Simply speaking, business solves social problems, drives innovation and creativity. It also drives the economy and social uplift by circulation of capital, production of goods and services for consumption and generation of profits to fuel back into the economy for the whole cycle to repeat. There are other economic contributors such as foreign direct investments, remittances and few others that are active agents in the process. Logically speaking, these are high-performance, capitalist economies we are speaking about here because that is my audience. The flow of this system would not be possible without problem seekers/solvers who identify a problem, innovators who create the product/ solution to mantis the solution and labour that delivers it to the market for salary in exchange.
Especially through modernization and political action, we are seeing a collective change in the global mindset. More women are being encouraged to pursue education, graduate and participate in the workforce through a job or entrepreneurship. These women are joining the labour force in addition to their male counterparts, but unfortunately lacking the same economic resources i.e pay, funding, raises, and bonuses. This was what the feminist movement has been about minus the bra burning. When women participate, there is an overall increase in production and consumption. However, this does depend on efficiency and productivity but generally speaking, there is an increase because now there are more people working towards the collective mission or problem. Productivity, growth, and efficiency ( time and sot-saving ) are underlying reasons for why companies want to hire the most ambitious, motivated and driven talent pool. There is a significant change in demographics as more women are qualifying for jobs or operating businesses, at the same time the drop out rate of women is also very high and the primary reason because the biological clock coincides with the career clock. Women often have to choose between a career or family.
As till date, women are perceived to be the nurturers and homemakers. This is the primary role ascribed to them. Nobody did it – we collectively have designed it this way. If women choose otherwise, the truth is that they are certainly made to feel less of a woman, purposeless and guilty. This is where it gets intricate because every woman needs to decide for herself of what her ideal life looks like. What’s her personal mission and vision? What are her values, talents, ambitions, goals, and passions? Who does she see herself as? A leader, stay at home mom or working mom, CEO, politician or whatever else her purpose or choice of career is. These are just generic examples that are applicable to me. These will vary and they must because every woman is born with her own set of gifts, talents, and callings that she must fulfill as her duty to her Creator. The truth is, every woman cannot be everything at all times. The smart ones, pick and choose what truly aligns with them and their true nature. Once a woman has done that, she must make the courageous choice to stand true to all that she has discovered, then go ahead and focus her energies on that… As she moves through her personal ebb and flow, what she discovers can also change. Phew! Pressure off 😉 So yes, she doesn’t have to figure it all out at once.
Personally, I think women need to let go of guilt and master happy. They need to make firm choices that are true to them and stick to them. Regardless of what the chatter around is. It’s that simple, design a life you love and tune out the naysayers, the critics, and negativity. The right people will love you for who you are. Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. If people or society tells you otherwise i.e that you are less of a woman because you chose otherwise, you will then use the courage you mustered to stand up for yourself. The best part is, the truer you get to yourself, the less people mess with you and the right vibrational match you attract.
She believed she could and so she did.
Thought provoking piece.
With the first couple paragraphs, I started mental-writing my scathing rebuttal. I particularly took issue with the description of the normative woman’s role of nurturer and homemaker. How dare the author – we have come so far from that stereotype.
By the time I got close to the end, I got it. What was interesting here, particularly in my synthesis of her writing, is that it seemed old fashioned. For someone to bring up that old stereotype as a norm is so 1950s. Or is it?
What the recent events – #blacklivesmatter and #metoo – taught me is that we are nowhere near as evolved as I believed. And I really did think we were way beyond forcing anyone into stereotypes.
So in reflecting on all this, the author’s final paragraph becomes more profound. Life is full of choices. When we make a choice, we experience the consequences of that choice. It takes tough skin and trust in yourself to slough off the judgment of others, but it is what will help us grow and be happy. Have we forgotten how to be resilient in favor of looking for the easy way?
Hi Carol – I appreciate your rebuttal and constructive analysis of my piece. The intention was never to create stereotypes but to address them. In order to address them one has to admit that they are there. Gender blinding or color blinding never really works because it’s there when we look at the quota systems in all institutions. If gender and race equality existed, the #metoo and #blacklivesmatter uproar wouldn’t be as loud as it has been. In addition, women playing the role of the nurter and homemaker was mentioned because parenting can be share but motherhood can’t. I say this growing up with a single father after my mother passed on. I know had my mother been around I would have had a different set of experiences. She may or may not have done the things that my father did for me. She may or may not have contributed to me upbringing. I would like to think the former because she was a strong, empowered and kind woman with an ambitious career of a Corporate Banker. My mother had an MBA and worked in a bank in the Middle East during 1980’s, a time when most women didn’t have a career. Growing up with a working mom is a different experience. If you’re one, I am sure you can testify. All in all, society dictates but it comes down to us as women, men and those who identify as gender neutral how we wish to conduct our lives. Unfortunately, what most do becomes the norm and then everyone is judged on that bar. If one is not aware they can fall into the trap of guilt, shame, confusion or resentment for their choices. This piece is to inspire courage and conviction in one’s choices and desires, while being patient with those of others.