The Power of Women Explained
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Women are the most powerful force for change on the planet.
And I don’t mean in a fluffy, #girlpower sort of way… I mean in an economic, psychological, and social fact sort of way.
Our focus on helping women ignite social change is not an accident, nor are we trying to exclude men. Our focus is on women because women are the key to driving social change.
Here’s why:
1. In a patriarchal society like ours, we cannot expect those in power wake-up one day and decide to end injustices that benefit them.
We’ve literally been waiting for that forever. It’s time to accept the fact that it’s not going to happen unless we make it happen.
2. Women are particularly undervalued and underutilized when it comes to making social change.
We’re just so busy with everything we are supposed to do and be that we have few resources left for social action. But if we actively engaged the issues we care about, the power that we would bring to them would be absolutely unstoppable. More on that in the video on our About page.
3. Women are the largest economic growth market in the world.
As the world’s primary consumers, we run the economy. That gives us significant power to shape global systems. More about that in How Women Can Change the World (Part 1) .
4. Women are the child-bearers and the culture-bearers of our world.
As the typical primary caretaker for children, both at home and in school, women have a massive amount of power to shape culture for future generations. And not only do we get to teach kids about the ideals of justice, peace, and equality, we also have the opportunity to show them how to live out those ideals in our everyday lives.
5. Psychologically speaking, women are uniquely able and statistically more likely to take collective action on behalf of others.
One study about gender and social beliefs found that “women are more likely than men to express caring and compassion toward those who are different from them” and that “compared to men, being empathic with others tends to be more important to women’s self-concept.” The study goes on to explore the fact that typically, women more readily embrace diversity, are more comfortable with complex and potentially messy social concepts, and are more likely to have their identity wrapped up in the well-being of others. While the study makes some wide-sweeping generalizations, it and many other psychological studies support the idea that women are the most likely demographic to take social action on behalf of others.
6. Throughout history, women’s ability to organize and act collective has pushed the world toward equality, justice, and peace.
Just over the last couple of centuries, there are numerous of examples of women coming together to collectively demand social change—most of which were started and/or led by women of color. In the US, we have examples ranging from women’s contribution to ending slavery (particularly the brave and indispensable work of black women in freeing their own people), the suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Black Lives Matter movement (which was started by three women), and most recently, the #MeToo movement.
Around the world, we also see inspiring examples of women sparking and leading movements that push for justice, equality, and positive social change. This has been especially true throughout Africa and Latin America where more and more women are rising up to change their environment and push back the forces of injustice that are seeking to benefit at their expense.
Indeed, women’s ability to organize and act collectively is one of our most powerful assets.
7. Never in history have women had so much political, social, and intellectual power
While women are far from achieving equality with men, and there is a huge disparity in power held by white women versus women of color, as a collective women are more educated, better paid, control more money, and have more power than ever before. It’s our time to rise.
This is the collective power of women.
We are matches, poised to strike... are you ready?
