HERE’S WHY WOMEN’S DAY IS SO SPECIAL

While a lot of people will say today that every day is a women’s day – to which I agree – I still want this day to make me feel special as a woman. I believe that women are intrinsically blessed with a few things which many of us don’t realise or give ourselves credit for.

As we all know that both men and women have masculine and feminine energy in them, however women have more acceptance of the feminine energy than men do. And that’s what makes women natural leaders – the fact that they gracefully accept the tenderness, intuition, and compassion that comes with feminine energy. What also works for women is their ability to accept the emotional side of them which men struggle to do. A part of it has to do with the patriarchal mindset that exists.

Deganit Nuur has, in fact, used the interplay of these energies in her healing sessions and has been able to classify personalities.

So what makes women better leaders? Well, let’s start with some research done by Stanford University and Harvard University.

To think of it, it makes complete sense because 20% of IQ is required mainly at the junior executive level. As we move up the ladder, we need to get work done instead. And that requires stronger EQ. Therefore, as women, our acceptance to emotions is what makes it easier to manage them. And that’s exactly what EQ means.

Fun Fact: 90% of top performers have high EQ. Interestingly, in the most complex jobs, the top performers are 127% more productive than an average performer.

Women are naturally better at EQ. People, however, often confuse EQ with being emotional. EQ is how well one can manage one’s emotions and not allow oneself to get carried away with it.So, clearly, nature has given us the qualities to be great leaders and conquer the world if we choose to. Then don’t you wonder why there are so few women at the top?

Why is it that we have-it-all and yet we are not there? The percentage of women leaders in India can be counted on our finger tips.

Well, what stops us to excel more than anybody else is we ourselves.  Don’t you agree that we women:

  • try to be the best in whatever role we play?
  • feel the need to prove a point more often than required or asked for?
  • feel the need to choose by being in the OR mode (career OR family) when we can be in the AND mode (career AND family)?

The silver lining to this is the fact that these limitations are created by us and, hence, we can find a way to get around this?

  • Ask for support –

If you raise your hand and ask for support, who knows, people would actually support you? Take parenting for instance. Parenting is a role that is meant to be played in tandem. That is how the journey of being a couple started, remember? When did women assume to take on everything? And why? Let’s see what happens if we truly involve our partner in the family responsibilities and not just invite them.

  • Mind your language –

I know how soft-spoken we are (usually ), but, by minding your language, I intent to bring your attention to the words we use when we communicate common responsibilities to people. For instance, “could you please help me lay the table?” Caution: The word help always make the other person feel that they’re doing something for you (kind enough of them them to do that, for sure) and it confirms that the responsibility is solely yours by default. That doesn’t give the opportunity to all members of the team or family to take equal ownership of these common responsibilities. Paying attention to the words we use can make huge difference in the way we seek support from our environment.

  • Put your hand up –

Ask for that promotion, ask for that profile, ask for more learning opportunities, ask for what you deserve. When you put your hand up is when people know that you’re ready. It has been proved that 47% of men put their hand up even before they are ready. In comparison, only 7% of women put their hand up only if they feel they are ready. [You might find this Ted Talk interesting.]

I have consciously worked on these points and experienced substantial growth with ease in my life. I do feel though that I am and will forever be a work in progress. What keeps me going is the ‘progress’ part of it.



To sum it up, while it is a special day for women, let’s hope that this little message can make you feel just as special every single day of your life from here on … because you are.  Happy Women’s Day to all you awesome women! Would love to know what else helps you to keep going.