Not "girls" like one of my favorite Beyonce songs suggests. Men run the world - at least that is true today. The facts speak for themselves:
- Women represent 4% of Fortune 500 CEOS
- Women hold 18% of seats in Congress (The US is 90th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures)
- Women hold 5% of clout positions in mainstream media
- Only 33 of the 196 countries in the world have had a female president - that is 16.8%
- 20 female leaders are still in power today
- Women in the US earn $0.77 on the dollar relative to their male counterparts
Source: MissRepresentation.org
Since women represent 51% of our population, I think we can all agree that there is some untapped value out there. That's not to say that men don't make wonderful leaders. They do. But women make brilliant leaders, too. Why can't we enjoy both?
Many argue that institutions stand in our way. Others look to gender roles. Some even propose that women are biologically precluded from being successful professionals. The more I read about these issues, the more I believe that meaningful societal change starts with a belief that we are worthy. Because it is our opinions of ourselves that define the spectrum of possibility in our lives. If we don't believe we are capable of accomplishing X, why would we go out there and pursue it? We wouldn't run that risk. However, when we own our value, we become advocates for ourselves and demand change from the very institutions and policies that hold us back. We step out of the boxes people try to keep us in and let ourselves be seen.
Beyonce is a professional who I deeply admire. That may sound silly upon first read, but this is a woman who runs an incredible business, who truly loves her craft, who is celebrated as one of the best performers in history, who claims feminism (hallelujah!). In her documentary "Life Is But A Dream," Beyonce addresses worthiness as it relates to female professionals - albeit in different words:
Women have to work much harder to make it in this world. It really pisses me off that women don’t get the same opportunities as men do, or money for that matter. Because let's face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define our values and to define what’s sexy and what’s feminine, and that’s bullshit. At the end of the day, it’s not about equal rights, it’s about how we think. We have to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves.
Self worth is key. It gives us the confidence to ask questions, to redefine the possible, to embrace abundance.
The problem is we are experiencing a crisis of self worth in this country - men & women alike are feeling the consequences of this. What happens when our self worth is on the line? We stop taking the necessary risks to live our own lives and let fear call the shots. Fear loves the status quo, so men are pressured to get to the top of public institutions, and women are encouraged to stay small and quiet in the home or in the lower ranks of organizations. While the manifestation of these roles may genuinely align with the values of certain individuals, it doesn't work for everyone - and the stats on women in leadership do not represent that variation.
I want to live in a society where both males and females run the show. Where women do not replace men, but join men in defining our values, transforming our institutions, and calling the shots. I strongly believe that everyone benefits from leadership that represents the diversity of our population and our experiences (far above and beyond gender diversity). So let's start running the world with men...because we have a valuable contribution to make, too.