Integritus Prime

Recently, I gave a talk at an event organized by the local chapter of the Women’s Federation for World Peace. My talk was entitled: “3 reasons women aren’t empowered and what to do about it.”

It was one of the most receptive audiences I’ve ever had, and I was able to introduce myself as a trauma survivor. My talk summarized the following three reasons women remain disempowered:

1. Upbringing: girls are shown how to take care of others first and suppress their own needs and this is modeled as the right way to conduct themselves. This happens across many cultures.
2. Traditions, Cultures and Belief Systems: women and girls are taught not to talk about abusive things done to them, because it’s taboo or forbidden.
3. Relationship Norms and Patterns: women are taught to stay and make it work with abusive partners, because it’s shameful to leave and be seen by your family and society as a failure.

Underlying these reasons, I outlined the root causes: trauma from abuse, which is passed down through generations, the toxic patriarchy, which women also internalize and perpetuate, and the lack of knowledge, support, and empowerment to do something about it.

Of course, men and boys suffer too from these root causestoo: they are abused, taught to bottle their emotions and never cry. Even though my talk focused on women’s empowerment, because society is structured to systemically disadvantage them, we did discuss what men go through during the Q and A.

I outlined a 5-step process, based on Alchemus Prime’s Living and Leading Authentically Framework and the books we’ve written to support the process:

1. Self-Love: This is the first step, because without it, there is no sustainable foundation for self-worth, true confidence, and self-care. Book: The Path to Romantic Success: What You Won’t Learn at School or at Home about Finding True Love.
2. Trauma healing: This is critical to remove the debilitating effects of what was done to us, without stigma, and access our true selves. Book: From Abused to Empowered: Recognizing and Releasing Behavior Patterns that come from Trauma.
3. Authenticity: As trauma heals, the true self emerges, and we begin to set healthy boundaries and live from our authentic selves. Book: The Dimensions of True Self: A Workbook for Living and Leading Authentically.
4. Career Manifestation: We then bring our authentic selves to all our work, become confident, creative, and serve something greater than ourselves, like all sentient beings, or the climate, oceans, or forests. Book: Career Manifestation : What it Takes to be Who You Truly Are in a World that Wants You to be Someone Else
5. Challenging the Patriarchy Lovingly: Because we are healing and confident, we can bring compassionate awareness to the toxic patriarchy and work to change the systemic inequalities. Book: Saying NO: Prevailing over Patriarchy

We stand in solidarity with you as you work to empower yourself – share with us your experiences, and let’s grow together.