Mobilizing the feminine principle
Our local leadership has clearly tilted towards the feminine, with capable and talented women now at the helm of local political offices in both the County and City of Sonoma. Moreover, a look at our local non-profits reveals a cast of women in leadership, helping to guide various activities and services to a wide range of the community. The Community Center, Vintage House, Sonoma Educational Foundation, School Board of Trustees, Sonoma Valley Historical Society, the Community Clinic, District One Supervisor and three members of the Sonoma City Council are just some of the many organizations and bodies with leadership roles filled by women. It’s a welcome development.
It’s not that women are more capable than men, though when looking at the condition of the world and the empirical evidence about who’s been in charge, one could make a pretty compelling argument about male incompetence. For whatever the reasons — competitiveness, aggression, love of power — men too often embody behaviors and attitudes that get us into trouble.
Though masculine principles of group initiative and independent action can produce positive results, too often little regard is given to the long-term effects of such behavior. And the male inclination to dominate each other also includes the inclination to dominate women. Men interrupt more, and tend to be more dismissive and autocratic in style. Women who speak up are seen as “pushy” by men and often forced below the “glass ceiling” in business environments.
Feminine principle tends to embody styles of leadership based more on cooperation and collaboration than competitiveness and aggression. It is these qualities that can create an atmosphere open to differences, appreciation for deeper listening, recognition of the value of feeling and emotion, and empathy towards others.
For too long society has kept women out of positions of authority, but thankfully this is changing. Women business leaders, some of whom we recognize in this issue of the paper, are increasingly assuming prominent positions. The glass ceiling is finally cracking, and we support its eventual collapse. Women deserve equal time, equal pay and equal opportunity. Women are often better students, better learners and when given the chance, we’d suggest better leaders. A good society balances masculine and feminine principle, recognizing that each must be employed in its efforts towards creating a healthy and sustainable future.
Women, of course, are uniquely the only people who can bring new life into the world, and perhaps men resent that power. Whatever its cause, male resentment against women has worked and works against the health of the world, suppressing the very qualities needed to assure social and ecological balance and equilibrium.
There are, of course, all sorts of people. There are men who are compassionate and empathetic and women who are aggressive and power-hungry. Any broad generalization has exceptions, it’s true, but the history of the world is incontrovertibly the history of male power, often brutal. There remain many parts of the world where this is still explicitly the case, legally and socially. Women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia, and the tales of ISIS and its treatment of women are truly frightening and barbaric. Sex slavery, genital mutilation, child abuse; at times the documented depredations by men against women seem too much to believe. Sadly, it may well be several more generations or more before women gain global equity.
Nonetheless, locally we can be proud of what women have achieved and we celebrate it. Old stereotypes are falling by the wayside, and should. It’s a time to celebrate the diversity of people, and the diversity of gender is the most basic. It’s not about sex, it’s about what’s needed in the world, and right now, more than ever, the world needs the leadership of women.
