It’s wonderful to see women stepping up, breaking the glass ceiling and leaning in. I know the struggle it’s been to get here. And yet, we are still in the thick of a political and financial battle. Not only about equal pay, but earning the money we deserve.Why is this crusade taking so long is: 1) not all industries move at the same pace and 2) because very few successful women are supporting and mentoring other women.
Now, why does number two exist? Well, I have a theory. At least my theory is factual for women 50 and above.
The theory goes like this:
When we were growing up very few women played in teams. Sure, there were a couple of gym opportunities for WOMEN like tennis or volleyball. But that was it! MEN played basketball, football, baseball, hockey, etc. They worked together to get the ball through the net, the football past the line, the puck in the net. They were driven to perform and produce results together. This team effort continued through college and when they went into business, they created law firms and Real Estate Firms, Car Franchises, etc. They blocked women from entering their businesses, a)because we were women, b) because we didn’t know how to play or work as a team.
I see this over and over. Men supporting other men. It’s as natural as breathing for these guys. If a guy needs a job, he calls 5 of his buddies and they all give their team member contacts to call, opportunities to follow up on, for free. When women offer this support, they call it coaching and charge an arm and a leg. Or, they simply have no time to support or mentor. I’m not talking about millennials. They are different breed entirely.
Recently, I sat at a dinner table, filled with wealthy women who had gathered together to watch a video based on a not-for-profit organization. While sitting and eating, one by one, the women shared their success stories and how they had created their wealth. One woman, clearly under duress, shared how she had lost her job, moved to S. California to start fresh, broke her leg, could hardly pay her rent and was looking for work. The women all sat there and made no comment or suggestion. They continued listening to the other women at the table. Then, everyone got up, went to the other room and watched a movie about micro-loans being offered to a third-world country. When the film was over, the women showed so much concern for the women in this far away country. They wrote out checks for the organization and went home. I made an offering to the woman in crisis and drove home crying. What just happened?
Have we become hardened due to our political environment? Have we grown balls? Have we become so unconscious to the needs of people in front of us?
A local Spiritual Community presented a workshop on Money. The course was $60.00 for a three-week session. Very reasonable. But what if that woman in crisis didn’t have $60.00? She needed the course big time. They had no scholarship opportunities. When I had a children’s theater company in upstate NY. No one was refused because they could not afford it. I rallied Banks and Insurance Companies to scholarship kids whose parents couldn’t pay.
I continue to offer a sliding scale to people wanting and needing Holistic Marketing support. We really need to open our hearts, share the wealth, support those going through tuff times. I look forward to becoming a philanthropist. What a luxury that will be.
So, that’s my muse for the week.
I’d like to conclude with a quote from Buckminster Fuller. He said,
“There only needs to be a few people whose karma it is to earn a lot of money and support those artists and cultural creatives whose karma it is to create.”
He didn’t use the word Karma, but he should have.
andrea
