I have me brave women who are exploring the outer edge of human possibility, with no history to guide them, and with a courage to make themselves vulnerable that I find moving beyond words.
Gloria SteinemRead
This idea of doing it all is the enemy of equality, not the path to do it. It's impossible to do two full-time jobs, and an impossible definition of success is just another way of making women feel like failures... Any definition of success has to include social policies that honor families and men who raise babies as much as women do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success should include equal recognition for both men and women in family roles, rather than burdening them with unrealistic expectations.
In this quote, Gloria Steinem critiques the societal expectation for women to balance multiple full-time roles while maintaining traditional family responsibilities. She argues that this unrealistic standard of success primarily serves to undermine women's capabilities and contributions, framing it as a call for social policies that recognize and support both men and women equally in raising families and achieving professional success.
Themes
EqualitySuccessFamiliesWomenMen
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for workplace reforms to support parents.
More from Gloria Steinem
All quotes →If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long?
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Age brings a freedom. When you're young, you're much more subject to the idea of what feminine is or how you should look or how you should behave.
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All those chemicals that create empathy only work when you are in a room together.
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Obviously, there is much similarity among the challenges of transgender people and all women - from health care to harassment to discrimination in the workplace.
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