With Kemi Badenoch now the leader of the Conservative Party, Rachel Reeves the first female chancellor, a female secretary of state for education – Bridget Phillipson- and Kamala Harris poised to be the first female president of the United states, are we on the verge of the dawn of a new era in female Leadership? On the surface of things it would seem to be a resounding yes and not before time. There is definitely a momentum building. Women are stepping up to senior leadership with greater confidence and pounding so hard on that glass ceiling, that the occupants above are unsettled and have been cornered into nervously opening up more doors than even before.
Sadly the pattern tends to be that women break through when there’s a major crisis and the men aren’t that fussed about who leads for a while. Theresa May’s appointment was a point in case. Kemi Badenoch who scarcely believes in racism, white privilege or women’s maternity rights, has been appointed at a time when the Tories are bruised, dishevelled and have fallen foul of public trust to the extent that the recent UK general election was a foregone conclusion for months. Kamilla Harris only became a presidential candidate because the incumbent’s mental faculties were highly questionable. There was no gracious stepping aside to usher in the next generation of female global power brokers. Biden practically had to be locked in a room and told to resign or he’d be detained indefinitely. Harris’ record whilst Attorney General, inability to communicate with depth or clarity whilst VP for most of the time and absence of an identity distinct from the Biden administration in these closing stages of the election, does not exactly inspire confidence.
The other pattern is that women elected to senior positions often out men the men in exhibiting dominance. Margaret Thatcher is my favourite example of this. She could make Churchill look weak. Quite often it is female headteachers of secondary schools who are the least supportive of women returning from maternity leave who hold middle leadership posts and want to work part-time.
In short I am not convinced this is a new great era in female leadership. Over the course of history, there have been many great female leaders – carefully expunged from the average history book or their role in historic events minimised. Too many of today’s generation of leaders in my view, want to maintain the status quo at best and turn the clock back at worst, in exchange for their moment of fame and glory.
To truly lead, women must define leadership on their terms, backed by women whose minds have been freed from the shackles of patriarchal brainwashing. When we as women demand genuine female global leadership, it will appear; the modern era of the divine feminine leader will dawn.