Who's Got The Power?

Female Empowerment Is the Modern-day Buzzword – but What Does It Actually Mean and How Can You Get More of It Into Your Life? Here’s How to Look, Feel and Be a  #bosslady From the Boardroom to the Barbell.

Depending on who you talk to, female empowerment is either a revolutionary call-to-arms and a natural state-of-being – or something that rich academics like to endlessly wax lyrical about. In reality, the movement plastered from hashtag to self-help book is all of these things – and far more. To dismiss it lightly is to deny the standing of half of humanity and to allow multiple facets of your life – from your career to your relationships – to only reach half mast.

“Without being truly empowered, many women remain in ‘less substantial’ positions in all aspects of life,” says Caryn Walsh, psychologist and international speaker and founder of Empowering Women to Thrive.

“Empowerment is not just ‘nice to have’; it’s a critical ingredient for all women to believe in themselves, to express how they feel in their relationships, know how to communicate calmly and assertively, learn to ‘have a voice’ that will help them get their needs met, and understand how to manage their stress well and learn to be resilient in all aspects of their lives.”

Female empowerment isn’t some short-lived fad. Several generations of women put in the work – from the suffragettes to women’s liberation to the modern feminist heroes – paving the way for the term ‘female empowerment’ to even exist. But to think that equality has been solidified and that patriarchal society is a thing of the past is fraught with trouble; the struggle for equal opportunity, power and standing is an ongoing, day-to-day proposition.

“Female empowerment is about recognising that women have much to offer outside of traditional gender roles, and creating the space and flexibility for this to happen,” says Lorraine Smith, Sydney’s director of careers and change at Lee Hecht Harrison, a global organisation specialising in career transition.