Dilip Mukerjea
Feminine psychology is an approach that focuses on social, economic, and political issues confronting women throughout their lives. It is centred on social structures and gender, and critiques historical psychological research as done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm. Males should empathise with the reality that this psychology is oriented on the values and principles that affect all of human evolution.
Of course, women have long exercised influence behind the scenes. A few thousand years ago this drove Aristotle to distraction: “What difference does it make whether women rule or the rulers are ruled by women? The result is the same.” Especially on the domestic front, women are acknowledged to be experts as a tensile brand of quiet authority: The old adage has it that an American woman rises to a crisis, but that a Frenchwoman sees to it that a crisis never arises. And no one with a mother can deny that she wields—without lifting a finger and by virtue of her sheer existence—an outsize, open-ended, irrevocable influence on a life.
First, definitions of power should centre around the distinction between “power‐over,” the domination and control of one person or group over another, and “power‐to” or personal empowerment. Second, power can be analysed at different levels—societal, organisational, interpersonal, and individual—and, importantly, these levels interact. Third, power differences frequently underlie what appear to be gender differences in behaviour; as society is currently configured, power and gender are never independent.
For the most part, though, history acknowledges a different, more disarming brand of power: a woman’s ability to unmake a man. In a first-century B.C. marriage contract, a bride promised to be faithful and affectionate. She also vowed not to add love potions to her husband’s food or drink. For the several thousands of years before they became firefighters and physicians, women were sirens, enchantresses, snares.
For millennia, women had no history. Marriage was their calling, and meekness their virtue. Over the last century, in stuttering succession, they have gained a voice, a vote, a choice of vocation, and a playing field of their own. Decorously or defiantly, they have broken through barriers and arrived at the present juncture.
In the corporate world, the glass ceiling is continuing to affect women today, but with forced attention on gender equality, women will be able to break through this invisible, yet tangible, barrier, and influence change and transformation in the challenge spaces of business. While companies are shifting toward greater gender diversity in the workplace, it is still necessary to identify and rectify why women are not gaining leadership positions, even though equal pay for equal work is known to exist, albeit not everywhere. Evidence shows that organisations that play an active management role in diversity and inclusivity in the workplace have positive results.
What many men do not know, or accept, is that there is a distinct feminine aspect to their male persona. The eternal feminine side is not restricted to just women—it is a part of everyone’s wholeness, and when it is ignored, distorted or wounded, it can have devastating effects. The long overdue genuine social upheaval has as its theme the legitimate empowerment of women. Prejudicial attitudes that have resulted in many kinds of unfairness are being challenged. The long-suppressed outrage of sexual harassment has been exposed. No one with a heart and a conscience can do anything but respond with deep commitment and relentless encouragement. The eternal feminine is part of everyone’s wholeness, and the sooner men recognise this fact, the better for humankind across the planet. L.I.F.E. = Leadership, Innovation, Fellowship, Entrepreneurship
(The writer is the CEO of Braindancing International, L.I.F.E. Coach, Author, Consultant, Presenter, Learning Guide. He can be reached at brainaissance@gmail.com)
