As most of you may already know, I love women.

I speak highly of their ingenuity, their inner strength, their wisdom and their uniqueness.

If you couldn’t tell, I am a woman. And, I am so proud to be one.

Now don’t get me wrong, men are wonderful in their own right, but it’s just something about being a woman that is special.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, I encourage you to celebrate the women who have broken barriers; the ones who took over the workforce when their husbands were away at war; the ones who gave birth, which men can’t do, and raised their children effortlessly, all while working one, sometimes two, jobs; and the ones who helped you become the person you are today.

According to a government website, there are more than 157 million women in the United States. Men only make up 153 million of the population.

Nearly 30 million women age 25 or older have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Women-owned businesses make more than $1.2 trillion dollars in revenue and more than 45 percent of those businesses operate in healthcare, social assistance, scientific or technical services.

There are more than 23.9 million women working in educational, health care and social assistance industries.There are 111,000 female police officers, 338 female lawyers, 294,000 female physicians and surgeons and 38,000 pilots in the U.S.

There are nearly 200,000 women serving active duty in the military and 1.5 million female military veterans.

There are more than 182,000 college women who participate in collegiate sports.

More than 66 percent of women to men’s 60 percent voted in the 2008 election.

Bottom line:

Women are fighters.

Women are strong.

Women are leaders.

Women are intelligent.

And, most importantly, women are valuable and worth paying attention.

Women have been more than just nurses or teachers or solely mothers but they’ve been astronauts, physicians, mathematicians, secretary of state, politicians, news reporters, athletes, television hosts and lead scientists.

Women have led the way in male-dominated fields with a touch of grace, intelligence and confidence that can’t be matched.  Let’s celebrate women and remember their contributions.