I AM WOMAN project competition: A Worthy Woman

Knowing how to harness it can only be a woman who doesn't require validation and is a force to be reckoned with. She doesn't need you to agree with her, like her or accept her. And, in my view, this makes her the most powerful species on the planet.

Hell yeah! A BIG statement.

And here's why.

For generations women have been conditioned to believe that their sense of 'worthiness' -
that critical sense inside all of us that gives us access to love, connection and belonging -
comes from outside sources. Women have been taught to believe that their worthiness is measured by the praise of the men who find them attractive, from the children they raise into decent human beings, from the boss who thinks they have done a good job, from friends who think they make the most marvellous lasagne, or from their own Mothers who can often project their dreams and aspirations and own sense of 'worthiness' on their daughters…. The list goes on. And on ….

It's not a vicious cycle - it's simply human nature to look around us, and adapt to what we see, hear and feel. Adaptation is, after all, the key to survival for many of the species on this planet. And this is simply what women have done - they have conformed to what they perceived was required in an effort to survive

BUT, globally, in recent times, there's been a shift - an understanding that's growing amongst women … the realisation that their sense of worthiness comes from nowhere else but within.

And women, all around the world, are accessing that power.

Unfortunately, some are misunderstanding it's potential.

We are more powerful together than apart…

Indra Nooyi the CEO of PepsiCo talks to us about the need for women to help women - she is outraged by how female senior executives and women in leadership behave towards one another. In some corporations, there is a level of self-serving hostility amongst the women who have made it to the top - largely, in my belief caused by the traditional corporate culture of greed, winning at all costs, politics, and the expectation of slavish hours with a single-minded focus, that those who want to make it to the top must sacrifice - family, relationships and a personal life all for the sake of the corner office.

But in my experience (and I work with a LOT of women executives) - eventually, at some point, the inner-voice of the female steps up, and says: 'Wait, what?'.

This can cause female execs to crash and burn, it can come in the form of panic attacks, or depression. For others it can be a pivotal mid-life assessment, a realisation around the age of 40 that somewhere along the line their dreams of a fulfilling job in conjunction with fulfilling personal life, went haywire. For others, just a nagging internal wondering, if indeed, all the sacrifices were worth it.

And the reason this so often happens to women is that all this relentless striving conflicts with their very basic, primal nature. Are far from creating the sense of 'worthiness' they were so desperate to achieve, it's made them feel quite the opposite - empty, drained and confused. Women are innately more collaborative than competitive - it's all in our biology.

Feminism includes ALL genders…

And… the interesting thing, is that in the wake of the original feminism movement which created more opportunities and equalities for women, the new breed of female leaders has learned a thing or two from observing their fore-sisters. They've realised it's not worth ignoring our feminine uniqueness or try to bend it out of shape to fit in.

These leaders embracing their womanhood, rather than trying to compromise it or squash it, and while it has taken some time, the corporate world is starting to take note.

Undoubtedly there is still a long way to go, but the end result, I believe, is a business world that is becoming more balanced - that is creating more flexible opportunities for women, realising the inherent differences in the way women think and operate, and encouraging this diversity. This is beneficial for everyone.

To thine own self be true… International Women's Day is on the 8th of March.



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