The story is repeated and repeated every day, every minute, everywhere in this world. Women are not speaking up enough, women are speaking up too much, or (my favorite) women have no right to attempt to get ahead by lying about all this harassment stuff done by successful and powerful men. (This wonderful new spin of the #METOO movement brought to you by Fox News and O’Reilly himself.)

Just when you thought you’d heard it all, yet another twisty turn appears in the road. Sometimes I feel really discouraged when I scroll through my news feed reading the headlines. Another sexual harassment claim toward a C-Level executive, a chef, a TV host. A notice from Google that addressing the company’s gender pay gap would be too difficult and simply cost prohibitive. And don’t even get me started with all the anti-women policy reversals that originate from the US government. I saw an interview on CNN yesterday where Chris Ruddy, the unlikable CEO of Newsmax, called out Rep. Wilson for wearing a cowboy hat and then attempted to insult Don Lemon for acting “hysterical,” which we know is a classic “like a girl” insult.

How Men & Women Perceive Progress on Women’s Equality

A new study from McKinsey highlights how differently men and women perceive the progress of women’s equality. For example, many men believe that one woman on a board of ten is proper and equal representation. Seriously? Compared to…? Oh, that’s right! When compared to ZILCH it is indeed a huge step.

Every time I post on LinkedIn about women’s issues, inevitably a white male shares how uncomfortable my overarching judgment of middle-aged, white, power-hungry men makes him feel. Just wait for the comments to follow this post—it will happen here, too. I’ve been called not-so-hot, an idiot, one of “those feminists,” and I received anonymous emails calling me much worse.

There are so many battlefields for women right now that I think I have whiplash. While on my stationary bike at the gym yesterday, I found myself gasping and possibly wildly gesticulating with my arms while watching CNN. Too bad that idiot from Newsmax couldn’t hear me. I was certainly trying.

Is anyone hearing us women? How much clearer must we be about how fed up we are with one of the main issues at the core of everything?

CAN WOMEN PLEASE SPEAK FOR OURSELVES WITHOUT RIDICULE?

Demands Women Should Enforce & Make

Here’s the list of ten demands every woman should be granted:

1. Women speak for themselves on issues that affect women. That is a non-negotiable condition for every issue surrounding women’s health, work, advancement, salaries, and benefits.
2. When a woman is asked for her opinion and she gives it to you, rest assured it is, in fact, her opinion.
3. When a woman says she’s been harassed or raped, believe her. Because very few of us would expose ourselves to the hatred this confession invokes and the nasty consequences of coming forward. Contrary to what some men may think, coming out with such an accusation has not proven to be a roadmap to success for women.
4. When a woman makes a suggestion but the credit goes to the loudmouth guy who says the same thing two minutes after her, you need to say something right then and there.
5. When a woman wants to wear a cowboy hat, a beret, a head scarf, or something pink, short, or long, or flat shoes or high heels, it is not a reflection of her intellectual capability. It is simply a reflection of her fashion taste.
6. A woman’s physical size has no relevance on her ability to do her job. Women don’t think that of men. If we did, we would wonder how the nutcase CEO of Newsmax could possibly do his job well in light of his rather extensive body size. Gluttony is a sin. And Rep. Wilson’s cowboy hat? Well, that’s just a hat (see #5). Ah, the double standards we come to accept.
7. Women are just as smart as men.
8. Women can lead, we just lead differently. Thank God.
9. Our bodily functions such as (gasp) menstrual periods and menopause are what they are. We didn’t exactly beg for these blessings, and they are often inconvenient for us. But, we deal with it—because we are women.
10. Our ability to give birth is an earth-shatteringly awesome thing we do and makes us so, so much superior to men. Imagine—giving LIFE!!! We need to be carried on silver platters and adored 24/7 for that fact alone.

Please share your thoughts on this list and add what I missed. Let’s keep the conversation going.

At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known ‘gender decoder’ who has appeared in over 60 radio shows, respected speaker, career coach, consummate creative entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!”

Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.

If you’d like to book Beate as a speaker on New Leadership Balance or Creative Entrepreneurship for your next event please connect with me.