Are Women More Powerful Than They Used to Be?

Dear Ellie:

I was at lunch with some women friends in their 50s the other day, and they were discussing the concept of “power.” Some of the women said they thought that women had achieved power in our society, and they gave as examples a few of the women that President Obama has appointed to important jobs: Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. Others pointed to various women in business as being powerful.

What do you think? Are women more powerful than they used to be? Sheila

Dear Sheila:

I’ve heard women discuss and argue about the concept of power since the days of the second feminist movement (1963–1975). Some women think that getting power is desirable; others think that power is a negative and an especially male value. There seem to be some generational differences in this regard. However, women now in their 70s and 80s differ on this matter as much as women in their 50s and 60s. I have not heard the conversations between women younger than 40 on this topic, so I can’t offer my views about these groups.

Personally, I have never related positively to the goal of gaining power. I have seen too many women step all over other women in their pursuit of individual power. I also do not believe that power is defined by title or position, but rather by influence. I also think that to be powerful in business, which means making a lot of money, is different than being powerful in politics, which usually means influencing legislation and public policy. Power in academic life, journalism, the legal and medical professions, publishing, community organizations, the nonprofit sector, and one’s personal relationships are all different kinds of power.

This year, the state of Colorado, in which I live, has the highest percentage of women lawmakers in the United States: 40% of our legislature is female.  Democratic women are the majority in the state Senate, and half of the Democrats in the House are women. Democrats control both houses of the state legislature. There is only one Republican woman in the Senate out of 14 Republican senators, but eight Republican women serve in the House.

Other states with high percentages of women lawmakers are New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, and Hawaii. I would say that in these five states, women are potentially powerful in the area of legislative influence and setting public policy. It remains to be seen if legislation in these states will change in any way.

As for the federal government, we just don’t know yet whether having more women in influential positions will improve our country or not. Numbers don’t tell the story. Women have been given more important positions and titles—now let’s see if they become truly powerful and in what ways. Position for its own sake only benefits the position holder. Truly powerful women in government will use their position to improve our whole society. Ellie

By Elinor Miller Greenberg, EdD
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