Last week I was having a drink with a friend; he casually pulled out his phone and showed me a Meme that had gone viral. As I stared at the screen in shock, he matter-of-factly stated “and you thought you had problems”.
There is a new violence sweeping across our nation. It is not necessarily new, but it is intensifying. Human cruelty is absolutely nothing new, but it is the spread and reach that has amplified. I am talking about cyber violence, harassment and humiliation.
Unless you live under a rock, you must be quite familiar with the name Anne Waiguru. The former Cabinet Secretary who resigned following a social media assault and public mauling that was traumatizing to read and watch. It was a take no prisoners, no holds barred, free for …show more content…
She was consistently and continuously attacked for her reputation, character (perceived/real) rather than her politics/work. The attack was heavily personal, degrading and very calculated. The misogyny inherent in this was so obvious and almost expected, but the most stinging vitriol unfortunately came from women. That. Might be a topic for another …show more content…
It seems that the most dangerous time for a woman in leadership is when she raises her profile and gains visibility.
"You have always had the power, my dear. You just have to learn it for yourself" ~ unknown
The truth about power and ambition is that smart and aggressive women have to conceal it with grace, charm and everything in between. If they do stumble and fall everyone forgets the smarts, skills and the charm and talks only about the aggression, not even what caused the stumble. We lose focus and immediately they are publicly demeaned and diminished based on the fact that they are women. They become the objects of sexual slurs, innuendo and insulted in sexual terms. It is almost as if everyone is on a mission to see who can get more insulting and graphic.
This is due to the fact that there is an unwritten rule that states we have to compete, pursue and hold power differently.
The path to power for women looks more like "hunger games" on steroids and only the gladiators with nerves of steel make it through and the few who do, have to be clad in armor to survive the gender stereotyping that comes with the
There is a new violence sweeping across our nation. It is not necessarily new, but it is intensifying. Human cruelty is absolutely nothing new, but it is the spread and reach that has amplified. I am talking about cyber violence, harassment and humiliation.
Unless you live under a rock, you must be quite familiar with the name Anne Waiguru. The former Cabinet Secretary who resigned following a social media assault and public mauling that was traumatizing to read and watch. It was a take no prisoners, no holds barred, free for …show more content…
She was consistently and continuously attacked for her reputation, character (perceived/real) rather than her politics/work. The attack was heavily personal, degrading and very calculated. The misogyny inherent in this was so obvious and almost expected, but the most stinging vitriol unfortunately came from women. That. Might be a topic for another …show more content…
It seems that the most dangerous time for a woman in leadership is when she raises her profile and gains visibility.
"You have always had the power, my dear. You just have to learn it for yourself" ~ unknown
The truth about power and ambition is that smart and aggressive women have to conceal it with grace, charm and everything in between. If they do stumble and fall everyone forgets the smarts, skills and the charm and talks only about the aggression, not even what caused the stumble. We lose focus and immediately they are publicly demeaned and diminished based on the fact that they are women. They become the objects of sexual slurs, innuendo and insulted in sexual terms. It is almost as if everyone is on a mission to see who can get more insulting and graphic.
This is due to the fact that there is an unwritten rule that states we have to compete, pursue and hold power differently.
The path to power for women looks more like "hunger games" on steroids and only the gladiators with nerves of steel make it through and the few who do, have to be clad in armor to survive the gender stereotyping that comes with the