Sunday, February 27, 2011
Reality or Mentality
The book has some surprising statistics about how much women have progressed throughout the past decade. While I agree that the author does overlook the perception of female trailblazers, he does show how a larger percentage of women are attempting to have the same level of success as their male counterparts. The author believes that the presence of alpha girls indicates "a powerfully accelerating movement toward equality." While I would like to believe that his perception is accurate, his discussion about the ever-present salary gap between men and women and the lack of a strong female presence in Fortune 500 companies reveals an underlying factor that affects the progress of alpha girls. The overall perception of women must shift to support their ambition and overall success. Although powerful girls have existed for years, societies acceptance and interactions with females must alter. The mere fact that these successful young ladies are referred to as "alpha" rather than powerful females raises the questions: is society (especially males) ready for more females that can assert themselves and take charge of their futures? The socioeconomic factors discussed in the first chapters highlights that the discussion should be more focused on how society portrays and responds to these young women as they continue to grow.
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Chantress,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your point about the term "alpha." It seems to imply that highly-motivated, successful young women are exceptions to the rule--that we should marvel at the rare alpha girl, rather than expect her. Indeed, by adding the "alpha" qualifier, does he not set limited expectations for her gender?
Of course, this is an oversimplification of his work. Kindlon is, after all, studying a subset of highly-effective young women. But it seems most scholars are compelled to attach an adjective to women of this sort--adjectives that imply such qualities are not innate to the gentler gender. To those of you who have read the text, do you see evidence of these assumptions in Kindlon's argument, or do you believe he would be equally likely to undertake a study of "alpha" guys?
Curious to hear your thoughts!
Chloe
Chantress,
ReplyDeleteI'm especially curious with the author's comments on equality, particularly "the percentage of women who are attempting to have the same level of success as their male counterparts." Is the only measure of equality achieving the same success at the same activities or careers? Through my parents' influence and the mark of an all female high school forever imprinted on my personal beliefs, I can wholeheartedly agree that salary-gap between men and women must be closed and there need to be more woman in Fortune 500 companies.
However, I think there is some merit in the argument that a constant focus on where women are not is partially responsible for creating this gap in equality. Powerful woman are achieving success everyday in situations where male counterparts are not. Are these women the real alpha girls? Women who ignore conventions of equality to surpass it? This is not to take away from the constant efforts of woman who achieve success in the above-mentioned settings. Instead, I’m interested in the idea who is defined as a trailblazer? Is there a difference between being a powerful female or an alpha girl? Could this be where the difference lies, with no negative connotation to either term?
Thanks for such a thought-provoking post!
Molly Grant
I love the exploration of the word alpha. It's interesting that from what I've read on your blog, the author's intent is to use it to define a successful, ambitious and driven female. In reality, he has delivered a back-handed insult to those labeled as "female" sans qualifier.
ReplyDeleteCould someone who has read the book elaborate on the socioeconomic factors from chapter one that were referenced?