January 18, 2022
“In the past, I never thought of myself as a “feminist,” but do you know what feminism is? It is advocacy.”
—Amy Power', Founder and President of The Power Group
Power says anyone who believes “in equal pay, equal rights and equal opportunity,” is a feminist. And as equally important, “when you understand how you can play a role in the feminist movement,” (therefore) “ you can also play a role in making the economy better too.“
As a “female entrepreneur who launched and scaled a company, feminism is very personal to me.,” notes Powers, whose passion is for, “creating the next generation of professional female leaders.”
The Power Group is simply one of the channels where my talents intersect with my calling to help young women grow into the future business leaders we need for tomorrow’s economy.
After 22 years in business and as a mentor to others to scale their Companies, she know empowering women at work, “goes beyond simply hiring more women.”
The name of the game is support.
She wants you to know that, “men in your organization need to understand and embrace feminism too. It doesn’t mean we don’t want them to stop acting like men…males, however they identify, shouldn’t hold us back…AND There is nothing worse than women holding other women back.”
Here is her advice:
• Encourage them to speak up and share their thoughts. Teach them to ask for what they want because it is not instinctive in women as it is in men.
• Provide proper educational opportunities and training to advance their knowledge. At my agency, leadership training and access to coaching are provided for team members early in their careers.
• Give them a purpose or mission within the company. In my company, as an example, we empower people to lead our internship program, guest lecture with me at Southern Methodist University (SMU), and be in front of C-suite executives at meetings and events. My passion for doing this started with my first employee. At the time, I was looked down upon by my peers for “allowing” a 23-year-old to sit with me at strategic C-suite meetings, but I stayed committed to my vision of creating businesswomen, and it is one of the reasons why I believe the company has been so successful. Yours can, too, if you adopt a feminist mindset.
• Provide a sense of belonging by connecting the “why” of the company to women and their roles. This action is one of the most critically important — especially for your interns and most junior employees. They need to know their work matters and have a real connection to the economy.
Creating support for women in your workplace, “to make their impact on the economy,” means, not just women, but everyone will be the better for it.
Women perform 75% of the world’s unpaid work which subsidizes the global economy. The stats are probably higher now with many working mothers unable to return to the workforce due to the pandemic.
- When more women work, economies grow. It’s hard to believe that in today’s modern world there are still 18 economies where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working.
- Women make up only 6% of CEOs at S&P 500 companies. And surprisingly, the wage gap still exists.
Connect with the Forbes post here.
