AS we continue to celebrate Women’s Month this March, I hope to share pockets of my thoughts on celebrating women, as well as gender respect. Last week, I shared my view that women and gender empowerment start with our families, and is important to teach to both daughters and sons. This week let me share my view on female leadership.
It is common to see published lists from respectable media groups of the most powerful or wealthiest women in the world. Last year, I appreciated reading Blake Morgan’s article at Forbes.com, titled “15 of the World’s Most Inspiring Female Leaders.” I am aware the key measurement in how the choices were made might not be very clear, but I like how different facets of womanhood were celebrated. I like how being a new mom, moms with little kids or teens, working through couples’ struggles, were celebrated together with their career achievements and societal impacts. Morgan summed it up perfectly with these words: “…a woman doesn’t need a business title to be a leader. A true leader shows up in their community to make a real impact. And women around the world do that every day, regardless of their job title or position.”
The list of inspiring women includes: Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States; Mel Robbins, author of the national best seller The 5-Second Rule; Bethenny Frankel, founder and CEO of Skinnygirl with her podcast “Just B” and charity BStrong; Esther Perel, author and therapist whose podcast “Where Should We Begin” focuses on the relationship struggles of couples; Rachel Hollis, author and speaker, who is a host of a successful podcast and blog, the CEO of her company, and the mother of four; Radhika Jones, editor in chief of Vanity Fair, who moved the magazine and online content to be more representative of all types of backgrounds, lifestyles and cultures; Cynthia Marshall, CEO of Dallas Mavericks NBA team, who “transformed a previously toxic and misogynistic culture to create an inclusive environment where everyone can speak up and have a voice;” Kathrin Jansen, who as head of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer led a team of 650 experts to develop the first successful coronavirus vaccine; Whitney Wolfe Herd, a victim of sexual harrassment who became the founder and CEO of Bumble dating app; Maria Eitel, founder and chair of the Nike Foundation and Girl Effect, “an organization with a goal of helping 250 million young girls below the poverty line in four key areas: ending early marriage and delaying first birth, enhancing the health and safety of girls, increasing secondary school completion and improving access to economic assets;” then new mom Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand, who is the world’s youngest female head of state; Melanie Perkins, cofounder and CEO of Canva; Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, and the youngest woman in tech to lead an IPO in 2017; Christine Lagarde, president of European Central Bank and the first woman to serve as France’s finance minister; and Sonia Syngal, president and CEO of Gap, as well as the highest-ranking Indian-American female CEO.
Another view I have on female leadership is that it is not really about the “toughness” of one person. I was always labelled less capable as a business leader by my past superiors because I used my heart a lot more than my mind. But up to now, I stick to my belief that female leadership is more effective with genuine empathy and nurture, coupled with sharp business skills and acumen. It is also not weakness to receive help and wisdom from people, and to fully acknowledge those that fuel us to work this hard every day. For me, this incudes my faith in God’s purpose and providence. I have also looked up to many female leaders, from the SM Group’s Tessie Sy Coson to younger achievers like Bethany Mota, even when she was just a teen vlogger.
Melissa Bernstein, the cofounder of Melissa and Doug Toys, is one of the female leaders who have continuously inspired me to be my kids’ best “teacher-mom” since I became a mother 15 years ago. And with her recent new project, Lifelines, I admire her even more for celebrating both a woman’s successes and vulnerabilities.
I fully acknowledge the role my work and my immediate family plays in working with me to achieve the higher purpose of developing happy learning families through my passion in parent education. And as I just shared with my son recently in our one-on-one time, I have reached an unapologetic state of female leadership because my husband has always been there with me as a co-partner to build a family, who wants each of us to find our happiness and fulfillment in life. Here’s to a richer meaning of female leadership.