Redefining Empowerment: Showing Women Their Strength in the 21st Century

Empower- make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

That is was the original definition given under the word “empower” but we, as a society, have brought forth a new meaning to the word.

So what is that new definition? To empower in today’s world is to give women access, tools, support, and guidance in order to take the reins and make their mark on the world. It’s no longer telling them they are capable and worthy, it’s showing them that they never should’ve doubted for a second their ability to lead. To empower doesn’t simply mean to tell women to step up and show strength and confidence, it now means to give them the accessibility and toolbox filled with the knowledge of their worth to do so.

Women were made to lead and they don’t need to be told that, they need to be SHOWED that.

Here are a few of my favorite stats from a few different studies that prove my point that our focus should be encouraging, uplifting, and giving more opportunities to women to lead.

-Private technology companies led by women are more capital-efficient, achieving 35% higher ROI, and, when venture-backed, 12% higher revenue than startups run by men, according to the Kauffman Foundation.

-Women-founded companies in First Round Capital’s portfolio outperformed companies founded by men by 63%.

-In a study of over 350 startups, Mass Challenge and BCG determined that businesses founded by women deliver higher revenue—more than 2 times as much per dollar invested—than those founded by men, making women-owned companies better investments for financial backers. The authors calculated that VCs could have made an additional $85 million over five years if they’d just invested equally in both the women- and men-founded startups.

Empowering in the 21st century means more than telling women their worth, it’s time to show women that when they are empowered there is greater gender equality that can enhance economic productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions and policies more representative. To have a productive, global, sustainable future we need to adopt this new definition.