Woman vs. Woman Weakens Our Drive For Equality

Numerous women face hostility from other women at workplaces, even Hollywood is not untouched. In a recent interview, Jennifer Aniston said that she has been treated worse by women in Hollywood than men. On the #MeToo Movement in Hollywood, Jennifer said, “I’ve never had anyone in a position of power make me feel uncomfortable and leverage that over me. In my personal experience, I’ve been treated worse verbally and energetically by some women in this industry.”

And Aniston experience is pretty relatable. Such malice, not only harms our well-being, it also hurts the united front which we must present as women against gendered discrimination.

If women fail to be supportive of each other due to their insecurities, how will they stand shoulder to shoulder in their fight against gender pay gap and workplace harassment?

Don’t be your own worst enemy

There are many reasons why women become malicious towards other female colleagues. It could be anything from physical beauty, a desirable physique or a stellar performance at the workplace. But when you look closely, the only reason for this meanness is insecurity. It stems from women’s need to seek external validation for their behaviour. We want it from our partners, our children, our bosses and colleagues, and even from every possible person, we cross paths with on a given day.

SOME TAKEAWAYS

• Jennifer Aniston said in a recent interview that she has been treated worse by women than men in Hollywood.
• Aniston's statement sheds light on the hatred which runs among women.
• The reason for malice could be jealousy or insecurity stemming from a need for validation.
• But this malice is only isolating women and weakening the common front they must present to fight bigger issues.

Firstly, this need for external validation is wrong. Why must someone else decide whether we are beautiful or not? Or why must we feel inferior because someone else’s body type is more desired? At workplace, your individual performance speaks for you, but instead of upping their game, some women turn nasty towards those who are outperforming them.

 Such behaviour, combined with other personal pressures forces many to under-perform, just to stay out of the spotlight.

All women are waging wars every day, on one front or the other. Making things worse for each other only rids us of possible allies, which can help us achieve a bigger victory than a promotion or admiration for being the prettiest.

It is not easy for women to survive alone, Be it Hollywood or corporate, women in every field gets subjected to discrimination. Thus, it is essential that women work to support each other, putting their insecurities and resultant hatred aside and work together as a unit.

Let's put this malice aside, stop seeing other women as privileged. Instead, try to see what they struggle with. Movements like #MeToo wouldn’t be half as effective if women of talent refused to support each other.

Picture Credit: designntrend.com

Also Read : Feminists – Have a Dialogue, Don’t Dismiss With Surly Insults

Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section.  The views expressed are the author’s own