The F Word: Feminism

Friends, I hope it's clear, but in case it's not; I'm a feminist. I recently read Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg and I loved every page. I highly recommend it to everyone - woman, man, feminist, non-feminist. It was that good. It changed my attitude about life. Really. It did.

I'm going to share a few quotes. This is often where I stop reading other blogs with a post of just quotes, BUT I promise I'll keep it short, and it'll be worth your time.

“Currently, only 24% of women in the US say that they consider themselves feminists. Yet when offered a more specific definition of feminism –‘A feminist is someone who believes in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes’—the percentage of women who agree rises to 65%." (page 158). 

Although feminism has a bad connotation—the bra-burning, man-hater—I agree with the greater concept of feminism. Gender Equality. Because of the huge discrepancy between those who embrace word 'feminist' vs those who embrace the concept of feminism, Sheryl [we're on first name terms] goes on to say, "We can no longer pretend that biases do not exist, nor can we talk around them.” (page 158).

I just want to press another key point:

"I do not believe that there is one definition of success and happiness. Not all women want careers. Not all women want children. Not all women want both. I would never advocate that we should all have the same objectives.” (page 10).

It's important to challenge the status quo and really think about what we are teaching women and girls. 

"From an early age, girls get the message that they will have to choose between succeeding at work and being a good mother." (page 92).

"One reason women avoid stretch assignments and new challenges is that they worry too much about whether they currently have the skills they need for a new role. This can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, since so many abilities are learned on the job. An internal report at Hewlett Packard revealed that women only apply for open jobs if they think they meet 100% of the criteria listed. Men apply if they think they meet 60% of the requirements.” (page 62).

And to keep my promise, I'll close with: “True equality will be achieved only when we all fight the stereotypes that hold us back.” (page 168). [Maybe I'll share more quotes in another post]