Pg 8 of 10

Successful women aren’t feminine

I believe this is a relatively new myth, but a growing one. Let me be clear: I am not talking about how you dress or whether you flirt. I’m talking traits that are seen as characteristically feminine.

But what are those traits? A Stanford study defines "masculine traits” as "aggressiveness, assertiveness, and confidence.” Logically, that means women are naturally unaggressive, unassertive and unconfident. I heartily disagree! I've heard many aggressive statements issued from atop a set of stilettos (and doesn’t it take confidence to even slip your feet into a pair of heels?).

The danger is gender-labeling our traits at all. Let’s try a little experiment.