What makes a Real Role Model for women? - Women's Agenda

What makes a Real Role Model for women?

At some stage in your life, you will have been influenced or affected by women who could be labeled as ‘role models’.

These may have been celebrities or well-known leading women in business or politics, people you’re unlikely to ever meet or make contact with in real life but have watched from afar.

Or they may have been people closer to home: a manager, local businesswoman, sister, friend or even your grandmother.

Role models play a powerful part in determining our life aspirations and goals, and in providing some inspiration on how we can acquire such things. They can help determine our values, behaviours and choices, as well as more superficial matters such as the way we dress or the meals we cook. Their influence is largely subjective, leaving us wondering if some ‘role models’ are really that positive: When teenage girls aspire to be like or follow the values of celebrities like Miley Cyrus or Beyonce, is it a good thing? Does the fact Kate Middleton married a prince and can – at least by appearance – successfully play the part of a young, modern Royal, make her a role model?

We’ve been running our Real Role Models series on Women’s Agenda over the last few weeks, featuring everyone from a US Fighter Pilot to the CEO of a PR company, gastroenterologist and leader of a mining community of thousands.

It follows a commitment we made earlier this year to feature women we believe are not only role models, but REAL role models, in order to better celebrate the success of women in the workplace. We put out the call for scientists, teachers, miners, childcare workers, business leaders, doctors, engineers and other women who can demonstrate the myriad of career choices and opportunities available, and the options for ‘success’ that extend beyond mere physical appearance alone.

So what makes a Real Role Model?

We believe Real Role Models for women can be male or female, with kids or without, working or not working, rich or poor. Their perceived ‘success’ to outsiders varies – they may or may not have the huge salary, or a significant job title, or large number of responsibilities to call their own.

There is so much variety to what makes a Real Role Model but just a few things they share in common. They:

  • Inspire aspiration in others. Real Role Models encourage others to achieve. It could be in what they say and do on a daily basis, or simply off the back of the personal stories they share regarding what they’ve done. They provide a source of inspiration for others to think bigger and better regarding their own potential.
  • Share an element of normality. This is really what separates the Real Role Models from the ones that exist ‘over there’ – the Marissa Mayers, Arianna Huffingtons and Hillary Clintons of the world. While it’s always worthwhile to be inspired by these big names, we also need an element of normality in what they do to be able to connect them to our own lives. We need to see and hear from women who deal with similar struggles and situations to what we experience, those who don’t necessarily have a CEO salary to manage the childcare, or a powerful husband or partner who can open certain doors.
  • Have faced challenges and are open about them. Real Role Models are human. They’ve made mistakes. They’ve encountered difficulties. They’ve struggled to balance work and life. It’s how they cope with such challenges that makes them interesting, and sees them offer something for the rest of us.
  • Have values and stick to them. Even those who don’t articulate the specific values they hold can still have certain ideals that underpin the way they think and behave. Real Role Models stick to their values and the system of beliefs they use to determine right from wrong. They’re consistent with the behaviours that reflect their ethics, morals and integrity.
  • Showcase the choices available. Real Role Models are people who’ve made the most of the choices they have. They show the wide range of options and choices available to those who are willing to be flexible about what they can and can’t do, and to consider work and other activities beyond what some would consider as ‘normal’.
  • Challenge stereotypes. Real Role Models challenge existing ideas regarding what women can and can’t do – particularly the jobs we can take and industries we are successful in. They break new ground, shake up the status quo and ignore archaic social norms regarding how they should spend their time.
  • Make time for selfless pursuits. They may not have a lot of time, but Real Role Models still find the time to help others. It could be as mentor or friend to those who are looking to achieve their own life and career goals, more directly in support of their local community or charity, or in volunteering some time to helps others.
  • Create their own luck. While outsiders may consider Real Role Models have in some cases been ‘lucky’, the fact remains that they have not. They’ve worked hard for their so-called ‘luck’ and sought to create opportunities rather than expecting or waiting for such opportunities to occur. They are not hampered by existing circumstances – if they can’t escape them, they find ways to navigate around them or exploit them.

Are you a Real Role Model? Or do you know someone who is? Help us continue our Real Role Models series by emailing us at [email protected] with ‘Real Role Models’ in the subject line.

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