It can be lonelier for women leaders at the top; check on those in your life

One of the most memorable lines from Shaggy's song Strength of a Woman is "I wonder if God is a woman," possibly alluding to God's infallible nature. In the Christian belief, God is seen as perfect, just like a strong woman.

Shaggy's perspective, shared by society, defines a strong woman as a giver of life, a stylish and smiling figure, an angel, a protector, and someone beautiful, though “she can nag and be a constant pain.” Essentially, a woman's strength and value are defined by her positive attributes, making her nearly infallible.

The significance of these lyrics came back to me when I read Prof Henry Indagasi's controversial article in the Saturday Nation, titled ‘No: Micere Mugo was not a deep thinker’. His critique of Prof Mugo's intellectual contributions and the subsequent responses from his peers and students have been widely reported.

I want to highlight a troubling pattern I've noticed among individuals like Prof Indagasi, who seem willing to dance on the graves of women if they don't conform to their narrow and patriarchal view of what makes a "strong" woman.

Prof Indagasi's justification for downplaying Prof Mugo's intellect was focused on her personal life, such as her divorce, mental health struggles, family connections, and innuendos about her relationship with the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Such scenes, where women's professional contributions are belittled and dismissed, are commonplace in academic and corporate circles.

Mansplaining

A female professor shared her experience of being constantly mansplained by her less qualified and less experienced junior male colleagues. She realised that one of the detrimental impacts of that was that she still sought their validation whenever she made a contribution and summarised her behaviour as trauma.

Mansplaining occurs when a male colleague rudely interrupts a female speaker, then condescendingly and inaccurately repeats her words. Even when carefully sold as an intellectual argument, mansplaining is just that.

When confronted by strong, qualified professional female peers, misogynistic men will often resort to mansplaining, to fit their criteria of womanhood. It undermines the woman's expertise and dents their self-esteem, leaving her constantly fighting to be heard. When constantly made to prove their worth at work, she is forced to bow out or surrender to the normalised toxic way of work.

The valiant ones who continue to fight in the corporate and academic world need our support in slaying the monsters like mansplaining, gender stereotypes, and workplace discrimination. Let's check up on these "strong" professional women and speak out against mansplaining, female peers being asked to serve tea in meetings, and gender pay gaps whenever possible. Women deserve respect for their expertise.

A simple and genuine "How are you doing today?" can be a great start to show support. Remember, it can be lonely at the top, and it's even lonelier for women in positions of power.

To those who hold the power of the pen, consider writing about these issues, as Prof Micere Mugo once expressed: “Writing can be a lifeline, especially when your existence has been denied, especially when you have been left on the margins, especially when your life and process of growth have been subjected to attempts at strangulation.”

The writer is a commentator on social and gender topics (Twitter: @MissOneya; Email: [email protected]).