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We have fallen for this one, like Winnie the Pooh for the honey pot. We really did think that someone cared about how our fathers, brothers, husbands, or partners treated us. We believed that they understood that we were not only good at managing the household. Oh boy, how naive women are.
"The women’s rights movement in the 1960s and ’70s sought equal rights and opportunities and greater personal freedom for women. It coincided with and is recognised as part of the “second wave” of feminism. While the first-wave feminism of the 19th and early 20th centuries focused on women’s legal rights, especially the right to vote (see women’s suffrage), the second-wave feminism of the women’s rights movement touched on every area of women’s experience—including politics, work, the family, and sexuality."
But hold on! What has really happened then? The '60s women's rights movement was nothing but a manipulation by governments and corporations to make more money. The reason we are all pushed to work is purely economic and has nothing to do with our empowerment or beating the patriarchy. It is all about the $$$$$$$, and we have fallen for it!
In the '50s, men went to work and managed to pay for everything: a house, a car, kids, education, etc. However, governments and corporations realised (learned during WWII) that they could make more money if women were more educated and included in the workforce, so they sold the idea of "Don't work for the man, work for yourself. Go work for the corporations and have your independence and freedom." They started to make money from education, taxes, and every aspect of society as women moved around and left the household. Transportation, clothing, childcare, retail, and almost every industry started to benefit from women going to work. As a result of increased spending power, they increased property prices, interest rates, and taxes without any justification other than taking the second income away from households. The second income that would not have been needed if we had stayed put.
Fast forward to today, dual income is needed to be able to live while we still do the '40s housewives' job in addition to our full-time jobs. What a great deal we have signed up for. Having us in the workforce is all about money and not about our equality. We bought into it and were as happy about it as Julia Roberts was when Mr. Right offered her "the deal". And today, we are still that happy breaking that glass ceiling.
The problem is that if the woman wants to opt-out, it puts immense pressure on the man to provide for everyone. If the woman works, it puts pressure on her because she has two full-time jobs. We cannot win this game.
The empowerment agendas are purely economic, and I will prove it to you! Look at these headlines:
Just type "Women's economic power" into Google and see what comes up. And it is not only in the West. You will find articles from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. But don't stop there. Look at social media messages from celebrities to business people (men and women), where the agenda of "a girl must have her own money" is being massaged into our brains daily. Watch Belinda Gates, Christine Lagard, and others in power when they deliver these female equality speeches. They always end up talking about the economic benefits of women.
We have all the empowerment and freedom we have ever wanted, but governments and corporations are the true beneficiaries of our work and they brainwashed us into it. Now, you would say, "That's a good price to pay", and I will not disagree. I never relied on any man in my life. Everything I have is the result of my work. However, what I don't like is the lie. The fake equality movements where they pretend that it is all about women. Or do they? Look at those headlines. Maybe they are not even pretending. They seem quite upfront about it, but we failed to receive the message because we like the idea of somebody caring about us. Well ladies, they care about the money you make for them.
PS: My father always told me, "You women buy into everything because all we have to do is say things that you want to hear. And we know that." Whilst I always fight him about this statement, he might be right.
Here is some exciting news! My second book, "Blind Leading the Disengaged - From Kindergarten to Employee Experience," is dropping in May! It's a treasure trove of solutions and cool ideas to shake up your people management game. But before we get there, let's chat about where we're at now—The Corporate Kindergarten, as I spilt the beans in my first book. Check it out, and let's transform your workplace from a daycare to an awesome employee experience hub!:
