The Power of Women

I was at an event last week which was about trail blazing young women, and the question was asked. Are you feminists? The ladies hadn’t really thought about it, and answered that they were proud to be women but didn’t often label themselves in that way.

I think that response is normal in 2010, most young women probably haven’t thought about it. I studied politics at university and took a semester on Women and Politics, and so I had the opportunity to explore how the freedoms us twenty-something women were fought for.

Last week happened to be the Hindu Festival of Navratri, which celebrates the Godess Durga (the divine mother) and totally in sync with that, my week seemed to keep hitting on the power of women.

Shingai Shoniwa of The Noisettes at the Launch

Levis have launched a new online community called ‘Shape What’s To Come’ to bring together women in their twenties from all over the world, to inspire and mentor each other. The project grew from realising that for the first time in history young women are really shaping the world. (Well maybe not politically but there are some amazing stories in social change, fashion, music, design and the arts) It was incredible being in the room and feeling the energy buzzing around. The network asks the question – What does it mean to be a twenty something woman in 2010?

B.Hive – Covent Garden

A couple of days later I had the pleasure of a meeting with Lynne Franks in her new women’s business club – B.Hive. Lynne has done a tremendous amount of work with helping women find their voice in the world of business, in a feminine way. The SEED Community brings women together to share their stories and as a result bloom in their professional and personal lives.

It has got me thinking about the power that comes with bringing women together. Personally I love working with men, and some of my closest friends are men too. But there is a level of calmness and openness that comes with working with women, that I think can really give women the confidence to achieve their dreams. They can help encourage each other to go about their work with a feminine, nurturing energy which challenges the status quo of how many of our systems have been created.

cupcakes!

On another note, I have noticed that you can’t go anywhere at the moment without seeing cute little books or baking equipment for making cupcakes. I too have got back into this recently, and totally acknowledge that the reason that we are able to enjoy making cupcakes now as young women, is because we don’t have to. For us, making cakes is a fun and rewarding thing to do that we do on our own terms, but remember that this is because women that came before us forged a path for it not to be expected of us.

So if you are a young woman and somebody asks you if you are a feminist. I think it is one of those questions where it is rude to say no.

If you join the Shape What’s To Come or SEED online communities. You can find my profiles and make friends with me here:

https://en.shapewhatstocome.com/members/amisha

http://www.seednetworkingforwomen.com/profile/AmishaGhadiali