The first thing that comes to mind is a successful woman at work. A woman in a suit walking with a purpose or with a clipboard. A woman who has climbed up the ladder. A woman who manages a large team. A woman who is the top boss for a department or a woman who started her own company.
It often has to do with something at work. Have you ever heard of a stay-at-home mom described as a successful woman? I haven't. Yet, have you met a stay-at-home mom that juggles taking care of the kids, driving them to numerous extracurricular activities, volunteering at school, cleaning the house, cooking, and so much more? That's a successful woman. If we were to hire somebody to take care of all those tasks, that would be expensive.
Our society still thinks that a successful woman is work-related, so how do we change that? Well, that's the mission of this blog to force people to rethink the definition of successful women.
I asked a handful of women who completed a confidence course: what a successful woman is, and I will share all of their answers below. Their definitions don't fit the definition we usually have for what a successful woman is. As you read them, I ask you to challenge your previous definition of a successful woman.
“A successful woman is one that meets any of the following criteria:
has set her own definition of success;
measures herself by her own success measures only;
has never allowed another human to diminish her spirit, either by word or deed
takes her place in the world proudly and unapologetically.” (Tracy Williams)
“A successful woman is one that achieves what SHE wants to achieve, whether that’s a family, money, power, activism or all of those etc. Whether that success happens quickly or takes her a lifetime, it doesn’t matter whether it takes sacrifice or privilege to make that achievement easier. As long as it’s HER dream & not what others want or expect of her. And she recognizes the challenges & hurdles other women face in achieving THEIR success & when she can, she uses her success to lift those women." (Carrie Bower - Founder of Visible Women Newsletter)
“A woman who is unfettered (by society, others, herself).” (Lucie Lovell - Business Improvement Lead)
“Someone who follows their heart and achieves what they set out to achieve. Whether that is a “big” career or none, a Ph.D., a GCSE, an off-grid tiny house, a mansion, a big family, no family.” (Clare Tarling - Design, Accessibility and Inclusion Advocate)
Stay tuned for more exciting blog posts coming soon!
