Why Alpha Women Need Each Other
A strong, intelligent woman is a force to be reckoned with. This is someone who knows her voice and isn’t afraid to use it. She’s deeply rooted in her values, she’s passionate about her goals, and she knows how to carry herself. More importantly, she’s the first one to build up the women around her rather than beat them down.
Here’s the truth about every strong woman: she is the way she is thanks to a long line of inspiring, game-changing females in front of her. These alpha women may be people she knew personally, like her mother and grandmother, or individuals she looked up to from afar. But, no woman finds her voice entirely on her own.
Alpha females need each other to keep moving forward and continue to break unfair gender standards. The glass ceiling won’t shatter with one woman’s attempt to smash it alone; it will crumble from the pressure of many women rising up together. This sounds logical enough, yet there are so many women competing against each other and feeling intimidated by one another every single day.
This has to stop, and here are a few reasons why.
Competition Is Only Healthy to a Certain Extent
Competition creates progress. Regardless of gender, age, or position, everyone can thrive off having someone “ahead” of them or from trying to maintain their own status as the leader of the pack.
Sometimes, though, competition can become discouraging. Ladies, you know we see this all the time. Maybe you just saw yet another clothing ad with an unrealistically thin or bodacious woman as the model; maybe you’re tired of having your female higher-up at work feel intimidated by you; maybe you feel like you can’t talk about your dating life with certain gal pals because they always turn it into a competition. Such situations are unhealthy. They make powerful, strong women feel like their flame doesn’t burn as bright as it actually does, or that it just shouldn’t be as bold.
Be mindful of your words and actions and make a commitment to not be that woman. If you feel like you’re the one being negatively affected, raise your voice. Speak out honestly and from the heart to create more of a balance between competition and community. The changes won’t necessarily happen right away, but starting such necessary conversations is always better than staying silent.
Alpha Women Encourage Other Women’s Strength
The amazing thing about finding and using your voice is that it encourages other women to do the same. When you stop worrying about what other people are doing, you’re able to truly focus on your own talents and passions. This makes men and women alike pay attention for all the right reasons.
Your own bold, brave words and actions may be just what another woman needed to hear to kick her efforts into high gear. The power of positivity is contagious, especially when it’s genuinely encouraging and uplifting. The next time you speak up, pay attention to the ripple this creates. The results won’t always come right away, and sometimes, they may not be things you recognize at all, but they’re definitely there. As you work to pave your own path, other women become inspired to make something better of theirs.
We’re Better Together
We can talk about competition and progress and gender equality all day long, but without action, the facts remain. Here are a few realities of being a woman worth paying attention to:
- Women are less likely to get promoted over their male peers
- As women rise in the workplace, the unequal pay gap in comparison to men also rises
- Only about one in five executive-level employees is a woman
- At this rate, it will take 50+ years for women to reach equality with men in American leadership roles
Bonus facts: women of color are even more underrepresented and less-likely to rise to the top than white women, but, collectively, women are more invested in changing the status quo than men are. This isn’t to say there aren’t men out there trying to balance things out. From movie stars to small business owners, there are some men that “get it.”
At the end of the day, though, this is a matter we must take into our own hands. We as women owe it to ourselves to live up to our highest potential and to raise other women up along the way. Such efforts tend to come more naturally to alpha women than to others, but the key is to remind every woman she has the power to be an alpha, too. It’s valuable for a woman to find her voice early on and even later in life, too. Plus, there’s a whole industry committed to making aging easier, which is a huge benefit considering a woman is more likely than a man to struggle during retirement. Wherever you are on your journey, find your voice and never let it be drowned out ever again.