Hollywood Nostalgia.

The Black Panther, the unconventional superhero movie with a deep and traditional storyline blew most us away and many could not help but notice the role of the women in it– strong, smart, independent, and assertive yet deeply compassionate.

This was yet again emphasised in the movie, Wonder Woman where, in what seemed to be very much “a man’s world”, the character of Diana Prince who was seemingly portrayed as delusional about her beliefs or even naïve to an extent, stood her ground with confidence and yet demonstrated a great deal of compassion (and kicked a lot of ass!).

The Global Conversation.

So these conversations around female empowerment emerged through so many platforms including local and international news, social media and interviews with the actors, writers and other stakeholders involved in these movies as well as other prominent figures and the general public.

The conversations also shed light on some other ongoing issues that women have been facing which have been voiced with more pronouncement recently: workplace inequality through acts such as sexual harassment, compensation inequality and other bureaucratic and social issues.

On the global platform and through social media we have witnessed many women’s marches and hashtag trends such as ''MeToo” and “TimesUp”. It is very encouraging to see that women are confidently standing up for their rights and their place in the workplace and society, and taking up the role I call the Compassionate Alpha Female.

The Role of Women.

It is also really quite interesting to navigate the role of women in the world in reality. Have you ever wondered why many humanitarian funds (from the United Nations, World Health Organisation, etc.) are directed to women rather than men? This is because women are more likely to invest in their families and children, rather than in themselves alone or other selfish and short-term focused ventures.

This is a subtle, yet very powerful indication of the important role that women play in families and countries. So to downplay the role or the character of a woman is really a disservice to what her natural instincts and abilities are: Strength, Responsibility and Compassion.

In the Corporate World.

In the corporate world, the number of alpha females seems to be escalating in the form of CEOs and sometimes even breadwinners (through single mothers or even higher earning wives and mothers). Women just seem to be out there to take over the world. The issue in this respect however is in the core nature of women. While men are built to analyse and address issues more logically, women are challenged by the influence of their emotions so it is a struggle to lead and work objectively. Hence the compassionate aspect of their character is often misread as weakness.

Workplace Dynamics.

Almost inevitably, women are discriminated against if they dare show any form of weakness at work. So sometimes, some are almost forced to imbibe a hybrid character of toughness. Whereas, beneath this exterior is a soft and warm heart. It is just a shame that gender bias exists at the work place such that a woman who acts like a man is viewed as mean or insensitive; whereas a man in the same position is viewed as powerful and assertive.

In Relationships.

When it comes to relationships with men, some women have grown a thick skin out of the fear of rejection and built walls; yet again another form of a tough exterior with the appearance of independence and strength because wearing vulnerability on their sleeves may give off the impression that they are weak or needy. But again, it is still the same case where those who may appear to be the toughest might actually even be the most emotionally vulnerable.

And regardless of the outward appearance, women essentially have the same emotional make up. One would wonder why, in our feminist society today, romance fiction holds the greatest proportion of the consumer book publishing industry and was the only genre that experienced a sales increase during the financial crisis. Why do women still “ohh” and “ahh” when they experience romantic gestures?

Realistically Speaking.

So the fact is, nowadays, women may appear pretty tough on the outside. But this is due to the positions they find themselves. I believe there's nothing wrong with the desire to be recognised in same regard and treated with the same respect as men in the same positions. But at the end of the day, women are still fundamentally the same on the inside, emotional, sensitive, passionate, and strong and there is absolutely nothing wrong with embracing a Compassionate Alpha Female.