Put a Woman in Power

10th of January 2022.

Is it that a woman is stronger than a man?

Yes and no.

Her power manifests itself differently because of her womanhood.

My article today is based on the realization that hit me earlier today, I sat in a lecture hall at the Global Symposium on Gender in the Workplace, listening to an expert talk about how to manage and lead women. Unsurprisingly, this was the most oft-quoted statistic: no matter how high their qualifications, women are considered "incompetent" and are paid less than men in the workplace.

As I listened, I watched the faces of upwardly mobile women in the crowd, who nodded along and took meticulous notes as they eyed one another up and down. In that moment, I realized that while all these women were already successful by any standard, they were missing something crucial: they weren't putting each other down.

When we empower a woman, it creates positive income-generating opportunities, creates safety, and creates dignity. She feels competent and able. And when she feels competent and able, she feels safe enough to be brave and try new things.

When she feels safe enough to be brave and try new things, it can change the course of her life and the trajectory for a generation to come.

There is an Egyptian proverb that says, “God created woman to tame man.” That is true. But when a woman tames herself, she is more prepared to tame the most savage of men. She is the key to unlocking any door. I will break open the doors of the future with you if you will join me in this endeavour.

A woman in power is a force to be reckoned with. Her words and actions not only influence her audience but she herself. Over the years we have seen powerful women come and go, growing with them and their journey to reach the top.

With power, comes great responsibility. In a world where women are marginalized and undermined, it is essential that we empower the many to strengthen their communities and societies. In order to do this, we must first look inward and recognize the power that lies within. By doing so, we can then go on to become self-empowered and affect positive change in our own lives and in those of others.

Women in leadership positions set an example for those under them, their companies and their communities.

For this reason, it is important that women are given the opportunity to lead. In order to shift the paradigm, we must celebrate successful female leaders of today and empower the next generation of women to step into positions of power.

It's no secret that women in power have an abundance of challenges, whether it be balancing their personal and professional lives, trying to keep their sanity or just trying to age gracefully. But it all depends on the woman.

The story of a young queen, Constance, who is fed up with being a puppet to her father and brother was told. In order to have autonomy from decisions made for her, she must put in place an unprecedented female-centric leadership. She finds opposition from her father and brother, who both believe a woman's place is in the home taking care of the family and not making decisions.

When Constance eventually comes into power, she is faced with the decision of whether or not to remove the voting rights of men entirely. The question becomes: Can you separate politics from gender?

Women are rarely given the opportunity to lead. It's time we gave them the means to do it. As a global community dedicated to helping women and girls everywhere, we have one question to ask:

What would happen if women had power?

Currently, 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime.

1 in 4 girls will be married before 15 and 2 in 3 women will be assaulted or raped by their partner.

Women comprise only 4% of all CEOs globally.

1 in 9 women are diagnosed with HIV and 86% of the people living with HIV are women.

Today, we're asking everyone to try to discover what could happen if women had more power. And let's make more commitment in helping women and girls around the world.

We believe that when women have power, they use it to build a better world for each of us.