finally approaching real balance between the genders—and I believe we are—we’ll begin to cultivate, and celebrate, the broad spectrum of feminine and masculine traits residing in every personality.

My four adult daughters expect the men they love to talk openly about their feelings, and participate in career planning to benefit both people in the partnership. They’re comfortable demanding equal pay and speaking up. They aren’t indifferent.

Our daughters have internalized the message of equality. It’s now their turn to carry the message forward to every striving, dreaming, audacious woman across the globe.

From Susan Schild, author of Sweet Southern Hearts

“An important theme in my writing is women overcoming setbacks and coming back stronger. My books have been called uplifting and heartwarming, but I write about women slamming into real life trouble: being widowed young, left broke by a thieving husband, and trying to blend a family that doesn’t want to be blended. But my characters find the courage to get past hard times and build colorful, warm and rewarding lives. Women come back stronger.

In the field of psychology, one of the traits linked to longevity and happiness is resilience, the ability to roll with the punches. When you get knocked down, you get up. Women are often naturals at the behaviors that help foster resilience: When trouble comes, women talk to their husband, sisters, and girlfriends. They work at regaining perspective and remembering to laugh.

If the future is female, women won’t let past losses, their age, their circumstances or other people limit them. Whether you’re age twenty-eight or seventy-eight, live your life richly: fall in love again, start a business, build a family, have thrilling adventures, adopt a big dog. Kick trouble to the curb and take hold of your happily ever after.”

What does “the future is female” mean to you?

Share in the comments below!