Shhhh... Do you hear the sound of Female Empowerment?

One day I began to hear an annoying buzz that intensified and I could not identify its origin. I noticed that it came from an ancient giant molle that was at the entrance of the house where a cloud of bees had accumulated. I immediately looked for the gardener to scare the bees away, but he told me it would be a waste of time. We ran the risk of being stung, and they would still be attracted to the flowers. The bees will leave on their own when spring is over and the noise will cease, he replied.

A similar noise is being heard and intensified in all parts of the world. Women survivors of abuse, women who have achieved success, women leaders, and women who have changed the course of their lives, are raising their voices to inspire more women. This noise will not cease until equal rights and opportunities are achieved.

Women plead: "Female Empowerment". Just like a bee struggling to be queen, and that aspiration is logical. Like a common bee, she has an average life span of 45 days. If she is queen, she can live 5 years, make decisions, and have the respect of even drones that triple in size.

Just like worker bees, women perform different tasks: they work tirelessly, procreate, take care of their children, do domestic chores, are aware of school education, and must look beautiful and fit all the time. Without a doubt, we all aspire to become queens and this has inspired me to develop my theory of female empowerment in 3 steps:

STEP 1. A buzz in your consciousness.

Just like the buzz of a thousand bees, the desire to awaken empowerment has to be very noisy and annoying inside you. It incites you to take the step of wanting to transform yourself and break paradigms. An internal dialogue that forces you to question: Why do things have to be like this? How can I generate changes? Where do I acquire power? and above all Why do I want to have it?

For an instant, imagine that power is a sphere of luminous energy. When it is in your hands, it is absorbed by your body and enlarges you making you feel strong and powerful to achieve anything you set your mind to. Keep in mind that, if by meaning empowerment is "grant you power", it can be taken away from you at any time. Does it make sense to fight for such power?

In ancient Rome, 2 types of powers were distinguished: the Auctoritas and the Potestas.

La "Potestas". Nombrados por la autoridad estatal. Un "poder" otorgado y que no se cuestiona, pero que es transitorio. Sin posición no hay poder ni obediencia. Es lo que conocemos actualmente como "poder". Un poder que viene de afuera y está ligado a un cargo.

The "Potestas" were appointed by the state authority. A "power" granted and not questioned but that is transitory. Without a position, there is no power nor obedience. This is what we know today as "power". A power that comes from the outside and is linked to a position.

On the contrary, the "Auctoritas" were scholars of law and life who were recognized by the people for their wisdom and sense of justice. They had no binding power. They could not make decisions or apply the law. This is what we know today as "authority". You do not need to hold a position to have authority. The people give it to you as long as you have earned it by demonstrating "wisdom" (knowledge + experience) and a sense of justice "virtues" (coherence between what you say and do). A power that comes from you.

When Rome passes from Republic to Empire, Caesar eliminates this duality and monopolizes these two powers believing himself to be a God. He caused the confusion of terms that we have to date.

There is a third power that does not come from law or knowledge. It is a hidden power that comes from within people which was represented by the "gladiators". People who were socially despised, marginalized, and slaved, willingly prepared to fight in the coliseums. They earned the recognition of the people and even their freedom. That internal force made them popular heroes. Their training was not only oriented to combat strategies but to warrior virtues. People made poems to them and they were true mythical heroes.

History shows us that there were no auctoritas women nor potestas since, at that time, they were classified as "non-citizens". They could not vote or hold public office. However, the story does talk about women gladiators. Although it was unusual since a woman who fought was seen as something unworthy and even obscene, it was a well-paid profession that allowed them to lead an independent life, buy their freedom and also achieve public recognition as heroines. This power is born from within us and is based on the willpower and coherence of our actions.

Empowerment must begin with the power that is under your control. A power that no one can take away from us.

Conviction and comfort cannot live in the same house. If you want comfort - relax on a sofa, but do not complain about not having opportunities. To empower yourself you have to start leaving the excuses aside. MP

Empowerment is not going to come by magic as a divine superpower. You must train like a warrior: study, broaden your horizons, be a model of virtues, and show coherence between what you say and do.

To be empowered is to stop victimization. Stop hiding your head between your shoulders and cord the body. The tall ostrich hides its head so that predators do not see it. The slow turtle hides its head to look like a stone so predators think it is a rock. And you, why do you hide it?

If you are a victim, someone must be guilty. Looking for culprits only delays your empowerment process. What is worse, you are going to sit idly waiting for someone to come to rescue you. But there are no rescuers out there. The only rescuer is here inside your being. It is you.

Men are not our enemies. Our worst enemy is within us. When that sphere of power grows in you, you will be the master of your destiny. You will have self-management and decision-making capacity. You will realize that the limits are in your mind.

STEP 2. Learn to Value Yourself

It is hard to believe that, according to a phrase attributed to Einstein, a world without bees could end in 4-5 years. They are in charge of pollinating plants that are the food of many species.

The world would also suffer the same fate if women disappeared. Nature has endowed them with anatomy that allows them to harbor life.

Learn to value yourself. You are worth what You think you're worth. The world is going to see the power that you radiate and let it be seen. MP

Imagine you have the ability to fly, extend your arms, look around and define where you want to go. Gaining momentum will require you to know your strengths. They will act as propulsive forces to break the opposition of the wind. Also, identify your weaknesses because these will be anchors that will not let you take off from the ground. Only when you are already in flight from above, it will be easier to spot opportunities and threats.

When bees fly, they focus on the flowers to suck the nectar and transform it into honey. When you have a goal in your life, your attention is focused and becomes the compass that guides you. Think for a moment that you want to buy a car of a certain brand. You go out on the street and, it turns out, that now you see the car everywhere. It was always sitting there but you've never noticed it. Likewise, when you believe that women are invisible and undervalued, all you will see is inequality in the world. When you focus on increasing your capacity, you will begin to see the opportunities that surround you.

Bees don't find it easy either. They live in a small place called a hive where 10,000 to 50,000 insects: a queen, a few hundred drones, thousands of workers bees, royal honey, and pollen live. It is an ideal place for viruses and fungi to live which attack bees. It leaves their wings deformed and others paralyzed.

There is no worse paralysis than the one produced by our minds when we continue without questioning patterns and stereotypes given by history and society. Women were not born for public life and work. Women are the weaker sex and are born for domestic chores. They cannot be executives, cannot have positions of power, and do not serve for numbers. Women are here to have and take care of children. Paralyzed is how women get when they acquire the position of victims, when they silence harassment, normalize abuse, and refuse to look for alternatives.

Inside the DNA of the women who have marked history, determination, persistence, and action are distinguished. They are gladiators who have questioned and challenged pre-established patterns. Gladiators who have focused their attention on a clear purpose demonstrating that ability is not linked to sex. Bees being small show courage. They use their stingers to defend themselves even if using them means losing their lives.

Other viruses make bees with a glossy black coloration and a greasy appearance. When they reach the hive, the guardian bees do not recognize them. They deny the sick bee entry and then die on their own. Marie Curie is a Polish woman who won two Nobel Prizes. When her husband died, she had an affair with a student who was married. The wife of the student became aware of the fact and intercepted the letters that Curie and her lover were sending to each other. She grabbed the letters and sent them to the organizers of the Nobel Prize to hinder Curie's tribute. Marie after being suggested to not come to the ceremony replied, "The prize was given to me for the discovery of radium and polonium. I think there is no connection between my scientific work and the facts of my private life." While Curié was right, you have to remember that authority is not only gained by knowledge. It is by having the moral power to say so without the fear of being judged by anyone

STEP 3. Become Queen

Queen bees do not run the risk of worker bees being trampled or fumigated as they only leave their hive for fertilization flights. The queen is the only one who can lay eggs and produce pheromones to maintain the cohesion of the hive. When the queen bee is going to die, pheromone levels drop and workers can lay unfertilized eggs that give rise to drones. On the other hand, out of the 2000 eggs laid by the queen, they select 3 to 5 larvae that will be arranged in royal cells and fed with royal jelly. They will grow more and then fight among themselves. Only the strongest genetically will be queen.

Reaching a position of power is not an easy task. It involves effort and persistence to break glass ceilings. Falling and getting back off like a true gladiator. That does not imply ceasing to be feminine nor does it imply avoiding feelings. It implies allowing ourselves to feel and not getting stuck on the feeling. Take action after having made a retrospection of your actions.

Have the power to decide What can I do? it is the difference between being a slave and being free, having the power or not having it. MP

Remember, that everything happens for a reason. It is the law of the inevitable. That is what we realize when time passes. Sometimes we need these shakes to move and not sit idly by. Necessity, misfortune, crises, and the pandemic helps us move.

Empowerment does not mean feeling and being in empowered mode all the time. It is not pretending to be strong all the time and it is not NOT falling all the time. It's falling and learning how to get back up by yourself because, if it's not you, then who? MP

Do not be afraid to fail. Be more afraid of regretting not having tried. On your flight, you will have hundreds of moments and people who will say NO. The reality is that, in this life, all of us will hear more NO than YES. Do not take a NO for an answer. Do not be afraid of the NO. We all fail many times but you have to get up like gladiators in the sand. The strongest power comes from within you and, when you have managed to get it out, it will be easy for the rest to recognize it. As a consequence, you will access the power granted by law through a public position or a position on the board of a large company.

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Mariela Paredes

Dr. in Industrial Psychology, Master in Business Administration, Specialist in Human Factors and Crisis Management.

25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources. About 10,000 hours of training in which more than 20,000 people have been trained.