Power Women

Modified October 18, 2012

A friend of mine forwarded me Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful women of 2012 (shout out to Karim, who makes constant fun of me for being a feminist but knows I am a huge woman’s empowerment enthusiast; it was very sweet of him to think of me when he came across the list). I was very fascinated to see which women made the cut; of course, a majority of the top ten were dominant political figures from all over the world, but as I continued to go through the names, I found a variety of different women from different backgrounds and “powerful” for different reasons.  They ranged from celebrity icons to corporate leaders to even news anchoresses.

Reading this article really got me thinking “wow, look at where women are today compared to where we were 100 years ago.” Even though women have more voice than we once did, I know that in developing countries (and even in developed ones) there is still much work to be done in terms of gender equality. Regardless, women have more opportunities today than they once did, and I believe they are starting to be taken more seriously. We now have opportunities to hold leading political positions and we can use our voices to cast an influence over people through media, the internet, and other such tools. Not to mention, more and more women today are exercising their voices and even creating a difference, and I only hope their position continues to improve from here.

Considering all of this made me wonder...because the woman’s role in our society has changed so drastically in the last several decades, does that mean the character and meaning of womanhood has also changed? How does one define a woman’s “power” anyway? If a woman’s responsibility in the workforce and in world in general falls more and more closely to that of a man’s, does that mean she has power? Though I am not sure of the recipe Forbes used to conjure up their list, I do know to me, a powerful woman is one who is charismatic and able to hold the attention of an audience. She is able to move people with her words and inspire them to do things they wouldn’t normally do. But above all, she is able to succeed in this world as a woman (let’s face it, even with the vast strides we have made in gender equality, women still have to work harder than men to be taken seriously). What I mean is that if she chooses to have children, she can without giving up her career, and giving up opportunities to excel in her career. This definitely requires women and men work in unison; that men also learn how to support the family on a domestic level so women do not have to work tirelessly every single day to keep up with numerous responsibilities. 

That is why I was so disgusted by what Mitt Romney suggested, for women to have flexible working schedules so that they can go home early and cook for their kids. Families should not  be like that; they should be strong enough to share these responsibilities so a woman is not stuck working a double shift. To me, a strong woman has the best of both worlds if she chooses to, and it gives me great happiness to see that most of the women who are on Forbes’ list are successful yet also have children. I know that I want children one day and I want to be a great mother to them, but I also want to be a successful career woman that creates lasting changes for the world with the work I do. I want both of these things and I want them equally. That being said, I know many women are conflicted between choosing a family life or a successful career life, but I think she should be able to have it all. That one day society should be so equal in gender roles that she will be able to have it all.

Check out The Forbes Magazines list of 2012 Power Women