A few months back, in a pivotal conversation with a man I respect, I came to understand how men’s disrespect for women can show up in the most subtle of ways. Since I never imagined that I might be disrespected due to my gender, I had never recognized it as such. Suddenly I had a word to put to behaviours that I had experienced from men that previously had just confused me.
And just as suddenly, I had a calling.
Since then I have gotten really excited, and vocal, about The Future is Feminine. We need more feminine energy in our world, and women need to more actively respect themselves to know their own worth and boundaries.
For over a decade I’ve worked with female leaders who have given up the essence of who they are, their feminine nature, in order to be successful in a corporate, masculine world. I am passionate about working with female leaders because I see the impact giving up their femininity has on them, and also on the companies they work for.
Do you bring less of yourself to work? Do you feel like not “all of you” is welcome?
When that happens, not only do you suffer, but so does the organization. When there is less room for you to be yourself, the organization gets less productivity, creativity and commitment. Nobody wins.
In a world that has long discredited and undervalued women, it makes sense that everyone, male and female, has come to think less of “femininity”, but if we don’t unleash the dormant power of femininity we risk living in the chains that our feminist foremothers feared. In the 60’s and 70’s those brave women fought for feminism and what they won was the right to be like men. And we have been trying to do that ever since.
Newsflash: it’s not working.
Women must reclaim, and reveal, what makes us us, what makes us powerful, and that is our femininity. To take our natural place as inspired visionaries, we need to go back to our source and be true to our own natures, not apologizing for or shrinking from the gifts that are unique to us. For us to create a truly conscious world, the roles of both men and women need to change. We need to redefine feminism, and femininity. We need to change the rules. We need to be valued for ourselves.
To be clear, I am not talking about Distorted Feminine and Distorted Masculine, (watch my video for more information), but rather a healthy version, one that celebrates what is best, in both, because there really is so much to celebrate.
I believe that when we embrace our femininity the world will be a better place, our businesses will flourish, and as people we will be happier.
So the question becomes… how do we bring more feminine?
