Powerful women

Recently, I had a discussion with a female friend. That discussion emerged after I showed my preference for a female political candidate. She replied that she dislikes powerful women. She’s not alone; far from it, actually. Also see my 2023 blog: The enemy of a woman is a woman.

A recent Belgian newspaper article wondered whether boys are more conservative than girls. That article triggered my curiosity. In my view, men are generally interested in Power, while women are generally triggered by Knowledge. Hence, that Belgian article made perfect sense to me.

In 2010, the Guardian published the result of an intriguing study: Women are their own worst enemies, study finds. Examples in my jobs have only underlined that conclusion. Men may not always like each other but it will – usually- not affect their cooperation at work. For women, competition is default.

In this millennium, there have been lots of cases of abuse by powerful men. What was once common and accepted, no longer is. Some of those abuse cases feel quite ridiculous, like the sexual abuse case against a Spanish man trying to embrace and kiss a female soccer player on TV.

In general, few women are interested in (business or political) Power. Hence, it’s very unlikely that women will ever replace powerful men. What does this imply? A future shortage of powerful men? A society “forcing” women to “accept” jobs in Power (eg, mandatory Board composition) ?

The Western stereotype of the elderly, white man in Power is a reflection of our past and of today. It’s also a reflection of our future. There’s no alternative. In my view, jobs in Power are often undesirable (M+F). Once, I was asked a question: why had I taken my director job? She felt sorry for me. She was right.

Any job in Power requires a certain attitude, behaviour and personality. l lack that. In 2011, British psychologist Kevin Dutton (b.1967) “concluded that the ten professions that have the highest proportion of psychopaths are:”

I suppose that many people will be able to mention examples of male names in those ten professions, especially CEOs, media people (TV and radio), and chefs. Once, again psychopathy and women is not a common combination.

“Callous and opportunistic, female psychopaths are the rarest of a rare breed. Though they share much with their male counterparts, they may be even better equipped to elude detection.”

Opening in the Psychology Today article: Why Female Psychopaths Are a Different Breed

Be My Number Two (1984) by Joe Jackson
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-song

Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.