female empowerment 🆙

Female empowerment, sorority, feminism, patriarchy, gender equality in Spain and around the world and many other expressions that are gaining more space are often shared irresponsibly. Without a proper explanation of what they mean, concepts end up being lost or misunderstood.

When talking about female empowerment, some people imagine that this expression of feminism is intended to take power away from men and make women powerful. Or you can imagine that it's about making men empower women. There are many misinterpretations of the concept, which is why we are going to analyze it properly.

What is female empowerment?

Female empowerment is defined as the empowerment of social participation for women. In other words, women must be represented politically, socially and economically in society, in order to have their rights conquered and preserved, fighting gender inequality in Spain, which is also manifested throughout the world.

In this way, female empowerment is responsible for debating issues relevant to women, especially issues that can improve their quality of life and existence. Racial, class and sexuality issues, then, are also addressed with the help of female empowerment, within feminism.

While this is at the heart of the concept, women's participation in society, female empowerment can be interpreted in other ways today. A woman can be empowered when she is not afraid to speak her mind, when she is part of social movements that aim to end oppression or even when she wears clothes that make her feel confident.

Female empowerment has become synonymous with strength, courage, self-confidence, union and respect, not just participation. However, this facet of the concept cannot be overlooked. It is through it that changes in the foundations of society can be developed, leaving patriarchy behind, thanks to feminism.

Gender equality

Maybe you're wondering why female empowerment matters. Observing the way the world's societies are built, it is identified that they are all based on machismo and patriarchy. Although under the law men and women have the same rights, the practice is not quite like that.

There are manifestations of machismo that are so rooted that they are not considered a problem. Women having fewer job opportunities, mothers who take care of their children alone, verbal attacks on women who are simply walking on the street and society's pressure for a perfect body are some examples of this.

Part of the violence that women suffer occurs exclusively because they are women. This does not mean that men do not suffer, or do not have problems in their lives, but that a man's pain does not have as its motive the exclusive fact that he is a man.

Gender equality in España is a subject that has become much discussed, and many people believe that the best way to fight gender oppression is through it. Analyzing what this concept means, it is understood that men and women would be equal before society. But the most accurate way of referring to the means to combat the oppression of women would be “gender equity”.

Unlike gender equality, gender equity is based on the assumption that men and women are different in society, which in fact they are, and that it is necessary to use practices and laws to ensure that they have the same conditions of life. life. The difference between gender equality and gender equity is subtle, but see in a simple example how it makes sense.

Two people, A and B, will participate in a race. He trained her for two years, with professional follow-up. B was invited to participate the day before, without being able to prepare properly. According to the concept of equality, it is fair for them to participate in the same race at the same time, because both are equal. On the other hand, the concept of equity would show that B does not have the same conditions as A and that competition is unfair.

Considering only the search for gender equality in Spain and in the world, in this sense, is incorrect. There are differences between men and women in society, and it would not be right to consider them as if there was no historical debt between them.

Female empowerment for great thinkers

To exemplify and to share what female empowerment can represent for a woman, we have separated ten phrases from great feminist thinkers in history. From them, you can reflect on the role of women in society and on how we can improve the reality of each of them.

“Our feminist premise is: I have value.” – Chimamanda Adichie

“The goal is not for women to take power away from men, as that would not change anything. The point is exactly to destroy this notion of power.” – Simone de Beauvoir

"I never considered myself a feminist, but I don't believe you can be a woman in this world and not be one." – Oprah Winfrey

“Let nothing limit us. Let nothing define us. Let nothing subject us. Let freedom be our very substance.” – Simone de Beauvoir

“The best way to cultivate courage in our daughters and other young women is to be an example. If they see their mothers and other women in their lives moving forward despite their fear, they will know that it is possible.” – Gloria Steinem

"I want to be everything I'm capable of becoming." – Katherine Mansfield

"A sad truth: our world is full of men and women who don't like powerful women." – Chimamanda Adichie

"We can't all be successful when half of us are constrained." – Malala Yousafzai

“It is important to emphasize that when you empower a woman, you change the world. I hope that in 20 years we will have fewer battles and that every woman can be what she wants to be.” – Diane von Furstenberg

“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.” – Malala Yousafzai

Women's empowerment today

Starting from the thoughts that the phrases of great feminists aroused in our minds, we need to look at society. What does female empowerment represent today?

A person's power can come from the amount of material goods he acquires, from the position he occupies at work, from the influence he has on other people. In a capitalist system, in this sense, an empowered woman should be a woman who has enough capital to influence people and lead a life without financial worries.

Notice how powerful men are usually rich and white. Powerful women are very much associated with wealthy women, but do a person's possessions represent how dedicated they are to changing society and making it more just and egalitarian? Is feminism an ally of capitalism?

In fact, capitalism is a system that is defined on the basis of inequality. There will be rich people because other people will be less rich, and so everything will be structured. Feminism fights against inequalities that can damage the quality of life of women in relation to men, including capitalism, so female empowerment cannot be based exclusively on occupying a prestigious financial position.

black empowerment

Female empowerment still needs to overcome racism, LGBTphobia and class inequality. There are many obstacles that an empowered woman needs to face to be considered as such. Empowerment will not have the same value if it is only applied to a woman who is already privileged in society (white, rich and who fits patriarchal or beauty standards).

These are more reasons why it is not possible to talk about gender equity in España. Considering that men and women are equal in the face of a racist society full of other prejudices is not consistent with the reality of the country. For this to actually happen, there could be no differences between white people and black, yellow, indigenous people, for example.

From this, it is urgent to pay attention to the empowerment of black women. They need to overcome double prejudice, machismo and racism, to have a space in society that white women already occupy. You might think that there are fewer women than men in positions of power, but rest assured that the few women who hold these positions are still white.

Racism ingrained in Spain means that black women, especially those who are poor, have fewer opportunities to study and work. How many white maids have you seen? And how many black maids? How many medical professionals, for example, are black? Are they in schools? Are they in high positions? Where are the black women? Does feminism reach them?

In addition to the question of study and work, blackness does not fit into Eurocentric beauty standards. So rarely will a black woman be understood as a reference of beauty. How could a black woman be empowered if she doesn't have references from other black women who have achieved better positions in society?

In order for black women to occupy the place to which they are entitled in society, and for gender equality in Spain to be achieved one day, it is necessary to value the work they do, to participate in social actions aimed at improving their lives. , vote for people who care about this issue and review their privileges to understand how to actively help them.

Nowadays, empowerment must always be a search for improvement. It will only be possible to say that women are empowered, when all are, when there is no distinction between people of different races and sexualities and when the amount of money a person has is not decisive for their character.

Female empowerment and spirituality

Although female empowerment is fundamental for changing society, it can also promote changes in the interiority of each woman. An empowered woman is a woman who feels capable of anything, including taking care of herself.