Forbes Magazine Has No Idea What A Powerful Woman Is
Is it possible to be rude, bored and fired up all at the same time?
I’m thinking, “You, bet!” as I look the latest “100 Most Powerful Women” list from Forbes Magazine.
Rude, in the sense that I’m ready to tell this highly respected business magazine what I think of their list. And I’m not thinking “Yeah, Baby! You hit it!”
Bored, as in the sense, that I have time to do such web surfing because I’m stuck at home in one of those dreaded six-hour windows waiting for the air conditioning fix-it person.
And even more bored with this so-called powerful women list. It’s really a collection of the same ol’ same ol’. Prime ministers, media types, CEO’s, high tech gurus, and celebrities.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for women making strides in the workplace.
For progress.
For opportunity.
There was even a time, in an earlier life when I would’ve gobbled this kind of list up with great envy daydreaming of a time, perhaps, even, when I might’ve made such a list.
Now?
Now, the list itself emits from me a whimper of an “Eh.”
What is it?
Age? Motherhood? Having the opportunity to survive my share of bumps in my road? Maybe all of that and more which makes me think of powerful women in a whole different way.
And that, Dear Reader, is where I get inspired.
I imagine myself invited to address the Forbes editors who come up with such a list.
Who Is Truly Powerful
Powerful?
Powerful, I would explain to them, is my friend, Melissa, who went to the doctor a few months thinking she had pneumonia, only to find out she’s facing Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. Powerful is watching this Steel Magnolia fight back with a smile on her face and a determination not to be fooled with.
Frankly, if I was cancer, I’d be afraid. Very afraid.
Powerful is Melissa’s mother, Gloria, who is right there by her only child’s side. And when she’s not, it’s because she’s caring for her husband who has Alzheimer’s.
How do caregivers like Ms. Gloria get up to face each day? This is the kind of power that now leaves me in awe.
Powerful is my sister-in-law, Sara, who powers through life with Crohn’s Disease, not knowing when this awful disease will choose to upend her intestines and her life with wrenching pain.
Powerful is my sister, Kallan, Sara’s wife, who has dedicated her life to her love for more than a decade. When Sara hurts, Kallan hurts.
Powerful is my friend, Kate Fletcher, who channeled her grief of losing her husband into creating a home for orphaned girls in Kenya.
Hey, Forbes—powerful is my neighbor, D’lynne, who just delivered a healthy 9 lb. 2 oz. baby boy.
I’m the stalker neighbor who invites herself over a few too many times, just to have a chance to hold this miracle. And as I do, I marvel at how in the world did D’lynne know how to make a kidney, an eyelash, a brain, for heaven’s sake!
Dear Reader, something tells me you know the kind of powerful woman I’m now fascinated with.
I imagine, there’s even a good chance it’s you.
You, who also gave birth to a wonderful baby.
You, who are raising a child with special needs.
You, who held your parent’s hand until their final breath.
You, who picked yourself up off the floor after that gut-wrenching death or break up.
You are among those who make up my “Most Powerful Women” list.
I am also holding a space for the powerful woman to come.
As I’m still sitting around waiting for that air conditioning repair man to get here, I look forward to the woman, and oh, you know it will be a woman, who creates the system where service providers can give you a specific time they will at your house.
That woman will make a billion dollars. She will deserve every penny and she will no doubt make the very top of my most powerful woman list.
Dear Reader, I’d love to know who makes up your “Most Powerful Woman List.”
Find more uplifting stories on my website, DarynKagan.com
Please catch my newspaper column each week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Dayton Daily News and other newspapers across Ohio.
