Why Women Need to Empower Women

Last night, Adele forcibly broke her Grammy award in two*, because in her opinion, Beyoncé should have won the category Album of the Year. There, the most influential female vocalists of our time couldn’t stop gushing about one another. They shared their voices and tears and simply put, just love for the success the other queen has achieved.

And here I am wondering, why it’s so hard these days to do just that. Women need to empower women. Period. Here’s why…

Together, we can only do better

I honestly don’t know where the thought pattern comes from, that in order to achieve a milestone, a fellow competitor has to lose something. Among women, and especially bloggers, it’s almost like a silent disease spreading across the internet. If one snags an amazing collaboration, the resentment from other ladies in the business comes in heaps, trying to degrade her success. Why? What if that energy is put towards sharing the love? What if we support her by telling her what a great job she did? Isn’t it the same effort to spread good instead of bad energy? Would creating a network of like-minded women in my niche not be beneficial to all of us?

We can co-exist without competing against each other

Adele and Beyoncé are just the latest examples of what female empowerment can look like without undermining your own achievements. Just because there already is a Beyoncé, doesn’t mean there’s no place for an Adele. Just because there are amazing web designers out there, doesn’t mean that your work can’t find customers, to give you another example. I truly believe that we can all co-exist in the creative (digital) world, without competing and stealing each other’s thunder!

You need your tribe/ squad/ girl gang now more than ever

I recently chatted with my friend Meg, who told me about the awesome group she’s in. She and other creative ladies meet every week to co-work together, bounce ideas off each other, and also forward possible clients to one another if it would make a better fit. This just blew my mind! No one I know would pass on a paid job to someone else, even though they know it would make more sense. What nurtures this mindset? What if I pass on a client to a blogger who’d be a much better fit and maybe she would return that gesture one day and in the end, everyone is better off anyways?! Amazing, right?!

Success is never achieved by an individual, it truly takes a village

Have you ever noticed how many people artists mention in their acceptance speeches? It varies, but I never heard one self-praising their stand-out talent without giving credit where credit is due. No movie could be made without outstanding people working behind the scenes. No album could hit the charts without songwriters, sound engineers and so many more who work their magic in the recording studio. It takes a village to get a movie to premiere and a song to be added to your latest digital mixtape. Acknowledge where you are coming from. Thank a fellow creator for her advice, and thank a blogger for inspiring you. Be aware of the influence, be thankful, and mean it.

That’s also why I will not tire of telling everyone that this very piece of the web is a labor of love. I listed all of the incredible women, I got to work with on my vision over the years on their very own TMF Girl Gang page. Your vibe attracts your tribe!

Women need to empower women

That’s what I am missing in the (local) female community and in the world right now: A collective, a community. More kindness and love ♥

*Update: So all of a sudden it was an honest mistake (read here), still I like to think she wanted to share the award!