The Essential Feminine Company - Empowering Women to Create Successful Businesses and Lives

Writing to you on the topic of Confidence during this very special week of the 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day has made me think of how the meaning of the work confidence has changed over the years for women.  When we go back to what confidence would have meant to our sisters (the Suffragettes) who were paving the way for our vote and freedom of voice – they had little confidence in their ability to be heard or taken seriously in a system that saw them as invisible. 

Today we are not invisible.  Today we have 85% of the purchasing power in the US and we make up over 52% of the small businesses and are heads of household in 51% of the American households.  Today in Egypt and One Million Women March is scheduled to take place.  Reem Shahin, a member of the Million Woman March movement says, “We are not convinced by the amendments of the constitution as they don’t give women the right to run for presidential elections, and there are still no equal rights”.  This quote amazes me as we are now beginning to see many issues that our women faced in the 1920’s become prevalent issues to our sisters in the Middle East.  I wish them well.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating International Women’s Day with our friends at the Global Dialogue Center.  We at The Essential Feminine™ Company strongly believe that it is when we ourselves and our sisters allow confidence to develop in all areas of our lives, we will reach freedom.  Confidence is a birthright built on our ability to voice what we feel and our ability to express  our inner wisdom and  knowledge.  Please join Debbe Kennedy and me along with other wonderful hosts and facilitators in conversation with Frances Hesselbein as we discuss “LEADERSHIP by Example 2011 | WOMEN in the Lead: Our Significant Roles as WOMEN in a Global Economy” https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000011799/Registration.aspx?pageName=pb23p9cvqs97g2lh  or go to http://tinyurl.com/2a99638 |

Also join us at The Essential Feminine Living Room, March 23^rd 12 – 1:15 PM PDST for our complimentary webinar/teleseminar exploring “ Awakening To Powerful Feminine Confidence:  Designing A Life of Optimum Success”.  The Living Room is a conversation and networking opportunity that brings women together world-wide.  REGISTER NOW…https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/411759432

Maureen Simon

 

 

Maureen J. Simon

Founder and Creative Director

The Essential Feminine Companyâ„¢

maureen@theessentialfeminine.com

http://womeninfluencingnow.wordpress.com

www.theessentialfeminine.com

In their recent response to The Atlantic cover story “The End Of Men”, by Hanna Rosin, Marie Wilson and Linda Basch state that what is happening today is not the demise of men “but rather, the beginning of a transformation of traditional roles that will benefit men, women, families, communities – everyone.”  They point out that “women and men bring complementary and equally important approaches to risk-taking and decision-making and studies show a correlation between management diversity and economic returns.”

It is in the complementary and equally important approaches where change and growth must be made.  All too often in the past society has devalued our best qualities, those that are natural to women.  Our feminine gifts are attributes such as: relationship building, peacemaking, language, creative thinking, and more.  

In their recent response to The Atlantic cover story “The End Of Men”, by Hanna Rosin, Marie Wilson and Linda Basch state that what is happening today is not the demise of men “but rather, the beginning of a transformation of traditional roles that will benefit men, women, families, communities – everyone.”  They point out that “women and men bring complementary and equally important approaches to risk-taking and decision-making and studies show a correlation between management diversity and economic returns.”

It is in the complementary and equally important approaches where change and growth must be made.  All too often in the past society has devalued our best qualities, those that are natural to women.  Our feminine gifts are attributes such as: relationship building, peacemaking, language, creative thinking, and more. 

By exploring these gifts and applying them to your day-to-day life, you will see positive changes in your own life and the world around you.  You will be able to adapt to the innovations and changes that are necessary for the future.  As women are equally valued for their contributions, we will be able to overcome the limitations and inequalities imposed on us by a masculine dominated economic, political and cultural society.

As a start, let yourself have the freedom to imagine new possibilities in the areas of career, finances, fitness, well-being, friendship and love.  Say “yes” to an opportunity that arises.  And practice being utterly fascinated with your own answers to these questions:

• What innate talents do I possess?
• What are my greatest gifts?
• What do I enjoy doing so much that I lose track of time while I’m doing it?
• What are the guiding principles of my life—what is my polestar?

Join us in The Essential Feminine Living Room the fourth Wednesday of every month at noon for an hour long complimentary chat with women world-wide.  Our topic this month will be Feminine Abundance.  Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/896207192

We are all working to achieve a life well lived.  Be it in the work we do, the contribution we make, or the legacy we leave behind.  We are all at different stages of life, many, with different objectives.   Consciousness begins by developing our ability to clearly hear the messages that come to us from within.  Some messages give us information like a basic hunch, some like a lightning bolt some like an epiphany or a wake-up call.  Our ability to listen to these messages and to integrate them into our actions provides us with a basis for conscious living.  If we could entertain the thought that our “self” has a higher place where it operates we could begin to experience a greater flow in our lives.  It is my belief that my higher self is consistently sending me suggestions and ideas that link me to the greater purpose of my life.  Sometimes these suggestions are very subtle but when I listen and follow this guidance I notice that fascinating changes occur that inform me how to use my skills resources and capabilities.  It is in the quiet moments when I move away from busyness that this, critical information is revealed to me.

“At any moment, I could start being a better person, but which moment should I choose?”  Ashleigh Brilliant

So how does all of this relate to Conscious Choices?  Try this.   Start today by noticing the guidance that may be coming through daily that maybe you didn’t notice yesterday.  Clearly listen to any messages that come from within.  Notice if you sense a driving power or informing sense guiding you.  If so, be sure to listen and use the information that you are given.  Allow yourself to screen things that may be imposed by the busy mind.  This stage requi res discretion.  Make choices that incorporate both your inner sense of knowing and you rational mind. 

In the upcoming June Essential Feminine Living Room we will be discussing Conscious Choices – The Golden Key to Success.  Join us Wed, Jun 23, 2010 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM PDT. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/1619800817     

Among the natural attributes of women are collaboration and team building.  (And, we hold many more.)  Our ability to use these gifs has been recognized by such groups as CARE, Heifer International and The Hunger Project.  (See notes below.)  These groups have invested their resources and total faith in women to rebuild their communities as they know that women will use their opportunities to feed their families and strengthen their communities.

Relationship building, networking and community building are some of women’s finest gifts.  Therefore, The Essential Feminine Company™ is opening its “Living Room” as a place for women to get together once a month to share ideas and suggestions about various topics.  This is a free event happening at noon (Pacific Time) on March 24 and continuing on the fourth Wednesday of the months following.  You will need to register for the event at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/448858688

We will begin our Living Room discussion with the topic, “Inviting The New, The Different and The Good Into Our Lives”.  After the initial theme has been presented we will be opening the lines for announcements, wishes, desires, and general networking. Please contact us at info@theessentialfeminine.com if you have something you would like to share during the second half hour.  We need at least forty-eight hours prior to each Living Room event for your comment or need to be considered.

We hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to join women from around the globe and help us create a community of women who want to create their lives from their true selves and thus make a difference.

Maureen Simon

Note: Yesterday (March 8) “was International Women’s Day celebrating the progress women have made in their struggles for equality and development and also focusing on what remains to be done to ensure there is equality for all. The theme this year is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All.””

Note from The Hunger Project:  “(THP) firmly believes that empowering women to be key change agents is an essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty. Wherever we work, our programs aim to support women, build their capacity and ensure their voice is heard and influence felt, both in their own communities and more widely.”  To read more: http://www.thp.org/learn_more/publications/newsletters/february_2010

Note from Heifer International:  Women Working Wonders; Since they received goats from Heifer, the members of Zambia’s Evergreen Women’s Club have been able to provide life-saving milk for their children, grow valuable crops to support their families and help their neighbors support themselves.  To read more: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.201594/?msource=kwg538

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Rachel Ball (a lawyer at the Human Rights Law Resource Centre (www.hrlrc.org.au) where seventy percent of the centre’s board are women) caught my attention recently.  It was reporting on a recent action by the French National Assembly approving a bill requiring listed companies to ensure that by 2015 50% of their board positions would be filled by women.  Her statistics for Australia state that women hold 8.3 percent of board director positions of ASX 200 companies and chair just 2 percent of boards.”  She goes on to say that, “Anyone who thinks that prevailing practice in board recruitment is merit based is kidding themselves.  Women make up more than 50 percent of the population, 45 percent of the workforce and are more highly educated than men.  There is no good reason why they should be so vastly under-represented in leadership positions.

Far from being merit-based, the status quo is discrimination dressed up as impartiality.  The elusiveness of meaningful equality can be partly attributed to the more insidious forms of discrimination that are entrenched in our institutions and social structures…”

She points out that “…Quotas are not the operational and financial burdens that they are often made out to be.  In fact, the opposite is more likely to be true.  Numerous studies have shown that companies with a higher proportion of women on their boards out perform their more male-dominated competitors.  Greater gender equality in the workforce also improves national productivity.  Equality and efficiency are mutually reinforcing.”

These findings are not surprising to me as they match with the research I have been doing into feminine attributes.  As women, we are predisposed towards qualities of leadership that are different from the usual masculine oriented leadership so predominant in business and politics today.  These qualities include collaboration, team building, creative thinking, intuition and peacemaking.  Because of the cultural environment we grew up in, these attributes have been devalued in our lives and often go unappreciated and undeveloped.  This is a disservice to ourselves and to the world we live in. 

We are now living in a world that is unbalanced and needs the qualities and gifts we, as women, can bring to it.  Not only will developing our attributes help us to live more satisfying lives but these attributes will help the world get into balance as well. 

Around the world, more stories are being written about change.  As Ghandi said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” For me this has always meant that I must look at the things within myself that need to change to improve in order for me to make a meaningful impact on the world.  

In 1994, Rwanda once again made the news with the genocide that killed more than 800,000 people, most of whom were men and boys, leaving Rwanda’s population at 70% female.

Fast-forwarding to 2008: “The economy has revived and is holding steady. Major road arteries between cities and outlying villages, which were destroyed, have been rebuilt. Today, the Rwandan lower house of Parliament is nearly half female, the highest percentage of women in any parliament worldwide. Girls are attending school in record numbers.

The women of Rwanda are behind one of the most inspiring comeback stories of national transformation in recent history. And while their story is dramatic, it’s not unique. Indeed, in the field of international development, women have emerged as the not-so-secret secret to changing the world.

As former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said, “If there is one lesson we in the United Nations have learned over the years, it is that investing in women is the most productive strategy a country can pursue”–to raise economic productivity, improve nutrition and health, and educate the next generation.””

  How Women Will Change The World Huffington Post  Update 6/2/08 Filed by Anya Strzemien  

When women begin to understand the natural gifts and talents we hold, claim them and use them we will gain a strength and contribution that will bring the feminine forward in the world in a way that has never been seen.  The time is now.

“Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do”.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell

I believe that there has not been a time in modern history on a cross-cultural and global basis where men and women have stood side by side, providing leadership that equally respects and acknowledges both masculine and feminine attributes. I believe that that time has now come. It is now time for us to create a more equitable, harmonious and more successful business, political and community environments as we integrate the feminine and masculine traits. Women have an opportunity to now step forward and to chose to make greater leadership contributions across these arenas by leveraging the innate feminine attributes that they have for so long set aside in order to adapt to the masculine culture that defines our world today.

So what will it take for a major awakening in women to occur? How will women realize that when the strong feminine gifts that we hold are integrated in to the decisions of the world that healing of wars, corrupt businesses and our planet will follow? Malcolm Gladwell in his brilliant book, “The Tipping Point”, speaks about ideas, products, and messages spreading like viruses. It is now time for women to understand and own the essential role that their feminine attributes contribute such as relationship building, web thinking, inclusive communication, to name a few. These attributes must be honored and valued by ourselves before a tipping point in awareness or the collective conscience can occur.

As a woman, do you understand the unique and precious values and gifts that your feminine attributes can play in the world? Where can you contribute your wisdom, knowledge and care to make a difference in the world? We must understand and value the gifts of the feminine in order for there to be a tipping point that travels across the world and proudly claims – that women hold an essential role in the world today.

Last year despite the economic crisis we were experiencing the 5^th annual Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society was held in Deauville, France in October.  They called it Women’s Forum – Think again, think ahead! It is time for action, change and hope.  In December 2009, a review by * Julia Harrison, Managing Partner of FD Blueprint (FD Blueprint is a leading EU public affairs company) and Member Founding Committee of Women’s Forum (Belgium).came out in the European Business Review which you may have missed. 

The contents of her article and the Forum are worth noting.  While the economic crisis of last year threatened holding the conference, a factor in favor of holding forum, according to Ms. Harrison, was “…the recognition that women’s role in all aspects of society and the economy is now more relevant than ever.”  She goes on to state, “Although recent studies have not been able to show categorically that companies perform better if women are present in substantial numbers at board level, they do show that the quality and soundness of decision making improves dramatically in diverse senior teams and that many aspects of performance improve.”

In conclusion her article stated, “What clearly emerged from the Women’s Forum in 2009 is the insight that with global economic crisis come global issues that are so complex and intertwined, no one party can hand off responsibility to another.  Business, professionals, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, governments and public bodies alike have to care and have to take up these challenges practically. We need to find different models for social and economic progress or face repercussions and continued cyclical economic time bombs.  The Women’s Forum put women at the centre of this challenge and the heart of the solution. Time well spent.”

In order for us to meet this challenge, we women must understand and rely on our feminine attributes; attributes that include: collaboration, relationship building, verbal agility and intuition.  These are the gifts we have that will discover the “different models for social and economic progress” that are so needed in today’s world and in the world of the future.  Notice in your life when you are using these gifts and when you could rely on them even more.  Cultivate them and let them blossom.  As they grow, your life and business will grow.  You will be empowering your relationships and empowering your success.  You will truly become women influencing now.

In a recent New York Times article on Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile, we can observe the growth of a leader.  On her election in 2006, she faced student demonstrations across her country, a new chaotic public transportation system and the “impression that she was not in control”.  She will be ending her term as one of Chile’s most popular leaders.  “Polls this month show her public approval to be above 70 percent, and in recent weeks she has recorded the highest levels since Chile went from dictatorship to democracy in 1990.” 

”At the start, she said, the political establishment tried to portray her as weak and disrespectful of the office of the president.  She did things that were not presidential in the eyes of the Chilean establishment,” said Ms. Lagos, the pollster. “It is very difficult to go back. She lowered the presidency closer to the people.”

“It was an important challenge in the first few years,” Ms. Bachelet, 58, said in a recent interview, noting the way other powerful women had urged her to toughen up and “scream and insult” to be respected. “I took a gamble,” she added, “to exercise leadership without losing my feminine nature.”

Becoming leaders takes courage and determination and most of all a willingness to step forward.  It cannot and will not be done for us.  Though, each of us must take that step for ourselves, we need not do it alone.  Hopefully we too can and will do it by manifesting our feminine natures. We need to rely on them for they are our strengths.

 Maureen Simon

Many women are exploring ways to create more success in their lives. I think that’s great, but I think there’s more to life for women than just success. So often we have been putting on the trousers, climbing the ladder, and doing things in a masculine way in all areas of our life. The problem with this is that we inevitably leave an important part of our authentic self behind- our feminine self. It’s important to keep in mind that women are predisposed genetically and through socialization- to a whole series of unique assets talents and gifts that are special and sourced in our feminine nature.

How can we begin to use these feminine gifts in a way that allows us to contribute at a high level, fully expressing our power and doing so from a feminine perspective? The answer to this could lead you to one of the most freeing revelations of your life. Every woman has a personal response to this question in my twenty-five years of working with women I have heard hundreds. What’s yours? 

We must first begin, by valuing our unique feminine gifts such as our verbal agility, our ability to give care and compassion, our Natural gift to see and perceive the whole of a situation, work environment or even the whole needs of the world. I believe these gifts come from having been the givers of birth and life since the beginning of time. That’s quite a credential. We need to claim this and live it in our work in corporations in our voice and concern in politics and thorough our unique and gentle care of our children and the planet. Social researchers have put a price on the value that women add to the bottom line in corporations. It’s time for us to value these gifts in all areas of our life.