A Woman First

The philosophy of a woman first is simple. It is a philosophy of gender identity and economic empowerment and prescribes that a woman needs to build her identity around the fact that she is A WOMAN FIRST!  It is a gender based philosophy. It’s also an economic philosophy.  Yes it may have feminist connotations, but it’s not a feminist identity. It’s a womanist or womanness identity. It allows the woman to strategically navigate the universe of her options. For most women, that universe is defined by their socio-cultural context. Therefore, woman first philosophies help women gain self consciousness that is not in conflict with their socio-cultural perspective. Therein lays its sustainability, because it does not lead to an identity crisis compromise or a self-mutilating duality.

It’s not about the woman competing with; conquering or castrating or emulating the opposite sex. It’s not about having to choose between gender role priorities and having to negate the fact that sometimes she is a mother, wife, lover, career executive, mentor, friend or role model – she is all those things and must embrace all the gender roles she has to partake in. It’s not about having to choose between socio-cultural mandates or eco-political status quo, but about building on self awareness, taking ownership of one’s strengths and weaknesses without the need to tear her female counterparts, but seeking win/win cooperative and/or collaborative economic empowerment. Whether the cooperation is with one’s significant other, with ones cultural demands, expectation or with one’s gender realities and constraints, she relates from the position of both internal and material empowerment. Thus, A Woman First philosophy provides a launch pad for all informed decision making in one’s life. There are some things a woman cannot change, however she can always tactfully navigate for a win/win outcome understanding that ultimately she has the real power and greater gains come from exercising that power thoughtfully and gracefully. That’s being a woman first!

Ultimately, a woman first is about self consciousness – a liberated, consistent self conscious state of mind. It’s about peeling and dealing with the realities in the world, recognizing that there are opportunities, consequences and sacrifices but either she can choose whether to pay or not to pay the price for being a free self. It’s never about accepting or conceding to circumstances when she exercises her option of choice.

Copyright @ July 21, 2011 by Dr. Tendai Ndoro begin_of_the_skype_highlighting  end_of_the_skype_highl(DocNdoro) – Founder, SLIPPA (Strategy Leadership Institute in Private & Public Affairs); Brighten The Corner Foundation; CEO EDCTrainers, LLC.