What Makes a Woman Successful?

What Makes a Woman Successful?Alyssa Auch

The image of success

The facets of successCulture paints the successful woman with a briefcase in her hand, a smart suit, with an admirable six figure income stepping on anyone who gets in her way.--June Fuentes, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.

Fuentes, June. "The Successful Woman." A Wise Woman Builds Her Home. September 27, 2010. Web. 05/29/13.

3The MediaPopular Shows:The BacheloretteArrested DevelopmentTrue Blood

"TV Guide Most Popular TV Shows." TV Guide. Tvguide.com. Web. 05/29/13.

4The Media'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' (1970-77) | Played By: Mary Tyler MooreDuh, she could turn the world on with her smile. And she inspired whole generations of her fellow working girls to go for it all: friendships, love and a successful career (Potts).Even the strong housewife character, such as Claire from the show Modern Family, often wishes for a career outside the home. Claires character often goes to great lengths to prove her worth as something other than just a mother.

Potts, Kim. "TVs Greatest Women." HuffPost TV. AOL.com, March 2nd, 2011. Web. 05/29/13.

5AcademiaWhile Mrs. Gates does mention the need for women to be educated and in political power, her main focus, interestingly enough, is women having power in their families (Gates 2013). She asserts that women who are in control of the family budget are 20% more likely to survive (2013). Women who are in control of their family size and how many pregnancies they have are able to devote attention to vaccinating, educating, and feeding their children, which makes nations more prosperous (2013). According to Mrs. Gates definition, a successful woman leads her family from the home.

Gates, Melinda. "Empowered Women Make Nations Strong. Global Motherhood. Huffington Post, May 29, 2013. Web. 05/30/13.

6AcademiaEconomists say that women need to work, not stay at home. The second (and more problematic) group consists of highly educated women who drop out (or opt-out) when they have children, even though they have the skills and income necessary to hire childcare. This latter bunch has economists and feminists alarmed for different reasons (Peek 2013).She goes on to say that this, apparently, is a problem for our economy:Economists consider the defections costly for the country; we need highly talented and trained workers. For feminists, the drop-out trend undermines their argument that women even our most accomplished and best educated are victims of discrimination (2013).

Peek, Liz. "Why Women Are Leaving the Workforce in Record Numbers." The Fiscal Times. The Fiscal Times, April 17, 2013. 05/29/13.

7What Real Women SayMy own poll results:Happiness is what makes a woman strong.

Shenow.com PollCareerA FamilyA Prestigious Career52%A familyhusband and children5%

Do we have a clear picture of female success?No, not really. Success is subjective, but it seems evident that the media has created an easy-to-swallow, boiled down version of successful woman, and it might actually be having an effect on the mindset of women in our time.