Why do we even have a Women’s History month? Why do we need an International Women’s Day?
Imagine a world - for just one moment - where we had equity.
A world where we had balance and fair gender distribution in professional, political and economic life. A world where women were in all the places where important decisions are made.
I recently had a long conversation with Claudia Sphar an award-winning businesswoman, multiple bestselling author and leadership mentor who shared her thoughts with me on women leadership.
Here were her top three reasons why we need more women in leadership:
1. Most of the world’s nations have never had a female head of state or government. There are still not enough women with a seat at the table. Here are some hard-hitting facts: Did you know that only 7.4% of fortune 100 companies have women CEOs?
Also, female movie directors make up only 4.8% of Hollywood’s top-grossing films. Not enough women’s stories are being told from the female perspective. We need women to share their narratives and voices. Women do things differently, they are often more focused on the whole and collaborative, as well as cooperative in their approach.
Focusing on relationships is by default a very feminine trait. Women are the gender who grow, birth and nourish children, hence nurturing is built into the female DNA.
2. Just because it has been like this for thousands of years, doesn’t mean that it’s is natural or normal to divide the genders. If we look at the last 5000 years men have been placed over women in practically all cultures and societies across the globe.
In our patriarchal systems, men have gotten the better deal and the male-led institutions have dominated over women, especially in deciding who gets to marry whom. For example, in Ancient Greece the birthplace of modern democracy, those with a womb had no legal rights. It was only the men who could participate in assemblies. But Celtic Europe had more balance between the sexes. And if we look even further back to the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, there was a reverence for the fertile feminine principle.
Full-bodied, pregnant Goddess figurines and fertility Goddess figures have been found dating as far back as 25’000 years ago. In the aboriginal culture and First Nations culture of Australia, it was all about being in the right relationship with the land which informed our relationship to people.
When we honour the feminine within our culture, we honour the source of life itself.
3. Compassionate leaders with emotional intelligence are essential for the healthy functioning of society. Emotional labour and the work done in the home by women is undervalued all over the world. It is underpaid labour because most of us feel entitled to be cared for and comforted, listened to and accepted, no matter how we’re showing up.
Emotional labour is traditionally the work of women, particularly mothers. It is quintessential to our health and wellbeing. Women all across the globe, in all cultures, need to be honoured for their contribution and we need leaders who understand the importance of compassion and emotional wellbeing.
There is still a lot of work to be done before women find a true balance and equity in our society that is why we need Women's history month so we can celebrate and highlight the progress women have made in history towards equality. And Women's Day so we can celebrate the divine feminine that brings life into this world.
Would you like to find out more about 'How to Cultivate a Female Leaders Mindset'? Join the upcoming Women Thrive Summit - which is an annual women empowerment event that happens every March that celebrates women and their achievements and creates a safe space to rise and thrive together. Book your ticket HERE.
Claudia is an award-winning businesswoman, multiple bestselling author and leadership mentor. As the founder/CEO of HolyMama, she has certified retreat leaders in over 20 countries and led 100s of international retreats since 2006. She's been heralded as a wellness pioneer by international media including The Telegraph, Guardian and Psychologies Magazine. Before becoming a health and wellness expert, Claudia spent over a decade reporting for radio and TV as a broadcast journalist and foreign correspondent.
WRITTEN BY
Raimonda Jankunaite