Do women have to act like men to be successful?

For a very long time, women have seemed inferior to men, and men are always overpowering them. This is true especially when it comes to politics. For example, women were not allowed to work outside of the home or vote until the 19^th century, while men could do almost anything. As women’s’ rights progressed, it became easier for them to have positions of power. However, as women became more powerful, they seemed to acquire male traits when holding important leadership roles. This is seen all around the world through many different cultures. Today, more and more women are assuming roles leaders, and a study about this was done by Professor Paula Nicolson from the Department of Health and Social Sciences in London. The study shows that women are using the stereotypical male traits, aggression being a prominent one, in order to be successful. If a woman wants to be successful, she has to let go of all her emotions and think about the bigger picture. Nicolson said, "It's almost like women feel that they must 'act like a man' and overly develop traits often more associated with power-hungry city traders.” This study shows that the statement “For a woman to be considered a legitimate leader, she seems required to dial down her emotions and act the part of a man,” is very true.

            In the United States government, every president, from George Washington to Barack Obama, has been a man. However, women are beginning to step up to the plate to run in presidential elections. For example, Hillary Clinton is one of the most powerful women associated with the government. She not only ran in the presidential election, but she has been very successful in her career. Even though she has been a successful leader, the media did not fail to show her in a time where her emotions overtook her, when she cried during the campaign. This shows that the media pictures woman leaders to have manly qualities (such as not showing emotion), and when the media sees emotion in someone, they take that person down. Clinton said, ““If you get too emotional, that undercuts you. A man can cry; we know that. Lots of our leaders have cried. But a woman, it’s a different kind of dynamic.” It is as if societies expects women to act like men, and when they show qualities natural to a woman, there are mixed reactions.

            I think that when women see men becoming very successful, they want to be just as successful, so they look at men as role models for success. They take on many traits when put into a position of power, but it does not mean that we should treat them as men. Emotions can play a big part in a woman’s success, but even though those emotions are associated with women, they are only a stereotype. Men have emotions too, so society shouldn’t be taking women down for showing their emotions. To be a successful leader, one has to use emotions and logic, not one or the other. This is how Clinton, as well as many other extremely powerful women in our history, have been such successful leaders.