- Tania Zayets
Walking the Empowerment Path for our Girls.
Women absolutely must take in their own hands self-empowerment movement in the society where men are slowly walking away from the traditional role of a breadwinner and protector.
While facilitating women in empowerment initiatives I keep coming across an issue of support, or an issue of needing to feel supported. And, there is nothing wrong with that as Feeling “supported” is closely connected to “belonging” that is one of the fundamental human needs.
As well with women, this issues with lack of support often end up being a fundamental block when it comes to taking on challenges, starting a new career or a business and connected directly to her level of confidence.
When digging deeper, we often discover that a need for support is more an idea than a real act. It’s often I discover that the feeling associated with support is missing rather than the actual act of support by a person.
Somehow it’s engraved in us women that support associated with the masculine function of protection, security and encouragement and linked to what partners, husbands expected to do.
And while we as a society are moving away from traditional family roles, we see women being eager to take on different responsibilities and challenges, the old mindset that female is a weaker gender and needs to be supported still very much prevails in society and harnessed, sadly, by women themselves.
If woman perceives that she is not supported enough it will show up in her life as passive action and lack of confidence. And an interesting thing I note again and again. hat it’s not the lack of resourcefulness, lack of ability or lack of motivation that holds women back from empowerment but only a sense that to take a new step in life she needs support.
While running Blossom Club group for women, where support expresses itself in hearing and seeing each other’s challenges and victories, witnessing every woman as she is and encouraging women to be entirely themselves, proves to be enough for women to receive the support and move on in their life. This encouragement and support from other women found many of current members finding guts to look for a job after lengthy breaks, challenge themselves with new hobbies and exciting ventures.
And it’s not that support is not available. With an abundance of women related issues charities, social initiatives and level of gender equity awareness the women movement is high on the scale right now. As well the indicators for closing gender inequality gaps are showing lengthy change. In fact, in many countries, it’s getting worse.
Why? There is a number of reasons. Like societal reforms, and social programs. But one that is not very obvious is that I feel that women are not great at receiving the support. They are not taking the lead in this revolution.
“Often, we don’t CLAIM what our human birthright is.” Sadly, we still unconsciously are living the pre-programmed gender bias and keep seeking what we need from the close relationships. Particularly, our partners. Women are missing out in gender battle as there is a hidden unconscious preconception that man is the one who needs to provide it security and support still.
And if we are ever to tackle true gender equality women need to start with themselves. To be empowered and be able to open to receive support from all kind of resources. And most important to receive support from herself by being open to all hell a lot of opportunities out there.
Recognising a woman role as a whole and complete with husband/partner or not.
Being that single force of nature that claims life in her womanhood, not copying, not following, not compromising any cell in her body for anything! But lead herself to her independence and empowerment.
Saying this all, I have to say it’s while women have a massive role to play in the self-empowerment this must be a massive social movement.
We need to do it all together.
I would love for my daughter, who is 10 years old right now to arrive into adulthood, where the choice of having family or not, having kids or not, having the career or not wasn’t dictated by traditional role system of a woman. As at the moment this choice not genuinely being backed up by societal reforms. I would love every girl to have a sense of safety and security and real support should she decide to be a mother or not in a marriage or not. So single parenthood doesn’t feel like a financial penalty for not having a full family.
And I would dream for society to take necessary action to support a woman in her transition in life should she be a mother, a career woman or both. So that the role of protector and security provider that men are slowly walking away from is taken by society through government and social business initiatives.
If we don’t do it, we will see a more divided society where women are overworked, depressed and impoverished with children growing in poverty and social isolation.