Women Empowered or Over-Empowered? An Important Reflection   

Over the past couple of decades, the conversations about women's rights and gender equity have changed drastically. Women are knocking down barriers, challenging norms, and redefining success in many spaces in politics, sports, and boardrooms. An interesting debate, however, is beginning to develop as this torrent of progress moves forward: are women getting more empowering or potentially over-empowered?  

 

The Journey to Now: From Oppression to Opportunity Women have been oppressed by systemic inequities - we have been denied education, property rights, voting rights, and equal wages. At its core, empowerment has been about level playing fields. A society balanced where women can dream their own dreams, and achieve their own successes can be attributed to representation, economic independence, education, and legal reform. 

 

Empowerment now encompasses agency, choice, and voice, in addition to rights. Women are choosing identities, professions, and lifestyles that were previously deemed unconventional. They are activists, CEO’s, scientists, entrepreneurs and artists. Social media and technology have enabled greater influence and reach. Gender sensitization initiatives at work and movements, like me too, have been pivotal in changing structures. But empowering someone does not mean de-powering them. The goal is to find fairness and respect between each other. 

 

The Argument: Misunderstanding or Over-empowerment: 

 Over-empowerment can be viewed as a loaded-term which requires careful definition. There is a growing sentiment in some circles that society is alienating or demonizing men, specifically because society is empowering women. Detractors argue that societal and/or legal systems provide women with disproportionate advantages - notably for example academic quotas (in some professions), job ordinances, and/or family rules. Yet, this critique is often the result of a misunderstanding of the purpose of empowerment. The purpose is to repatriate the imbalance created by several years of patriarchy not to replace it with a matriarchy. Empowerment is inclusive and not a form of aggression. Empowerment cannot function ethically when it is used as a means for repression, control or, false allegations; but these are the exceptions not the common experiences of misuse.  

 

The True Problem: Abuse of Empowerment v.s Misunderstanding of The Empowerment: Let us make note of the differences between instances of abuse of power and empowerment. Like any other power, empowerment creates differences when either gender abuses it. A few negative examples of empowerment should not diminish the importance of empowering millions upon millions of women continue to fight for simply respect and dignity. Since power for males has always been accepted - we do not ask the questions about whether males have "over-empowered." This indicates the extent to which society is conditioned to arbitrate inequalities. 

 

The Way Forward: Harmony, Not Revenge: We need to talk about how achieving a balanced experience of empowerment and not whether women are over-empowered. Education regarding respect for one another, rights, and responsibilities should be provided for both men and women. Empowerment involves education in the areas of mental health, ethical models, and training in sensitivity. Women with power strengthen families, communities, and countries. Women work alongside each other instead of comparing themselves to men. The real power of any society is found in their collaborative evolution.  

 

Conclusion: Empowerment is not about win or lose; there is no need to push one gender down to bring another one up. It is time for women to rise, not over-empowered. Therefore, the point of discussion should be, "How do we ensure empowerment leads to peace, justice, and mutual progress?" and not, "Are women over-empowered?"  

 

Let's not confuse power with danger. Let's focus on celebrating the empowered women - because when one woman rises, we all rise. 

 

 

Written by, 

Dr. Poornima Karthikeyan 

Associate Professor & HOD in Charge 

Presidency School of Commerce