The Way Forward: A Call for Femininity in Business — Hilary Corna

“When women rise, so do all of us.”

• A 2019 study by S&P Global Analysis reported that companies with female CFOs are more profitable, and in the 24 months after the appointment of female CEOs, there was a 20% increase in stock price momentum.
• According to a McKinsey report, $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality.

Oftentimes when a woman is at the helm of an organization, great things happen; but even greater things can happen when both men and women unleash the power of femininity in business.

For a long time, femininity has been undervalued by patriarchal forces and capitalist structures that shaped our perception that masculinity is the only way to be successful in business. To succeed, we were taught that you need to show up as rational, driven and assertive at work, which are all thought of as being more masculine traits. We feel that we need to suppress the feminine parts of ourselves. Contrary to what you may believe, this isn’t just an issue for women either. Regardless of our biological makeup, each of us has both masculine and feminine qualities.

Men and women have the same sex hormones: testosterone and estrogen. Women also have testosterone that can cause…