Who runs the world?

I was born in a country which is currently ruled by a woman and has been for the past 9 years, so a big reason to be proud! Right?

As some of you might have already guessed, I was born in Germany and the woman I am talking about is Angela Merkel.Instead of embracing the fact that a woman has fought her way through what is still a very male dominated area and made it all the way to the top, I have heard women stating that Angela Merkel is just not very "female". She can thus not be taken as proof that women can be just as successful in any political role and domain as men! 

I was so shocked to hear this! What they were actually saying is: She isn't very attractive and way more intellectual than the average woman (she earned a doctorate as a physical chemist), ergo she cannot be described as "very female". I hope some of you find this way of thinking just as appalling as I do.

Embrace diversity among women!

I agree that she does not match our idea of a sexy woman and her interest and understanding of Physics does not come natural to many women- HOWEVER- instead of describing her as unfeminine I would like people to acknowledge that she is a different, less common type of woman. BUT SHE IS NONETHELESS A WOMAN/FEMALE!

Just be proud to have such a brilliant, strong-willed woman in your society and focus on what actually matters!

I can give you another example.

In 2013, Ursula von der Leyen was the first woman in the history of Germany to be elected Minister of Defence, which caused a heated discussion in my circle of friends. Some men actually thought she was not fit for the position because she is a woman and women lack the ability to make informed decisions in this field. Women should stick to what matches their natural tendencies- caring for others for example. 

The main problem I have with this criticism is that the men who held the post previous to von der Leyen were completely new to the subject matter as well, as is common practise in politics! Some of them probably attended the national military service as adolescents but even then one cannot draw such a simple and sexist conclusion. Doing a good job as a minister requires a lot of networking with the people on the ground, with colleagues and experts. I can't see why a woman would not be capable of that. 

So stop the sexism and be open to changes- there is more to come.