“In the 21st century, women will change the nature of power rather than power changing the nature of women.”
—Bell Abzug
The headline of a recent article in Bloomberg Business Week caught my eye: “ Is the Financial Crisis a Male Syndrome?”
“Could it be,“ the authors ask, “ that male domination of market finance results in excessive speculation and risk-taking at the expense of global stability?”
Ya think?? Clearly, the guys have been calling the shots. No surprise there.
What surprised me most—the co-authors were both men!
I was heartened to know there are a few enlightened men (including the Dali Lama) who are waking up to an obvious truth.
Excessive testosterone is running the world, which as these authors admit, leads to greater aggression and risk taking (ie. Global wars and financial crisis)
The solution? “Gender rebalancing.” With more women in power, the authors insist, we’d see enhanced risk management , less volatility, improved financial markets and better ambiance in the office.
No argument from me! But here’s what I want to know.
Who’s going to do the rebalancing? What’s it going to take to get more women in power?
I ask this question with a sense of urgency…but without a clear answer.
Face it, no one is going to do it for us. If we want a seat at the table, it’s our job to take it.
How? We can begin by having the conversation among ourselves. We can begin by becoming the change we want to see in the world. Call it a grassroots effort…a personal challenge.
What if each one of us starts by noticing where, in our own life, we are giving our power away and consciously strive to take it back? What if each one of us starts speaking up, making sure our voice is heard…and respected? What if every one of us asks for and offers to help each other in this endeavor?
I truly believe, if enough women step fully into their own power, we’d see a giant ripple effect on the global landscape.
What do you think?
Bravo!!
I just had an argument with an older woman stranger in the UPS store about this sort of topic.
She likes a famous actress because “she has a cute face”.
I replied, “Do you respect that she has children out of wedlock on purpose?”
She replied that she doesn’t respect it or not respect it.
(I personally feel that out of wedlock births are morally wrong but more importantly, lead to female poverty cycles.)
I told her that when one sits on the middle of the fence all they end up with is a fence up their butt and that it was the job of her generation to speak up and teach the younger ones how to live.
This is only one example of women giving your power away.
Gianna, This is CRAZY….The woman you are talking about is fully capable of caring for her children with or without a husband. Personally, I have found my various husbands to be a drain on my energy and my finances and a hindrance in the proper raising of my children.
I have avoided poverty cycles because I am driven and thoughtful enough to take responsibility for my children and all other aspects of my life.
It’s OK to like an actress because she has a cute face. That’s what she’s here for, just like a painting, she is decorative. Other actresses are fine craftspersons who bring an important truth to life in their performances.
Get over it and stop being so judgmental. It is simply devisive and we can’t afford that!
Gianna,
I appreciate that you are an advocate of women protecting their own power. However, I don’t believe that children out of wedlock is not a path to poverty these days. My partner and I have chosen to remain legally unmarried, have a child, and he is the one that stays home full-time while I work full-time.
We need both women and men to expand their scope of what a good family looks like and what acceptable gender roles look like in order to allow both men and women to equally hold up the sky.
Having 2 parents is awesome, but ideally it’s short sighted to add shame where Love should be 1st. Shame just doesn’t belong when we are raising strong babies to be awesome Men & women. The shame is for the woman who doesn’t uplift another woman to be 100% herself.
I say all women should be empowered to create a life that includes what she wants, all the other stuff & what anyone else thinks doesn’t matter.