[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":660},["ShallowReactive",2],{"cms:/api/categories?fields[0]=name&fields[1]=slug&pagination[pageSize]=100&sort=documentId":3,"cms:/api/categories?filters[slug]=voices":45,"cms:/api/homepage?fields[0]=updatedAt&populate[navigation][fields][0]=name&populate[navigation][fields][1]=slug":53,"cms:/api/articles?populate=*&filters[category][id]=8&pagination[limit]=9&pagination[start]=72&sort[0]=bylineDate:DESC&sort[1]=createdAt:DESC":58},{"data":4,"meta":40},[5,10,15,20,25,30,35],{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9},8,"agm3bwiivq9ytkopje139uoj","Voices","voices",{"id":11,"documentId":12,"name":13,"slug":14},6,"fxhrufaspnwq0yurrk98sas3","Wellness","wellness",{"id":16,"documentId":17,"name":18,"slug":19},14,"gj8d0n6sxxe1mqfb0ticcamv","Style","style",{"id":21,"documentId":22,"name":23,"slug":24},12,"pra84h71qx5yo2kq8g18uy9h","After Hours","after-hours",{"id":26,"documentId":27,"name":28,"slug":29},2,"pregl64gjxpa6tec7l94j5fb","Career & Finance","career-and-finance",{"id":31,"documentId":32,"name":33,"slug":34},10,"vf2luiz1aic436stak4yr339","Nourish","food",{"id":36,"documentId":37,"name":38,"slug":39},4,"y4wuht99krufymt1c62zqtk1","Mindset","mindset",{"pagination":41},{"page":42,"pageSize":43,"pageCount":42,"total":44},1,100,7,{"data":46,"meta":50},[47],{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},"2026-09-06T10:31:16.996Z","2026-09-06T10:31:17.009Z",{"pagination":51},{"page":42,"pageSize":52,"pageCount":42,"total":42},25,{"data":54,"meta":57},{"id":42,"documentId":55,"updatedAt":56},"nhhccnp3ibbyv1cn1er78o9h","2026-09-06T10:40:24.841Z",{},{"data":59,"meta":655},[60,154,230,285,339,417,471,525,579],{"id":43,"documentId":61,"title":62,"content":63,"slug":64,"coffees":26,"seo_title":62,"keywords":65,"seo_desc":66,"bylineDate":67,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":69,"updatedAt":70,"publishedAt":71,"featuredImage":72,"category":124,"author":125,"img":121},"wrpd6fklenongzjtj85v1lda","10 Things We Learnt from the COVID-19 Pandemic","It has been more than a year since the **outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic**, and our life as we knew it has changed radically. \n\nThe pandemic has caused and is still causing many *deaths, the economy has been decreased globally, and every one of us is trying to adapt to the new situation*. \n\nMany things have changed in several sectors of our life: **our jobs, our relationships, our families**, etc. \n\nStill, many things were new for us and things that we have learned so far from all this *brand-new status quo*. \n\n\n- From the moment we are forced to be in the house all day, we start thinking about how we will spend our **unlimited time** since, after a point, it’s getting boring watching Netflix all day.\n\n- Regarding our relationships, we realize that **distance** is not the most serious reason to end something if there are will and patience.\n\n- **Overconsumption**. Some of us still work and get paid, but being unable to do anything else, we’ve made eBay and Amazon our second (virtual) home.\n\n- We can be **productive** if we use our time properly, whether for business or studies.\n\n- **Technology** helps us to the fullest, and some things we were forced to do, are actually the beginning of a new era (online shopping or remote working, for instance).\n \n![pandemic-covid19-lessons.jpg](https://assets.workingal.com/pandemic_covid19_lessons_41dacae885.jpg)\n \n- We can always do something **creative**, as long as we see the positive side of the time spent at home.\n\n- Our **health** is the most important thing we have.\n\n- Things that we considered **granted**, can change radically.\n\n- The pandemic has made us test our** relationships**, and finally, we can check which of them will last.\n\n- We have learned how to **appreciate** the small things in life, for instance, a walk with a friend.","10-things-we-learnt-from-the-covid-19-pandemic","covid-19, pandemic, lessons, new, era, 10 things we learned, lockdown","The last year has been a milestone for most of us. Our lives have changed radically due to the pandemic. But, apart from this life-changing event, what have we learned so far?","2021-03-09","Europe/Berlin","2021-03-09T00:33:39.072Z","2023-10-25T05:34:03.320Z","2021-03-09T18:29:21.957Z",{"id":73,"documentId":74,"name":75,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":80,"hash":119,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":120,"url":121,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":123,"updatedAt":123,"publishedAt":123},66,"r3mqs4to6zn3m45stzxj765d","learn-covid19-pandemic-coronavirus-afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","",null,1600,900,{"large":81,"small":92,"medium":101,"thumbnail":110},{"ext":82,"url":83,"etag":84,"hash":85,"mime":86,"name":87,"path":77,"size":88,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":91},".jpg","https://assets.workingal.com/large_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","087c516d2db77e98f6dbda3e331a0b9d","large_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b","image/jpeg","large_learn-covid19-pandemic-coronavirus-afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg",122.77,1000,563,122767,{"ext":82,"url":93,"etag":94,"hash":95,"mime":86,"name":96,"path":77,"size":97,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":100},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","e16ff9ad0eea516c64c2ad997d79891d","small_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b","small_learn-covid19-pandemic-coronavirus-afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg",37.2,500,281,37203,{"ext":82,"url":102,"etag":103,"hash":104,"mime":86,"name":105,"path":77,"size":106,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":109},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","8c89adf534ef89aa1bc404c2d7df8b50","medium_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b","medium_learn-covid19-pandemic-coronavirus-afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg",75.44,750,422,75435,{"ext":82,"url":111,"etag":112,"hash":113,"mime":86,"name":114,"path":77,"size":115,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":118},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","2efebeb3240f6b52f6e11eab023a6a3f","thumbnail_learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b","thumbnail_learn-covid19-pandemic-coronavirus-afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg",11.28,245,138,11283,"learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b",270.59,"https://assets.workingal.com/learn_covid19_pandemic_coronavirus_afccbfc471c993e6262d9d3052ebaff965eebef39f0b4a612fe58ed89246e38b.jpg","@strapi/provider-upload-aws-s3","2026-09-06T10:32:08.509Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":31,"documentId":126,"name":127,"slug":128,"instagram":129,"facebook":130,"bio":131,"linkedIn":77,"createdAt":132,"updatedAt":132,"publishedAt":133,"avatar":134},"ukgot5nm4dgqju73fwiwdelm","The Working Gal Team","the-working-gal-team","https://www.instagram.com/the_working_gal/","https://www.facebook.com/theworkinggal","Written and curated collaboratively by the editors behind The Working Gal. Bringing together shared stories, practical career insight, and modern lifestyle perspectives.","2026-09-06T10:31:21.475Z","2026-09-06T10:31:21.487Z",{"id":135,"documentId":136,"name":137,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":139,"hash":150,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":151,"url":152,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":153,"updatedAt":153,"publishedAt":153},5,"wjqyp2hu8gbfmc8z6tm46b47","Untitled-7-23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547.png",250,{"thumbnail":140},{"ext":141,"url":142,"etag":143,"hash":144,"mime":145,"name":146,"path":77,"size":147,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":149},".png","https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_Untitled_7_23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547.png","18a930235d0aa447f29ed44c5fe9fbe5","thumbnail_Untitled_7_23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547","image/png","thumbnail_Untitled-7-23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547.png",11.83,156,11829,"Untitled_7_23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547",5.86,"https://assets.workingal.com/Untitled_7_23388bce2c185874b0150ef7b15669a3512bc94b01650602e6df4e42ec59e547.png","2026-09-06T10:31:21.358Z",{"id":155,"documentId":156,"title":157,"content":158,"slug":159,"coffees":160,"seo_title":157,"keywords":161,"seo_desc":162,"bylineDate":67,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":163,"updatedAt":164,"publishedAt":165,"featuredImage":166,"category":203,"author":204,"img":201},98,"dodbke5ju8dj3q3n0fie5x7p","International Women's Day: History, Meaning, and How to Celebrate","Every year on March 8, the world marks International Women's Day—a global celebration of women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements, and a call to action for accelerating [gender equality](https://www.workingal.com/articles/mind-the-gap-the-fight-for-gender-equal-compensation).\n\nBut International Women's Day is more than flowers and [social media posts](https://www.workingal.com/articles/psychology-social-media-women). It's a day with over a century of history, rooted in labor movements and revolutionary struggles. It's recognized by the United Nations and observed as a national holiday in dozens of countries. And despite the [progress women have made](https://www.workingal.com/articles/pauli-murray), it remains urgently relevant—a reminder that the fight for equality is ongoing.\n\nHere's everything you need to know about where this day came from, why it matters, and how to participate meaningfully.\n\n## The Origins: Labor Movements and Socialist Roots\n\nInternational Women's Day didn't begin as a Hallmark holiday. It emerged from the labor movement at a time when [women were fighting for basic rights](https://www.workingal.com/articles/suffragettes-the-movement-that-changed-the-history-of-women)—the right to vote, the right to work in safe conditions, the right to be treated as full citizens.\n\nThe story often begins with February 28, 1909, when the Socialist Party of America organized National Women's Day in New York. This commemoration honored a protest held by textile workers in New York who had demanded better working conditions—though historians debate the exact details of that original 1857 protest.\n\nThe idea went international the following year. At the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in August 1910, three German women—Luise Zietz, Clara Zetkin, and Käte Duncker—proposed that an International Women's Day be celebrated annually to promote gender equality and, most pressingly, to demand women's suffrage. Over 100 delegates from 17 countries unanimously agreed.\n\nOn March 19, 1911, International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time, with over one million people participating in rallies across Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. Women demanded the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, and to end employment discrimination.\n\n## How March 8 Became the Date\n\n![international-womens-week--week-of-international-womens-day.png](https://assets.workingal.com/international_womens_week_week_of_international_womens_day_46f03b4082.png)\n\n_[Photo](https://share.google/jiQh6gLYnwPNlIC4i)_\n\nThe date wasn't fixed immediately. Russian women first observed International Women's Day on the last Saturday of February 1913, according to the Julian calendar then used in Russia. In 1914, the day was moved to March 8—possibly because it fell on a Sunday that year—and that date stuck.\n\nBut March 8 took on even greater significance in 1917\\. On that day, according to the Gregorian calendar, women textile workers in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) went on strike, filling the streets to demand \"Bread and Peace.\" They were protesting World War I, food shortages, and the tsarist regime. Their strike is considered the spark that ignited the Russian Revolution.\n\nAfter the October Revolution, feminist leader Alexandra Kollontai persuaded Lenin to establish March 8 as an official Soviet holiday. For decades afterward, International Women's Day was celebrated primarily in communist and socialist countries while remaining relatively unknown in the West.\n\n## United Nations Recognition\n\nThe United Nations began observing International Women's Day during the International Women's Year of 1975\\. Two years later, in December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.\n\nThis UN recognition transformed International Women's Day from a primarily socialist observance into a global event. Each year, the United Nations announces a theme that focuses attention on specific issues facing women worldwide. Recent themes have addressed topics like gender equality in the digital age, [women's leadership](https://www.workingal.com/articles/why-women-are-underrepresented-in-leadership-positions), and sustainable development.\n\nToday, International Women's Day is an official holiday in over 25 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Cuba, Cambodia, and several African nations. In other countries, it's widely observed even without official holiday status.\n\n## How International Women's Day Is Celebrated Around the World\n\nThe way March 8 is observed varies dramatically across cultures:\n\nIn Russia and Eastern Europe, International Women's Day is similar to a combination of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Women receive flowers, chocolates, and gifts from male colleagues, friends, and family members. Yellow mimosa flowers are particularly associated with the day in Russia and Italy. Workplaces often hold celebrations, and the holiday has a festive, appreciative atmosphere.\n\nIn Italy, women traditionally receive mimosa flowers, and the day (known as Festa della Donna) is celebrated with women-only dinners and outings. It's both a celebration of femininity and an acknowledgment of the ongoing struggle for equality.\n\nIn China, many women receive a half-day off work on March 8, as recommended by the State Council. Employers often give gifts, and the day is used to honor women's contributions to society.\n\nIn Latin America, March 8 often has a more activist character. In countries like Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, the day features massive marches and protests addressing issues like femicide, [reproductive rights](https://www.workingal.com/articles/global-reproductive-rights), and gender-based violence. The purple and green colors of feminist movements fill the streets.\n\nIn the United States and Western Europe, International Women's Day typically involves conferences, panel discussions, [networking events](https://www.workingal.com/articles/how-to-network), and social media campaigns. Companies often use the day to highlight women's achievements and announce gender equality initiatives.\n\n## Why International Women's Day Still Matters\n\nSome argue that International Women's Day has outlived its purpose—that in an era when women can vote, work, and own property, the day is an anachronism. The numbers tell a different story.\n\nAccording to the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress, it will take approximately [131 years to close the global gender gap](https://www.workingal.com/articles/mind-the-gap-the-fight-for-gender-equal-compensation). Women still earn less than men for comparable work in virtually every country. Women remain dramatically underrepresented in political leadership, corporate boardrooms, and [STEM fields](https://www.workingal.com/articles/the-woman-in-the-stem-fields). And in many parts of the world, women face legal discrimination, restricted mobility, and limited access to education and healthcare.\n\n**Some specific realities:**\n\n* Women perform 76% of the world's unpaid care work—more than three times the amount done by men  \n* Only 26% of national parliamentarians worldwide are women  \n* Women hold only about 10% of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies  \n* 129 million girls worldwide are out of school  \n* One in three women globally has experienced [physical or sexual violence](https://www.workingal.com/articles/the-illusion-of-safety-are-women-safe-in-the-western-world)  \n* Women are disproportionately affected by poverty, climate change, and conflict\n\nInternational Women's Day serves as an annual checkpoint—a moment to assess progress, acknowledge what's been achieved, and recommit to the work that remains.\n\n## The Tension Between Celebration and Commercialization\n\nAs International Women's Day has grown more mainstream, it has also become more commercialized. Brands release special products, companies post supportive messages on social media, and the day can sometimes feel more like a [marketing opportunity](https://www.workingal.com/articles/career-advice-from-influencers) than a genuine call for change.\n\nThis tension isn't new. Critics have pointed out the irony of companies celebrating women on March 8 while paying them less than men, providing inadequate parental leave, or tolerating [workplace harassment](https://www.workingal.com/articles/mobbing-in-the-workplace-when-employees-shrivel) the other 364 days of the year. The term \"femwashing\" describes organizations that use feminist messaging for public relations while failing to address substantive gender inequality internally.\n\n![international-womens-day-1551308579.jpg](https://assets.workingal.com/international_womens_day_1551308579_d6df7a3d7d.jpg)\n\n_[Photo](https://share.google/dct1POGe0p2MZHDEL)_\n\nThere's nothing wrong with celebrating women or enjoying the festive aspects of the day. But meaningful observance goes beyond purchasing special edition products or posting empowering quotes. It involves examining our own workplaces, communities, and relationships—and taking concrete action toward equality.\n\n## How to Participate Meaningfully\n\nIf you want to observe International Women's Day in a way that goes beyond surface-level celebration, here are some ideas:\n\n**Educate yourself.** Learn about women's history, the [feminist movement](https://www.workingal.com/articles/emmeline-pankhurst-a-champion-of-women-s-suffrage), and the specific challenges facing women today—including those in different countries and circumstances from your own. Read books by women, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts. Understanding the issues is the foundation for meaningful action.\n\n**Support women-owned businesses.** Make a conscious choice to spend money with [businesses owned by women](https://www.edl.gr/), especially women from marginalized communities. This creates economic opportunity and helps close the entrepreneurship gap.\n\n**Donate to organizations working for gender equality.** Organizations like UN Women, Malala Fund, Girls Who Code, the Global Fund for Women, and local women's shelters do crucial work year-round. Financial support helps them continue.\n\n**Mentor or sponsor other women.** If you're in a position to help other women advance in their careers, do so. Mentorship matters, but sponsorship—actively advocating for someone's advancement—matters even more.\n\n**Advocate in your workplace.** Push for pay equity audits, transparent salary bands, parental leave policies that support all parents, and accountability for harassment. Attend or organize events that highlight women's contributions and challenges.\n\nAmplify women's voices. In meetings, make sure women are heard. On social media, share women's work and give credit. In conversations, cite female experts. Small acts of amplification add up.\n\n**Reflect on your own biases and behaviors.** Gender inequality is perpetuated not just by overt discrimination but by unconscious biases we all carry. Examine your own assumptions, [language](https://www.workingal.com/articles/how-language-is-affected-by-our-gender), and actions. Change starts with self-awareness.\n\n## A Note for Men\n\nInternational Women's Day isn't just for women. Men have a crucial role to play in advancing gender equality—and not just as supportive bystanders.\n\nMen can use March 8 to examine their own workplaces and relationships. Are women being paid fairly? Are their contributions recognized? Are they interrupted or spoken over in meetings? Are they carrying an unequal share of domestic or caregiving work?\n\nMen can also speak up when they [witness sexism](https://www.workingal.com/articles/10-sexist-quotes-every-woman-has-heard-1)—something that often carries more weight when it comes from another man. They can advocate for policies that support women. They can mentor and sponsor female colleagues. They can do their fair share at home.\n\nGender equality benefits everyone. Research consistently shows that more equal societies are healthier, wealthier, and happier for people of all genders. This isn't a zero-sum game.\n\n## Remembering Why We Celebrate\n\nInternational Women's Day exists because women throughout history fought for rights that previous generations couldn't have imagined. Textile workers striking in the streets. Suffragettes marching and being imprisoned. Activists organizing across borders in an era before email or social media.\n\nWe celebrate to honor that struggle. We celebrate to acknowledge how far we've come. And we celebrate to remind ourselves—and the world—that the work isn't finished.\n\nThis March 8, whatever form your observance takes, let it be more than a moment. Let it be a commitment.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### When is International Women's Day?\n\nInternational Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8\\. The date has been observed since 1914 and was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977\\.\n\n### Why is International Women's Day on March 8?\n\nMarch 8 became the fixed date in 1914, possibly because it fell on a Sunday that year. The date gained additional significance when Russian women staged a strike on March 8, 1917 (Gregorian calendar) that helped spark the Russian Revolution.\n\n### Who started International Women's Day?\n\nInternational Women's Day was proposed by German socialists Luise Zietz, Clara Zetkin, and Käte Duncker at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910\\. It grew out of earlier National Women's Day celebrations in the United States organized by the Socialist Party of America.\n\n### Is International Women's Day a public holiday?\n\nInternational Women's Day is an official public holiday in more than 25 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Cuba, Uganda, and Zambia. In China, women often receive a half-day off work. In many other countries, it's widely observed without official holiday status.\n\n### What is the theme for International Women's Day?\n\nThe United Nations announces a different theme each year to focus attention on specific issues facing women. Themes have addressed topics like digital inclusion, women in leadership, climate justice, and sustainable development. The official theme is typically announced in advance of March 8\\.\n\n### What color represents International Women's Day?\n\nPurple is the color most associated with International Women's Day, representing justice, dignity, and loyalty to the cause. Purple, green, and white were the colors of the suffragette movement. Yellow mimosa flowers are also traditional symbols, particularly in Russia and Italy.\n\n### Is there an International Men's Day?\n\nYes, International Men's Day is observed on November 19\\. Established in 1992 and relaunched in 1999, it focuses on men's health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models. It is not a UN-recognized observance, but is marked in over 80 countries.\n\n## Sources\n\n[United Nations \\- International Women's Day](https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day)\n\n[World Economic Forum \\- Global Gender Gap Report](https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report)\n\n[International Women's Day Official Website](https://www.internationalwomensday.com/)\n\n[UN Women \\- Facts and Figures](https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures)\n","international-women-s-day",3,"International Women's Day, March 8, IWD history, women's rights, gender equality, how to celebrate International Women's Day, women's day meaning, feminist history","International Women's Day on March 8 celebrates women's achievements and advocates for gender equality. Learn its history, global traditions, and meaningful ways to participate.","2021-03-08T23:29:25.476Z","2025-12-14T00:11:58.738Z","2021-03-08T23:32:34.575Z",{"id":167,"documentId":168,"name":169,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":170,"hash":199,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":200,"url":201,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":202,"updatedAt":202,"publishedAt":202},65,"pw03uf6sbq4unanlpw1euxup","international-women-day-51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg",{"large":171,"small":178,"medium":185,"thumbnail":192},{"ext":82,"url":172,"etag":173,"hash":174,"mime":86,"name":175,"path":77,"size":176,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":177},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg","d5564852c9599f5f231250dee6f4830d","large_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0","large_international-women-day-51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg",147.67,147670,{"ext":82,"url":179,"etag":180,"hash":181,"mime":86,"name":182,"path":77,"size":183,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":184},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg","53228b46eacf9e9ba3a629c4bcdfb1fd","small_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0","small_international-women-day-51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg",40.41,40413,{"ext":82,"url":186,"etag":187,"hash":188,"mime":86,"name":189,"path":77,"size":190,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":191},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg","1f1a92b079e21b306684990ee14e4c83","medium_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0","medium_international-women-day-51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg",86.44,86443,{"ext":82,"url":193,"etag":194,"hash":195,"mime":86,"name":196,"path":77,"size":197,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":198},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg","126636a27a1c71d88e3b704dea9d042a","thumbnail_international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0","thumbnail_international-women-day-51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg",10.79,10792,"international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0",330.14,"https://assets.workingal.com/international_women_day_51408b86fdd941724b218adaf7618330f471928363299500c57d142ebbe58cb0.jpg","2026-09-06T10:32:07.695Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":11,"documentId":205,"name":206,"slug":207,"instagram":208,"facebook":209,"bio":210,"linkedIn":211,"createdAt":212,"updatedAt":212,"publishedAt":213,"avatar":214},"sl7fxkez8ct6dt87vtey17zc","Amalia","amalia","https://www.instagram.com/amalia.ka__/","https://www.facebook.com/amalia.kakampakou","Amalia is the Teacher. She loves what she does. She is addicted to detail: if it isn’t perfect, it’s not good enough. She loves her job and she loves writing. She wants to learn new things and she is very curious about everything. Her favorite question: Why? She usually answers the questions by herself, though.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/amalia-kakampakou-963945202/","2026-09-06T10:31:20.371Z","2026-09-06T10:31:20.383Z",{"id":160,"documentId":215,"name":216,"alternativeText":217,"caption":217,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":218,"hash":226,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":227,"url":228,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":229,"updatedAt":229,"publishedAt":229},"whdsfe9nw216cuohb29wd8ti","the working gal author-8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928.png","the working gal author",{"thumbnail":219},{"ext":141,"url":220,"etag":221,"hash":222,"mime":145,"name":223,"path":77,"size":224,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":225},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_the_working_gal_author_8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928.png","1370900071f90710c216b2263fcf9d70","thumbnail_the_working_gal_author_8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928","thumbnail_the working gal author-8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928.png",49.22,49220,"the_working_gal_author_8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928",26.32,"https://assets.workingal.com/the_working_gal_author_8b011626d0a8b20fab48a700e8ad81edab03fd226ef65d6763a5cbfc49873928.png","2026-09-06T10:31:20.247Z",{"id":231,"documentId":232,"title":233,"content":234,"slug":235,"coffees":160,"seo_title":236,"keywords":237,"seo_desc":238,"bylineDate":239,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":240,"updatedAt":241,"publishedAt":242,"featuredImage":243,"category":280,"author":281,"img":278},92,"xhii4o9uuklemhll9b0zkfzu","11 Casual Sexism Quotes Women Are Tired of Hearing (And How to Respond)","We’ve all heard them—in conference rooms, at family dinners, or masked as half-hearted compliments by men who think they're being charming. Casual sexism rarely arrives with a warning label; it hides behind \"compliments,\" subtle microaggressions, and the lazy defense that you _\"can't take a joke.\"_\n\nBut these everyday sexist remarks aren’t harmless banter. They quietly police how women should speak, act, and exist. Here are 11 common casual sexism quotes women are exhausted from hearing—and the exact, razor-sharp comebacks to shut them down.\n\n## \"Why is such a beautiful girl like you single?\"\n\n**The assumption:** A woman's primary value is her attractiveness, and attractiveness should naturally lead to a relationship. Being single must therefore be a problem to be solved—or worse, a failure on her part.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This frames a woman's relationship status as the natural consequence of her looks, as if beauty is currency that should be exchanged for partnership. It also assumes that being single is undesirable—that a woman alone is somehow incomplete. It never occurs to the asker that she might be single by choice, or that her relationship status is simply none of their business.\n\n*What you could say:* \"Because I'm a beautiful girl who doesn't want to compromise.\" Or simply: \"I'm not sure why you think that's related.\"\n\n## \"Female driver—what did you expect?\"\n\n**The assumption:** Women are inherently bad drivers. Any mistake made by a woman behind the wheel confirms this stereotype; mistakes made by men are just individual errors.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** Insurance data consistently shows that men are involved in more accidents, more fatal crashes, and more incidents of aggressive driving than women. The [stereotype persists](https://www.workingal.com/articles/stereotype-women-in-reality-tv) despite evidence to the contrary because confirmation bias means people notice and remember instances that fit the stereotype while ignoring those that don't. It's also a convenient way to dismiss women's competence in any area—if she can't even drive, how can she be trusted with anything else?\n\n*What you could say:* \"Statistically, I expected better driving than from a man, actually.\" Or: \"I'm not sure what you expected, but you might want to check your assumptions against the data.\"\n\n## \"She must have done something to provoke him.\"\n\n**The assumption:** When a man behaves badly toward a woman—whether through harassment, aggression, or [violence](https://www.workingal.com/articles/the-illusion-of-safety-are-women-safe-in-the-western-world)—the woman must share some of the blame. Her behavior, clothing, or presence somehow invited or justified his actions.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This is victim-blaming in its purest form. It shifts responsibility from the person who acted badly to the person who was harmed. It suggests that men's behavior is an inevitable response to women's actions rather than a choice men make. And it creates a world where women must constantly modify their behavior to avoid \"provoking\" reactions they cannot actually control. The implication is that there's always something a woman could have done differently—and therefore, it's partly her fault.\n\n*What you could say:* \"She could have been standing there breathing, and that wouldn't justify his behavior. People are responsible for their own actions.\" Or simply: \"No, she didn't. He made a choice.\"\n\n#### **Read:** [Is Blake Lively Actually Nice? The Real Story Behind Her Reputation Crisis](https://www.workingal.com/articles/when-did-blake-lively-s-public-image-take-a-turn)\n\n## \"She's wife material.\"\n\n**The assumption:** Women can be categorized based on their suitability for marriage. Some women have the right qualities to be chosen as wives; others, presumably, do not. A woman's highest achievement is being deemed marriageable.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This reduces women to objects to be evaluated for a specific purpose—like fabric being assessed for its suitability to make curtains. It implies that women should aspire to meet certain criteria to be \"chosen\" by men. It also suggests that \"wife material\" is a category with defined characteristics (usually: agreeable, domestic, attractive but not too sexual, supportive but not too ambitious). Women who don't fit these criteria are implicitly devalued. The phrase erases women's agency entirely—she's material to be shaped, not a person making her own choices.\n\n*What you could say:* \"She's a whole person who can decide what she wants to be, actually.\" Or: \"What does that even mean? And why is it any of your business?\"\n\n## \"Fortunately, my husband helps me with chores.\"\n\n**The assumption:** Housework is fundamentally the woman's responsibility. When a man participates, he's \"helping\"—going above and beyond what's expected of him. This deserves praise and gratitude.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** You can't \"help\" with something that's equally your responsibility. If a man lives in a house, the housework is his job too—not a favor he's doing for his partner. The framing of domestic labor as women's work that men graciously assist with perpetuates an unequal distribution that research shows persists even when both partners work full-time. Studies consistently find that women do significantly more housework and childcare than their male partners, and this \"second shift\" is a major contributor to burnout and career setbacks for women.\n\n*What you could say:* \"Doesn't he live there too?\" Or: \"In our house, we don't call it helping—we call it living like an adult.\"\n\n## \"You're moody today. How long has it been since you've had sex?\"\n\n**The assumption:** A woman's emotions are irrational and must be explained by her body or her sex life. If she's upset, it can't be because something legitimate is bothering her—it must be [hormones,](https://www.workingal.com/articles/6-hormonal-changes-that-affect-you-during-fall) lack of sex, or some other physical cause that diminishes the validity of her feelings.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This is a silencing tactic. By attributing a woman's emotions to her body or sexuality, the speaker dismisses whatever she's actually feeling or thinking. It also inappropriately sexualizes a completely unrelated situation and suggests that women's emotional states are problems to be solved through sex. Imagine asking a man the same question when he seems frustrated at work—it would be considered bizarre and inappropriate. But for women, emotions are constantly pathologized and sexualized.\n\n*What you could say:* \"I wasn't in a bad mood until you asked that question.\" Or: \"My sex life has nothing to do with my valid frustration about \\[actual issue\\].\"\n\n## \"Who wears the pants in the relationship?\"\n\n**The assumption:** Every relationship has a dominant partner and a submissive one, and the dominant role is inherently masculine (hence \"wearing the pants\"). If a woman seems assertive or if a man seems accommodating, something is wrong with the natural order.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** [Healthy relationships](https://www.workingal.com/articles/death-of-situationships-intentional-dating) don't have one person \"in charge.\" This question mocks partnerships where power is shared or where traditional gender roles aren't followed. It's often asked with the implication that a woman having influence is somehow emasculating to her partner—as if his masculinity depends on her submission. It also reinforces the idea that assertiveness is unfeminine and softness is unmasculine.\n\n*What you could say:* \"We both do. Skinny jeans are making a comeback.\" Or: \"That's not really how adult relationships work.\"\n\n## \"You're not like other women.\"\n\n**The assumption:** \"Other women\" are a monolithic group with negative characteristics—dramatic, shallow, high-maintenance, irrational. Being told you're \"not like them\" is meant as a compliment. You've earned approval by being different from the terrible default.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This is a backhanded compliment that requires you to accept a [negative view of women](https://www.workingal.com/articles/do-people-love-to-hate-women-online) in general to feel flattered. It pits women against each other and suggests that being \"like other women\" is bad. It also puts pressure on you to maintain whatever quality made you \"different\"—you've been accepted into a special category, but that acceptance is conditional. The reality is that women are individuals with as much variation as men. There is no monolithic \"other women\" to be different from.\n\n*What you could say:* \"Neither are they.\" Or: \"What do you think 'other women' are like? Because that says more about you than about them.\"\n\n## \"Men don't cry.\"\n\n![10-sexist-quotes-2.png](https://assets.workingal.com/10_sexist_quotes_2_c621935043.png)\n\n**The assumption:** Emotional expression is feminine, and femininity is weakness. Real men suppress their emotions. Crying is shameful for anyone with a Y chromosome.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** While this phrase is directed at men, it harms everyone. It tells men that their emotions are unacceptable, contributing to mental health crises and difficulty forming emotional connections. But it's also deeply sexist toward women because it works by using femininity as an insult—\"don't cry\" means \"don't act like a woman.\" The underlying message is that being like a woman is degrading. Every time we police men's emotions by associating them with femininity, we reinforce the idea that there's something wrong with being female.\n\n*What you could say:* \"Men cry all the time. It's called having emotions.\" Or: \"That's a weird thing to say about a normal human function.\"\n\n## \"Don't act like a little girl.\"\n\n**The assumption:** Being \"like a girl\" is inherently negative—weak, silly, emotional, immature. It's an insult to be compared to a female child.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** \"Like a girl\" is used as shorthand for \"badly\" or \"weakly\" across many contexts—throwing like a girl, running like a girl, crying like a girl. This teaches both boys and girls from a young age that being female is something to avoid being compared to. Research has shown that [girls' confidence](https://www.workingal.com/articles/confidence-at-work) plummets during puberty, and this [kind of language](https://www.workingal.com/articles/how-language-is-affected-by-our-gender) is part of the reason—they absorb the message that their gender is synonymous with inferiority. Meanwhile, boys learn that the worst thing they can be is feminine.\n\n*What you could say:* \"What do you mean by that exactly?\" (Making people explain their sexism is often more effective than arguing.) Or: \"Little girls are awesome. Not sure why that's an insult.\"\n\n## \"How will you get married if you don't know how to cook?\"\n\n**The assumption:** Marriage is every woman's goal, and her domestic skills determine her marriageability. A man chooses a wife based on her ability to serve him. A woman who can't cook has failed at a fundamental female requirement.\n\n**Why it's problematic:** This treats marriage as a transaction where women offer domestic service in exchange for... what, exactly? Financial support? Social acceptability? It assumes women exist to take care of men rather than to live their own lives. It also ignores that plenty of married couples share cooking duties, order takeout, hire help, or have husbands who cook. The idea that a woman's cooking ability determines her worth as a partner is both outdated and insulting to everyone involved.\n\n*What you could say:* \"I'll hire a chef.\" Or: \"The same way men who can't cook get married, I assume.\" Or simply: \"It's 2025.\"\n\n## Why These Phrases Persist\n\nEveryday sexism persists because it's woven into our language and culture so thoroughly that it often goes unnoticed—even by the people saying it. Many of these phrases are passed down through generations, repeated without reflection, and normalized through constant use.\n\nResearch on \"benevolent sexism\"—sexism that appears positive on the surface, like compliments or protective behavior—shows it can be just as harmful as hostile sexism. Women exposed to benevolent sexism perform worse on cognitive tasks, feel less competent, and have lower career aspirations. The \"nice\" packaging makes it harder to identify and push back against.\n\nThese comments also persist because calling them out is socially costly. Women who object to sexist remarks are often labeled humorless, oversensitive, or difficult. The phrase \"it's just a joke\" is used to silence legitimate concerns. Many women learn to let comments slide rather than face the social consequences of speaking up.\n\n## How to Respond (When You Choose To)\n\nNot every sexist comment requires a response. Sometimes you don't have the energy. Sometimes the social or professional cost is too high. Sometimes you just want to get through the interaction and move on. That's valid. You're not obligated to educate everyone.\n\nBut when you do want to respond, here are some approaches:\n\nAsk them to explain. \"What do you mean by that?\" or \"I don't get it—can you explain?\" Forces the speaker to articulate their assumptions, which often reveals how problematic they are. People frequently backpedal when asked to spell out what they actually meant.\n\nUse humor. A witty response can deflect while still making a point. It's harder to accuse someone of being humorless when they're clearly being funny. The comebacks throughout this article are examples of this approach.\n\nState the obvious. Sometimes simply naming what's happening is powerful. \"That's a sexist thing to say\" or \"That's a strange assumption to make about women\" can be enough to create a pause.\n\nFlip the script. Ask whether they'd say the same thing about a man, or to a man. The absurdity of the double standard often becomes clear when the genders are reversed.\n\nChoose your battles. Your well-being matters more than correcting every person who says something ignorant. It's okay to save your energy for the conversations that matter most.\n\n## The Bigger Picture\n\nThese phrases might seem small individually—just words, just jokes, just casual comments. But they add up. They shape how women see themselves and how the world sees women. They create environments where more serious forms of sexism can flourish unchallenged.\n\nNaming them matters. Recognizing them matters. And when we have the energy and the opportunity, pushing back matters too—not because we'll change every mind, but because silence is often interpreted as agreement.\n\nThe next time someone asks how you'll get married if you can't cook, or tells you you're not like other women, or wonders why a beautiful girl like you is single—know that you're not oversensitive for being bothered. You're just paying attention.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is everyday sexism?\n\nEveryday sexism refers to the routine, often subtle forms of gender discrimination that women encounter regularly—comments, behaviors, and assumptions that reinforce gender stereotypes or treat women as inferior. Unlike overt discrimination, everyday sexism is often normalized and dismissed as harmless.\n\n### What is benevolent sexism?\n\nBenevolent sexism is sexism that appears positive or complimentary but still reinforces traditional gender roles and women's subordinate status. Examples include viewing women as pure, fragile, or needing protection. Research shows benevolent sexism can be as harmful as hostile sexism, affecting women's cognitive performance and self-esteem.\n\n### How do I respond to [sexist comments at work](https://www.workingal.com/articles/how-to-handle-sexist-people-in-business)?\n\nIn professional settings, consider asking clarifying questions ('What do you mean by that?'), calmly stating that the comment was inappropriate, or addressing it privately with the person or through HR if it's a pattern. Document incidents in case they escalate. Your approach may depend on your relationship with the person, your position, and your workplace culture.\n\n### Why is 'you're not like other girls' problematic?\n\nThis phrase requires you to accept a negative view of women to feel complimented. It implies that 'other women' are a monolithic group with undesirable traits and that being different from them is an achievement. It pits women against each other and suggests that femininity itself is something to distance yourself from.\n\n### What is a microaggression?\n\nMicroaggressions are subtle, often unintentional comments or behaviors that communicate negative or derogatory messages to members of marginalized groups. In the context of gender, microaggressions include comments that reinforce stereotypes, question women's competence, or treat women as objects. They're called 'micro' because they're small individually, but their cumulative effect is significant.\n\n### Should I always call out sexist comments?\n\nNo. You're not obligated to educate everyone or respond to every comment. Consider your energy, the relationship, the setting, and the potential consequences. Sometimes letting something go is the right choice for your well-being. Save your energy for the battles that matter most to you.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","10-sexist-quotes-every-woman-has-heard-1","11 Casual Sexism Quotes Women Are Tired of Hearing (And How to Respond) | The Working Gal","sexist phrases, everyday sexism, microaggressions against women, sexist comments, how to respond to sexism, casual sexism examples, sexist things people say, gender stereotypes","From \"wife material\" to \"you're not like other girls,\" here are 11 casual sexism quotes and microaggressions women hear—plus smart comebacks to shut them down.","2021-02-14","2021-02-14T22:39:58.173Z","2026-09-04T23:14:42.178Z","2021-02-17T15:44:30.056Z",{"id":244,"documentId":245,"name":246,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":247,"hash":276,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":277,"url":278,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":279,"updatedAt":279,"publishedAt":279},62,"ixkzsg5rfy486f4o0x6wi037","sexist-quotes-b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg",{"large":248,"small":255,"medium":262,"thumbnail":269},{"ext":82,"url":249,"etag":250,"hash":251,"mime":86,"name":252,"path":77,"size":253,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":254},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg","a1e0d3f260d9bb53738e2fc961450e47","large_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da","large_sexist-quotes-b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg",63.92,63922,{"ext":82,"url":256,"etag":257,"hash":258,"mime":86,"name":259,"path":77,"size":260,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":261},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg","589a937dc6e3140086dbda6e2f86aba3","small_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da","small_sexist-quotes-b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg",19.21,19210,{"ext":82,"url":263,"etag":264,"hash":265,"mime":86,"name":266,"path":77,"size":267,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":268},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg","944d0e4b2bc45b4e5f707b8d3d9ac821","medium_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da","medium_sexist-quotes-b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg",38.64,38640,{"ext":82,"url":270,"etag":271,"hash":272,"mime":86,"name":273,"path":77,"size":274,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":275},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg","c64768a81dd0d4a96e6aaf05813ed1b9","thumbnail_sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da","thumbnail_sexist-quotes-b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg",5.78,5784,"sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da",149.27,"https://assets.workingal.com/sexist_quotes_b2ad5a4e9ce7062de99ee7a6712013887fcb2e63ff08ca1f054d387f9efdc2da.jpg","2026-09-06T10:32:04.954Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":31,"documentId":126,"name":127,"slug":128,"instagram":129,"facebook":130,"bio":131,"linkedIn":77,"createdAt":132,"updatedAt":132,"publishedAt":133,"avatar":282},{"id":135,"documentId":136,"name":137,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":283,"hash":150,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":151,"url":152,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":153,"updatedAt":153,"publishedAt":153},{"thumbnail":284},{"ext":141,"url":142,"etag":143,"hash":144,"mime":145,"name":146,"path":77,"size":147,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":149},{"id":286,"documentId":287,"title":288,"content":289,"slug":290,"coffees":160,"seo_title":288,"keywords":291,"seo_desc":292,"bylineDate":293,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":294,"updatedAt":295,"publishedAt":296,"featuredImage":297,"category":334,"author":335,"img":332},84,"ajiln0urwpouot420xfuo8we","How Reality TV Portrays Women: The Harmful Stereotypes We've Normalized (And Why It Matters)","Reality television is everywhere. Turn on your TV any night of the week and you'll find women competing for love on *The Bachelor*, battling the elements on *Survivor*, getting critiqued by judges on *America's Next Top Model*, or navigating drama on *The Real Housewives*. These shows are massively popular—[40% of Americans watch reality TV regularly](https://electroiq.com/stats/reality-tv-statistics/), with women aged 18-34 making up the primary demographic.\n\nWe tell ourselves it's harmless entertainment. Just something fun to watch after a long day at work. But if we look more closely at what reality shows actually show, we'll see that their messages aren't as innocent as they seem.\n\nThe uncomfortable truth? Reality TV perpetuates harmful stereotypes about women—and we've become so used to seeing them that we barely notice anymore.\n\n## Why Reality TV's Portrayal of Women Matters\n\nBefore you dismiss this as overthinking entertainment, consider this: Psychologists confirm that we learn behavior through our experiences and the images we encounter in everyday life. For millions of young people, reality TV has become part of that everyday experience.\n\n[Research published in *Frontiers in Sociology*](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sociology/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.641216/full) found that reality dating shows like *Love Island* perpetuate sexist attitudes toward women by presenting female contestants as overly emotional, irrational, and defined primarily by their desirability to men. Another study in *Politics, Groups, and Identities* determined that television \"has the potential to be used to increase political tolerance, and eliminate racism, sexism, and heterosexism\"—but only when it chooses to do so.\n\nThe problem? Most reality TV is choosing to do the opposite.\n\n## The Stereotypes Reality TV Perpetuates About Women\n\n### 1\\. Women as Objects of Desire (and Nothing More)\n\nAccording to the prevailing standards in reality television, women must be \"hot, always well-groomed, an object of desire.\" Their beauty and charm are positioned as the primary—often *only*—elements that will help them succeed.\n\nIn fashion reality shows like *America's Next Top Model* or *Project Runway*, women are treated as objects to be critiqued and judged. Judges comment on contestants' appearances as if they're not even present in the room, anxiously waiting for verdicts. We're told the fashion world is \"tough,\" but how is it different from other professions? Why is degrading treatment considered acceptable here when it wouldn't be tolerated in a corporate boardroom?\n\nIn dating shows like *The Bachelor* or *Love Island*, contestants are always perfectly groomed with flawless hair and makeup, projecting an image that's impossibly far from reality. Research shows that these programs reinforce a false idea: that a woman's primary value lies in her physical appearance and her ability to attract male attention.\n\nThis objectification teaches young viewers that women's worth is primarily visual—a message that has real-world consequences for how women are perceived and treated in professional and personal contexts.\n\n### 2\\. Women as Weak and Emotional (The \"Hysterical\" Stereotype)\n\nIn survival and competition shows like *Survivor*, women are often portrayed as the weakest players from the start. They're assumed to be fragile, unable to withstand pressure, and likely to crack under stress. Male contestants often prefer them as opponents *because* they're viewed as easier to beat.\n\nYes, men and women have different average physical capabilities. But why does the devaluation exist from the beginning? Why is beauty positioned as a woman's only viable path to victory, rather than strength, strategy, or intelligence?\n\nStudies on shows like *Love Island* reveal how female contestants' emotions are deliberately manipulated and exploited to attract viewers. Women are shown crying, fighting, or being \"paranoid\" about relationships—and these moments are presented as entertainment rather than as human experiences. This \"money shot\" editing, as researchers call it, reinforces outdated stereotypes about women's emotional instability and irrationality.\n\nThe consequence? When women in real life express legitimate concerns or emotions, they risk being labeled as \"crazy,\" \"dramatic,\" or \"too emotional\"—dismissals that have their roots in these persistent stereotypes.\n\n### 3\\. Women in Competition (With Each Other, Always)\n\nOne of the most insidious patterns in reality TV is how women are constantly pitted against each other—for men's affection, for judges' approval, for social dominance, for survival.\n\n*The Bachelor* franchise literally structures itself around 25-30 women competing for one man's attention. *The Real Housewives* thrives on female conflict and drama. Even professional competition shows like *Project Runway* amplify tensions between female contestants to create \"compelling\" television.\n\nResearch published on women's portrayal in reality TV notes that these shows teach young viewers—especially young women—that other women are their competition, not their allies. This perpetuates internalized misogyny: the belief that women can't trust each other, that female friendships are inherently drama-filled, and that women must compete for male approval and validation.\n\nThe real-world impact? Women who grow up consuming this media often struggle to build supportive female friendships and professional networks, believing competition rather than collaboration is the natural state of women's relationships.\n\n## The Specific Problems with Different Types of Reality Shows\n\n### Dating Shows: Distorted Images of Love and Relationships\n\nShows like *The Bachelor*, *Love Is Blind*, *Too Hot to Handle*, and *Married at First Sight* claim to help people find \"true love.\" In reality, they present a deeply distorted vision of relationships where:\n\n* Women must compete for male attention rather than being recognized as worthy partners in their own right  \n* Physical appearance is paramount \\- contestants are always camera-ready, reinforcing impossible beauty standards  \n* Emotional vulnerability is exploited for drama and ratings rather than treated with respect  \n* Traditional gender roles are reinforced \\- men as choosers, women as chosen\n\nA 2021 study analyzing *Love Island* found that the show demonstrates a sexual double standard: male contestants are celebrated for sexual prowess, while female contestants are shamed and deemed \"unruly\" for the same behavior. Women who are confident about their sexuality are labeled as \"too much\" or problematic.\n\n### Competition Shows: Women Judged More Harshly\n\nOn competition reality shows—from *Survivor* to *The Amazing Race* to *Hell's Kitchen*—research shows that [women face different standards than men](https://www.workingal.com/articles/do-people-love-to-hate-women-online):\n\n* Strong women are labeled as \"aggressive\" or \"mean\" while men displaying identical behavior are called \"assertive\" or \"strategic\"  \n* Women's competence is questioned more frequently  \n* Physical challenges emphasize perceived female weakness rather than different types of strength  \n* Women who display ambition are often edited to appear villainous\n\n### The Representation Problem Gets Worse for Women of Color\n\nThe stereotyping in reality TV is compounded for Black women, Latina women, and Asian American women, who face both gender-based and race-based stereotypes.\n\n![women-reality-shows.jpg](https://assets.workingal.com/women_reality_shows_9b2d5094fb.jpg)\n\nResearch shows that Black women in particular are often portrayed through the \"angry Black woman\" stereotype—shown as aggressive, irrational, and confrontational. According to *Pacific Standard Magazine*, when Black women appear on dating shows, they're often tokenized—included to meet a diversity quota rather than given genuine opportunities.\n\nA study analyzing *The Bachelor* found that in over 22 seasons, representation of women of color was severely limited, with some seasons featuring only one or two non-white contestants among 25-30 participants.\n\n## Why We Keep Watching (And Why That's Complicated)\n\nIf reality TV is so problematic, why do so many smart, [feminist women](https://www.workingal.com/articles/why-we-need-feminism)—myself included—watch it?\n\nThe answer is complicated. As University of Michigan researcher Enrica Bridgewater explains, \"People who want equality for women can watch reality TV. You can dissect the things you like and the things you think are problematic.\"\n\n[Reality TV can be a guilty pleasure](https://www.workingal.com/articles/guilty-pleasure-the-shows-we-love-but-will-never-admit-to-anyone), a form of escapism, a way to decompress after work. The issue isn't individual viewers—it's the systemic patterns these shows create and reinforce.\n\nYou can watch reality TV and be a feminist. But we need to watch critically, recognizing the harmful tropes and calling them out rather than accepting them as normal.\n\n## The Dangerous Normalization\n\nThe worst part isn't that these stereotypes exist—it's that we see them so often that we consider them normal.\n\nWhen judges on fashion shows treat models with disgrace, we think \"well, the fashion industry is tough.\" When dating show contestants are shown crying and fighting over a man, we think \"well, that's just good drama.\" When women on competition shows are eliminated first, we think \"well, women are physically weaker.\"\n\nWe've normalized the dehumanization.\n\nAnd this normalization has consequences. When children and teenagers watch these shows—and they do—they internalize these messages about how women are and should be. Young men learn that the patriarchy's lessons are correct. Young women learn that finding a successful man and being traditionally beautiful are their highest aspirations.\n\n## Where the Responsibility Lies\n\nIt's tempting to blame the contestants, the producers, or the networks. But the reality is more complex.\n\nTelevision is a microcosm of society. If society allows the reproduction of these stereotypes, it's not just television that's perpetuating them—it's all of us.\n\n* Producers have a responsibility to create content that doesn't harm marginalized groups  \n* Networks have a responsibility to prioritize ethical programming over pure ratings  \n* Viewers have a responsibility to consume critically and demand better  \n* Advertisers have responsibility for what they financially support  \n* Society has a collective responsibility to reject sexist stereotypes wherever they appear\n\n## What We Can Do About It\n\nSo what's the solution? Should we boycott reality TV entirely?\n\nNot necessarily. But here's what we can do:\n\n**1\\. Watch Critically.** Notice when stereotypes appear. Question why women are portrayed certain ways. Call it out in conversations with friends and family.\n\n**2\\. Demand Better.** Support shows that present complex, multidimensional women. Use social media to praise good representation and criticize harmful portrayals.\n\n**3\\. Educate Young Viewers.** If children in your life watch reality TV, talk with them about what they're seeing. Help them develop critical thinking skills about media representation.\n\n**4\\. Choose Our Entertainment Thoughtfully.** We vote with our viewership. When shows treat women with respect and complexity, watch them. When they don't, turn them off.\n\n**5\\. Create Counter-Narratives.** Share stories and content that show the real diversity and complexity of women's experiences.\n\nReality TV isn't going to change until we change. Until we stop accepting these stereotypes as entertainment. Until we stop laughing at sexist \"humor.\" Until we demand that women on our screens be treated with the same respect, complexity, and humanity as men.\n\nTelevision reflects society—but it also shapes it. The images we consume influence how we see ourselves and others. When we allow women to be degraded, objectified, and stereotyped on reality TV, we're allowing those same attitudes to persist in boardrooms, classrooms, and our daily lives.\n\nThe next time you see a woman being treated poorly on a reality show, don't just accept it as entertainment. Recognize it for what it is: the reinforcement of harmful stereotypes that have real consequences for real women.\n\nWe all have a responsibility here. The question is: what will we do with it?\n\n\n","stereotype-women-in-reality-tv","reality TV stereotypes women, how reality TV portrays women, sexism in reality shows, dating shows stereotypes, gender stereotypes in reality television, Bachelor stereotypes women, Love Island sexism","From The Bachelor to Survivor, reality TV stereotypes harm women. Discover how dating shows & competition series perpetuate sexism—and what we can do about it.","2021-01-16","2021-01-16T11:00:51.280Z","2025-10-25T21:47:11.114Z","2021-01-16T11:00:53.753Z",{"id":298,"documentId":299,"name":300,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":301,"hash":330,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":331,"url":332,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":333,"updatedAt":333,"publishedAt":333},58,"y8gsf3gns0jex41toz6q54zd","woman-in-reality-TV-eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg",{"large":302,"small":309,"medium":316,"thumbnail":323},{"ext":82,"url":303,"etag":304,"hash":305,"mime":86,"name":306,"path":77,"size":307,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":308},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg","849963e72c19716937c091244a246312","large_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671","large_woman-in-reality-TV-eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg",58.36,58357,{"ext":82,"url":310,"etag":311,"hash":312,"mime":86,"name":313,"path":77,"size":314,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":315},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg","349ec87813eaa972a30eb16145302b6a","small_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671","small_woman-in-reality-TV-eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg",17.27,17275,{"ext":82,"url":317,"etag":318,"hash":319,"mime":86,"name":320,"path":77,"size":321,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":322},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg","12841054425a7bbbdb99a8bc0e16377c","medium_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671","medium_woman-in-reality-TV-eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg",34.94,34935,{"ext":82,"url":324,"etag":325,"hash":326,"mime":86,"name":327,"path":77,"size":328,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":329},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg","79400c2db2d1c2da0ce80be078430a52","thumbnail_woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671","thumbnail_woman-in-reality-TV-eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg",5.21,5214,"woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671",135.14,"https://assets.workingal.com/woman_in_reality_TV_eb8452789ed619f840f77d3e5fb1916e2cf373411ba31f9fb80d368eee719671.jpg","2026-09-06T10:32:01.870Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":11,"documentId":205,"name":206,"slug":207,"instagram":208,"facebook":209,"bio":210,"linkedIn":211,"createdAt":212,"updatedAt":212,"publishedAt":213,"avatar":336},{"id":160,"documentId":215,"name":216,"alternativeText":217,"caption":217,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":337,"hash":226,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":227,"url":228,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":229,"updatedAt":229,"publishedAt":229},{"thumbnail":338},{"ext":141,"url":220,"etag":221,"hash":222,"mime":145,"name":223,"path":77,"size":224,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":225},{"id":340,"documentId":341,"title":342,"content":343,"slug":344,"coffees":160,"seo_title":342,"keywords":345,"seo_desc":346,"bylineDate":347,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":348,"updatedAt":349,"publishedAt":350,"featuredImage":351,"category":388,"author":389,"img":386},76,"okx23zi0xexhoi56uy794sbe","Angelina Jolie: From Hollywood Rebel to Global Humanitarian","There's a version of Angelina Jolie's story that reads like tabloid headlines: the wild child, the vials of blood, the marriages, [the scandals](https://www.workingal.com/articles/lights-camera-chaos-4-hollywood-scandals). That version exists, and it's not entirely wrong. But it's profoundly incomplete.\n\nThe fuller story is of a woman who transformed herself—publicly, messily, and genuinely—from a self-destructive teenager into one of the most influential humanitarians in the world. A woman who used her fame not just to open doors for herself, but to shine light into refugee camps most people would rather forget exist. A woman who, when faced with an 87% chance of developing breast cancer, made the radical decision to share her preventive surgery with the world, potentially saving countless lives in the process.\n\nAngelina Jolie is complicated. She's made mistakes, some of them very public. But what makes her genuinely inspirational isn't perfection—it's the way she's consistently chosen to use her privilege and platform for something larger than herself.\n\n## A Difficult Beginning\n\nAngelina Jolie Voight was born on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles. Her parents were both actors—her father Jon Voight, an [Oscar winner](https://www.workingal.com/articles/women-oscar-winners), and her mother Marcheline Bertrand, a lesser-known actress who largely gave up her career to raise her children. When Angelina was just a year old, her father left the family for another woman. The abandonment would shape her for decades.\n\nGrowing up in the shadow of her father's fame while feeling his absence created a complicated relationship with [Hollywood](https://www.workingal.com/articles/favorite-old-hollywood-movies) from the start. Her mother, whom Angelina has described as the most important person in her life, raised her and her brother James in more modest circumstances than their father's celebrity might suggest.\n\nBy her own account, Jolie's teenage years were difficult. She was bullied at school for her appearance—her full lips and thin frame made her a target. She began wearing black, experimenting with self-harm, and struggling with depression. At 14, she moved in with a boyfriend. By her late teens, she was using drugs. \"I went through heavier, darker times and I survived them,\" she later said. \"I didn't die young. So I'm very lucky.\"\n\nThis period of her life is often sensationalized, but it's important context for understanding who she became. Jolie didn't grow up protected from pain. She grew up swimming in it—and eventually learned to channel it into something else entirely.\n\n## Finding Herself Through Acting\n\nActing, perhaps unsurprisingly given her lineage, became Jolie's way out. She trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and began landing roles in the mid-1990s. Her breakthrough came with the 1998 HBO film \"Gia,\" in which she played Gia Carangi, a supermodel who died of AIDS-related complications. The role earned her a Golden Globe and showcased her willingness to take on dark, complex characters.\n\n![jolie-photo.jpg](https://assets.workingal.com/jolie_photo_95f5af0a18.jpg)\n\nBut it was \"Girl, Interrupted\" in 1999 that changed everything. Playing Lisa Rowe, a charismatic sociopath in a psychiatric hospital, Jolie delivered a performance so magnetic that she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was 24 years old. In her acceptance speech, she declared her love for her brother (they had arrived holding hands), fueling tabloid speculation that would follow her for years.\n\nThe early 2000s saw her become an action star with \"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,\" a role that made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. But something happened during the filming of that movie that would prove far more significant than the box office returns: the production took her to Cambodia, and what she saw there changed the trajectory of her life.\n\n## The Work That Defines Her\n\nIn Cambodia, Jolie witnessed poverty and the aftermath of conflict on a scale she had never imagined. She returned home different. \"I just felt so empty,\" she later explained. \"I didn't know what I was doing with my life.\" She began educating herself about humanitarian crises and reached out to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).\n\nIn 2001, at age 26, Jolie was appointed a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Some celebrities accept such titles and make a few appearances. Jolie did something different: she showed up. Over the next two decades, she would complete more than 60 field missions to refugee camps and conflict zones in over 30 countries. She visited Darfur during the active genocide. She met with refugees in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and dozens of other countries. She went to places cameras don't usually go—and crucially, she went when cameras weren't watching.\n\nIn 2012, she was elevated to the position of Special Envoy, a role that gave her direct access to senior UNHCR [leadership](https://www.workingal.com/articles/why-women-are-underrepresented-in-leadership-positions) and expanded her responsibilities to include representing the agency at the diplomatic level. She has addressed the United Nations Security Council, testified before the U.S. Congress, and met with world leaders to advocate for refugee rights.\n\nThe cynical interpretation—that it's all publicity—doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Jolie has donated millions of her own money to humanitarian causes. She has personally funded schools, clean water initiatives, and conservation projects. One-third of her income from each film has reportedly gone to charity. Most importantly, she has consistently used her platform to draw attention to crises the world would prefer to ignore.\n\n\"You can either spend your time thinking about how empty everything is,\" she has said, \"or you can try to do something.\" She chose to do something.\n\n## Fighting Sexual Violence in Conflict\n\nIn 2012, Jolie partnered with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague to launch the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). The campaign aimed to end the use of rape as a weapon of war—a practice that has devastated communities in conflicts from Bosnia to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Syria.\n\nIn 2014, they co-hosted the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London, the largest gathering ever held on the issue. Representatives from 123 countries attended. The summit resulted in a landmark international protocol for documenting and investigating sexual violence in conflict zones.\n\nThis wasn't celebrity photo-op activism. It was substantive policy work that changed how the international community approaches wartime sexual violence. The protocol developed from this initiative has since been used to train investigators and document crimes in multiple countries.\n\n## The Decision That Sparked a Movement\n\nIn May 2013, Jolie published an op-ed in The New York Times titled \"My Medical Choice\" that would have an impact far beyond Hollywood. She revealed that she carried a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, which dramatically increased her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer—the same cancers that had killed her mother, grandmother, and aunt.\n\nHer doctors estimated her risk of breast cancer at 87%. Rather than wait, she chose to undergo a preventive double mastectomy, reducing her risk to under 5%. Two years later, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed after early signs of possible cancer were detected.\n\nThe decision to share this publicly was extraordinary. In an industry that profits from female bodies and where actresses face enormous pressure around appearance, Jolie openly discussed removing her breasts and reproductive organs. She did it, she said, because knowledge is power—and because she hoped other women facing similar decisions would know they weren't alone.\n\nThe impact was immediate and measurable. Researchers documented what they called \"The Angelina Effect\"—a dramatic spike in genetic testing for BRCA mutations following her announcement. Studies showed that referrals for genetic counseling doubled. Awareness of hereditary breast cancer increased significantly. Medical experts credited her with potentially saving lives by encouraging early detection and preventive care.\n\n\"I do not feel any less of a woman,\" she wrote. \"I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.\" For countless women facing similar decisions, those words mattered.\n\n## Behind the Camera\n\nAs Jolie has grown older, she has increasingly moved behind the camera. Her directorial debut, \"In the Land of Blood and Honey\" (2011), was a war drama about the Bosnian War that she wrote and directed. It wasn't a safe choice—it was a difficult, subtitled film about ethnic cleansing and wartime rape, shot in Serbo-Croatian with local actors.\n\n![angelina jolie inspirational](https://assets.workingal.com/angelina_jolie_attends_the_couture_press_conference_during_news_photo_1760103811_91a453ba3c.pjpeg)\n_[Photo](https://share.google/vMwxv50Ao5yDguaDK)_\n\nShe followed it with \"Unbroken\" (2014), the true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, who survived a plane crash, 47 days adrift at sea, and years in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. The film was both a commercial success and a demonstration that she could helm a major studio production.\n\n\"First They Killed My Father\" (2017), based on the memoir of Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung, was perhaps her most personal directorial project. Set during the Khmer Rouge regime, it was filmed in Cambodia—the country that first opened her eyes to humanitarian work and where she adopted her first son. The film was Cambodia's official submission for the Academy Awards.\n\nHer directorial choices consistently reflect her humanitarian interests: stories about war, survival, human rights, and resilience. She's not interested in making safe entertainment; she's interested in telling stories that matter.\n\n## Building a Family\n\nJolie is mother to six children—three adopted internationally and three biological. Her approach to adoption was deeply connected to her humanitarian work. She adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002, Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, and Pax from Vietnam in 2007\\. Her biological children—Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne—were born in 2006 and 2008 respectively, during her relationship with Brad Pitt.\n\nShe has spoken openly about wanting her children to understand both privilege and responsibility—to see the world beyond Hollywood and to engage with global issues. Her children have accompanied her on humanitarian missions and grown up with an awareness of global inequality that few celebrity kids experience.\n\nHer divorce from Pitt, filed in 2016, was painful and public. The custody battle dragged on for years. Through it, Jolie largely refused to engage publicly, focusing instead on her children and her work. It's a reminder that her life hasn't been charmed—she's faced real struggles, publicly and privately, and has had to navigate them while the world watched.\n\n## What We Can Learn From Her\n\nAngelina Jolie's story isn't inspirational because she's perfect. It's inspirational because she isn't—and she's done remarkable things anyway.\n\nShe shows us that your past doesn't have to determine your future. The troubled teenager who experimented with drugs and self-harm became a woman who has addressed the UN Security Council and changed international policy on sexual violence. Transformation is possible, even from difficult beginnings.\n\nShe demonstrates what it looks like to use privilege purposefully. Many people with her level of fame and resources do nothing meaningful with them. Jolie has consistently chosen to leverage her platform for causes larger than herself—not occasionally, but as a central focus of her life.\n\nShe modeled vulnerability as strength. Sharing her preventive surgeries publicly—in an industry that punishes [women for aging](https://www.workingal.com/articles/6-habits-aging), let alone for removing body parts associated with femininity—was an act of courage that helped millions of women feel less alone in their own medical decisions.\n\nAnd she proves that evolution is possible at any stage of life. The Angelina Jolie of 1999, accepting her Oscar with blood in a vial around her neck, seems like a different person from the Angelina Jolie testifying before Congress about refugee policy. Both are her. People can grow.\n\n## In Her Own Words\n\n*\"Without pain, there would be no suffering. Without suffering, we would never learn from our mistakes. To make it right, pain and suffering is the key to all windows; without it, there is no way of life.\"*\n\n*\"If you don't get out of the box you've been raised in, you won't understand how much bigger the world is.\"*\n\n*\"I've been reckless, but I'm not a rebel without a cause.\"*\n\n*\"We have a choice about how we take what happens to us in our life and whether or not we allow it to turn us.\"*\n\n*\"Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.\"*\n\n## Essential Viewing\n\n**Girl, Interrupted (1999):** The Oscar-winning performance that showcased her extraordinary talent. Her portrayal of Lisa Rowe remains one of the most memorable supporting performances of its era.\n\n![angelina jolie and her son madox](https://assets.workingal.com/Getty_Images_51284464_ea4e5f3de1.jpg)\n_[Photo](https://share.google/zfOBoEpb8LyTyaKCu)_\n\n**A Mighty Heart (2007):** Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, the wife of journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan. A powerful, restrained performance that demonstrated her range beyond action roles.\n\n**Changeling (2008):** Directed by Clint Eastwood, this true story earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She plays a mother whose son goes missing and who is then told the child returned to her isn't actually hers.\n\n**First They Killed My Father (2017):** Her directorial work at its most personal. Essential for understanding the connection between her art and her humanitarian concerns.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What humanitarian work has Angelina Jolie done?\n\nJolie served as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador from 2001 to 2012, then was elevated to Special Envoy. She has completed over 60 field missions to more than 30 countries, donated millions to refugee causes, and co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative with former UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.\n\n### Why did Angelina Jolie have a preventive mastectomy?\n\nJolie carries a mutation in the BRCA1 gene that gave her an estimated 87% risk of developing breast cancer. She chose a preventive double mastectomy in 2013 to reduce her risk to under 5%. She later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well. Her mother, grandmother, and aunt all died from cancer.\n\n### How many children does Angelina Jolie have?\n\nJolie has six children: three adopted (Maddox from Cambodia, Zahara from Ethiopia, and Pax from Vietnam) and three biological (Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne) with Brad Pitt.\n\n### What films has Angelina Jolie directed?\n\nJolie has directed several films including \"In the Land of Blood and Honey\" (2011), \"Unbroken\" (2014), \"By the Sea\" (2015), and \"First They Killed My Father\" (2017). Her directorial work often focuses on themes of war, survival, and human rights.\n\n### What awards has Angelina Jolie won?\n\nJolie won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for \"Girl, Interrupted\" (1999) and received a Best Actress nomination for \"Changeling\" (2008). She has won three Golden Globe Awards and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy in 2013\\.\n\n### What is the 'Angelina Effect'?\n\nThe 'Angelina Effect' refers to the documented increase in genetic testing for BRCA mutations following Jolie's 2013 op-ed about her preventive mastectomy. Studies showed that referrals for genetic counseling doubled after her announcement, potentially saving lives through earlier detection and prevention.\n\n## Related Reading\n\n### *More stories of remarkable women:*\n\n[Margaret Thatcher: From Grocer's Daughter to the Iron Lady](https://www.workingal.com/articles/inspirational-margaret-thatcher)\n\n[The Fascinating Life of Frida Kahlo](https://www.workingal.com/articles/inspirational-women-the-fascinating-life-of-frida-kahlo)  \n\n[Inspirational Women: Meryl Streep](https://www.workingal.com/articles/inspirational-women-maryl-streep)\n\n[The Global Fight for Reproductive Rights](https://www.workingal.com/articles/global-reproductive-rights)\n\n[Why Is Taylor Swift Inspirational? Career Lessons from Her Success](https://www.workingal.com/articles/inspirational-taylor-swift)\n","inspirational-women-angelina-jolie","Angelina Jolie, inspirational women, Angelina Jolie humanitarian, UNHCR ambassador, Angelina Jolie BRCA, women in film, celebrity activism, Angelina Jolie biography","From troubled teen to Oscar winner to UN Special Envoy—Angelina Jolie's journey proves that reinvention is possible. Discover what makes her truly inspirational.","2021-01-08","2021-01-08T20:25:46.857Z","2026-08-19T01:13:56.514Z","2021-01-08T20:25:49.070Z",{"id":352,"documentId":353,"name":354,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":355,"hash":384,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":385,"url":386,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":387,"updatedAt":387,"publishedAt":387},54,"z9qax9zwjzew5kwyy2wxiwq7","angelina-jolie-968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg",{"large":356,"small":363,"medium":370,"thumbnail":377},{"ext":82,"url":357,"etag":358,"hash":359,"mime":86,"name":360,"path":77,"size":361,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":362},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg","e580b85492af7852ad79f704c6f5b986","large_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a","large_angelina-jolie-968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg",64.43,64432,{"ext":82,"url":364,"etag":365,"hash":366,"mime":86,"name":367,"path":77,"size":368,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":369},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg","572cb6dae6077ca1dc6fa71913e9a56a","small_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a","small_angelina-jolie-968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg",17.8,17804,{"ext":82,"url":371,"etag":372,"hash":373,"mime":86,"name":374,"path":77,"size":375,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":376},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg","c908803f189cb9b1b635150861779605","medium_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a","medium_angelina-jolie-968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg",37.06,37062,{"ext":82,"url":378,"etag":379,"hash":380,"mime":86,"name":381,"path":77,"size":382,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":383},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg","ce65c7e1d1bdfd1c75580b0638f85d21","thumbnail_angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a","thumbnail_angelina-jolie-968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg",5.88,5875,"angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a",133.49,"https://assets.workingal.com/angelina_jolie_968e68118d854a626dd7ad109b7be59a45293599186eb8b819c969d4d160067a.jpg","2026-09-06T10:31:58.728Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":26,"documentId":390,"name":391,"slug":392,"instagram":393,"facebook":394,"bio":395,"linkedIn":396,"createdAt":397,"updatedAt":397,"publishedAt":398,"avatar":399},"rrgw04x1ox461oib75ljto7k","Dimitra","dimitra","https://www.instagram.com/dimdimi/","https://www.facebook.com/dimitra.lioliou.9","She started in corporate, stepped out to build her own businesses, and along the way learned five foreign languages. With a background in Sociology, her focus remains squarely on human behavior, the true engine behind every business, cultural trend, and daily decision. Today, she splits her time between Europe and the US, writing about work, culture, and the subtle mechanics of modern life. If you ask her about languages, consider yourself warned: she will not stop talking.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitra-lioliou/","2026-09-06T10:31:18.888Z","2026-09-06T10:31:18.911Z",{"id":42,"documentId":400,"name":401,"alternativeText":402,"caption":403,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":404,"hash":412,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":413,"url":414,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":415,"updatedAt":415,"publishedAt":416},"vho74tz85ywt8uvcc2i46n8j","Dimitra Lioliou-490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5.png","dimitra lioliou profile pic","dimitra lioliou the working gal",{"thumbnail":405},{"ext":141,"url":406,"etag":407,"hash":408,"mime":145,"name":409,"path":77,"size":410,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":411},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_Dimitra_Lioliou_490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5.png","1af5fda28d3e7890e8a99c385239de61","thumbnail_Dimitra_Lioliou_490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5","thumbnail_Dimitra Lioliou-490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5.png",47.39,47387,"Dimitra_Lioliou_490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5",28.15,"https://assets.workingal.com/Dimitra_Lioliou_490b9ae7a31e67cbe83f6cbd018b514572b484c2a12096c4257fcc93fbbdacd5.png","2026-09-06T10:31:18.786Z","2026-09-06T10:31:18.787Z",{"id":418,"documentId":419,"title":420,"content":421,"slug":422,"coffees":36,"seo_title":420,"keywords":423,"seo_desc":424,"bylineDate":425,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":426,"updatedAt":427,"publishedAt":428,"featuredImage":429,"category":466,"author":467,"img":464},70,"j010lhjsq4f68vahzragqg12","The Psychology of Social Media: How Women Can Use It More Intentionally","# The Psychology of Social Media: How Women Can Use It More Intentionally\n\nYou open Instagram during your lunch break. Just a quick scroll, you tell yourself. Thirty minutes later, you're comparing your life to a colleague's vacation photos, feeling vaguely anxious about a debate in the comments section, and wondering why you feel simultaneously drained and unable to stop scrolling.\n\nSocial media has fundamentally changed how we communicate, connect, and consume information—but it's also created new challenges for our mental health, relationships, and sense of self. And research shows that women, in particular, experience social media in distinct ways that can be both beneficial and harmful.\n\nBut here's the thing: social media itself isn't inherently good or bad. It's a tool. And like any tool, how you use it determines whether it serves you or sabotages you.\n\nLet's talk about the psychology behind our social media habits and, more importantly, how to use these platforms more intentionally—in ways that support rather than drain your wellbeing.\n\n## Understanding How Women Engage with Social Media\n\nThe data reveals some interesting patterns in how women engage with Social Media.\n\nResearch from the Pew Research Center shows that women are more likely than men to use social media to maintain and deepen existing relationships rather than to make new connections. [A study from the University of Pennsylvania found that women tend to share more personal content and engage more frequently with others' posts](https://sbmediashowcase.com/2856/studies/gender-and-social-media-use/#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20data%20from,they%20prefer%20to%20use%20it.) through comments and direct messages.\n\nAdditionally, [research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior found that women's social media communication tends to be more emotionally expressive](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8663575/) and relationship-focused, often using these platforms to provide and seek social support.\n\nThis relational approach has benefits—stronger connections, emotional support networks, and community building. But it also has downsides: higher susceptibility to social comparison, increased emotional labor of maintaining digital relationships, and, unfortunately, greater exposure to online harassment.\n\n### *Read also: [Do People Love To Hate Women Online?](https://www.workingal.com/articles/do-people-love-to-hate-women-online)*\n\n![woman engaging in social media](https://assets.workingal.com/psychology_women_social_media_333e45d3d0.webp)\n[A 2021 report from Amnesty International](https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/English.pdf) found that women—particularly women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with public platforms—experience disproportionately high rates of online abuse, harassment, and threatening behavior compared to men. This harassment often intensifies when women discuss topics like politics, social issues, or share professional expertise.\n\nUnderstanding these patterns isn't about reinforcing gender stereotypes. It's about recognizing how you might be using social media so you can make more conscious choices about your digital habits.\n\n## The Mental Health Impact You Need to Know About\n\nLet's be honest about what research shows: excessive social media use is linked to increased anxiety, depression, loneliness, and poor sleep quality—particularly for women.\n\nA [comprehensive study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology](https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751) found that limiting social media use to 30 minutes per day led to significant reductions in loneliness and depression. Another study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that people who spent more time on social media had higher levels of perceived social isolation.\n\nBut here's the nuance: it's not just about how much time you spend. It's about how you spend that time and how it makes you feel.\n\n[Passive scrolling (consuming others' content without engaging), especially in the morning,](https://www.workingal.com/articles/i-stop-scrolling-in-the-morning) is associated with worse mental health outcomes than active engagement (posting, commenting, connecting with people directly). When you passively scroll through curated highlight reels of others' lives, your brain naturally makes upward social comparisons—and you usually lose that comparison.\n\nThe comparison trap is particularly insidious because it's often unconscious. You're not actively thinking, \"I'm comparing myself to her.\" You're just noticing a vague feeling of inadequacy, dissatisfaction, or anxiety while scrolling.\n\n## Strategy 1: Audit Your Digital Diet\n\nIdentify which platforms, accounts, and behaviors make you feel good versus depleted.\n\nJust as you might track what foods make you feel energized versus sluggish, you can track how different social media activities affect your mood and energy.\n\n### Try the 48-Hour Social Media Awareness Exercise:\n\nFor two days, pause before and after each social media session and note:\n\n* What platform did you use?  \n* How long were you on it?  \n* What were you doing? (Scrolling, posting, messaging, engaging)  \n* How did you feel before? (Rate 1-10: mood, energy, anxiety)  \n* How did you feel after? (Rate 1-10 again)\n\nWhat you'll likely discover:\n\n* Certain accounts consistently make you feel bad (unfollow or mute them)  \n* Some platforms drain you more than others (limit or eliminate them)  \n* Active engagement feels better than passive scrolling  \n* Specific times of day (morning vs. evening) affect your experience\n\nThis awareness is the foundation of intentional use.\n\n## Strategy 2: Curate Your Feed Like Your Mental Health Depends On It\n\nActively shape what you see so your feed serves rather than depletes you.\n\nYour social media feed is not a neutral space—it's an environment you can design. Most people passively consume whatever the algorithm serves them, but you have more control than you think.\n\n### Aggressive Curation Tactics:\n\n**Unfollow liberally:** You don't owe anyone a follow. If an account makes you feel worse about yourself, triggers comparison, or consistently shares content that upsets you—unfollow. This includes:\n\n* People whose lifestyle triggers comparison or envy  \n* Accounts that post primarily appearance-focused content  \n* News accounts that create anxiety without actionable information  \n* Anyone who posts things that leave you feeling angry or depleted\n\n**Mute strategically:** For people you can't unfollow (coworkers, family), use the mute function. You stay connected without consuming their content.\n\n**Follow intentionally:** Actively seek out accounts that:\n\n![woman engaging in social media](https://assets.workingal.com/psychology_women_social_media_0ddaae2612.webp)\n\n* Provide practical value (career advice, financial tips, wellness information)  \n* Inspire without triggering comparison (people who share the process, not just the highlight reel)  \n* Make you laugh or feel lighter  \n* Represent diverse perspectives and experiences  \n* Share your professional interests or hobbies\n\n**Use lists and close friends features:** Most platforms let you create custom feeds or share with specific groups. This allows for a more intimate, meaningful connection without broadcasting to everyone.\n\n**Hide or snooze keywords:** Many platforms let you mute specific words or phrases. If election coverage, pandemic news, or certain topics trigger anxiety, temporarily mute those terms.\n\nYour feed should feel like a space that supports your goals and wellbeing, not a source of constant stress or comparison.\n\n## Strategy 3: Set Clear Boundaries and Limits\n\nEstablish rules for when, where, and how you engage with social media.\n\nWithout boundaries, social media will consume as much of your time and attention as you allow. Research shows that simply having your phone visible on your desk—even if you're not using it—reduces cognitive performance and working memory.\n\n### Effective Boundary Strategies:\n\n#### Time-based boundaries:\n\n* Use app timers (iPhone Screen Time, Android Digital Wellbeing)  \n* Designate \"social media hours\" (e.g., only between 12-1 pm and 7-8 pm)  \n* Implement a \"no phones after 9 pm\" rule for [better sleep](https://www.workingal.com/articles/revenge-bedtime-procrastination)  \n* Try the \"one minute per year of your age\" rule (if you're 30, limit to 30 minutes daily)\n\n#### Location-based boundaries:\n\n* No phones in the bedroom (get an actual alarm clock)  \n* No scrolling during meals or face-to-face conversations  \n* Keep your phone in another room while working on focused tasks  \n* Create phone-free zones in your home\n\n#### Behavioral boundaries:\n\n* Delete apps from your phone (access only via computer)  \n* Turn off all non-essential notifications  \n* Log out after each session (adds friction that reduces mindless use)  \n* Use grayscale mode (makes phones less visually appealing)\n\n**The key principle:** Add friction to behaviors you want to reduce and remove friction from behaviors you want to increase.\n\n## Strategy 4: Shift from Passive Consumption to Active Connection\n\nWhen you do use social media, focus on genuine interaction rather than endless scrolling.\n\nRemember: passive scrolling is associated with worse mental health outcomes. Active, intentional engagement can actually enhance well-being.\n\n### Ways to Engage More Actively:\n\n#### Instead of scrolling for 20 minutes:\n\n* Send direct messages to 3 people checking in or continuing conversations  \n* Leave thoughtful comments on posts from people you actually care about  \n* Share something valuable (article, resource, your own insight)  \n* Ask genuine questions in your niche communities\n\nPractice the \"five before scroll\" rule: Before allowing yourself to scroll, actively engage with five posts or people. Often, you'll find this genuine connection satisfies what you were seeking, and you won't even want to scroll afterward.\n\n#### Use social media for specific purposes:\n\n* Professional networking and career building  \n* Staying connected with distant friends and family  \n* Learning new skills or gathering information  \n* Finding community around specific interests or identities\n\n#### Avoid using it for:\n\n* Filling every moment of boredom or discomfort  \n* Numbing emotions you don't want to feel  \n* Seeking validation through likes and comments  \n* Distracting yourself from important tasks\n\nWhen you use social media with intention and purpose, it becomes a tool that serves you rather than a compulsion that controls you.\n\n## Strategy 5: Protect Yourself from Online Negativity\n\nDevelop strategies to handle criticism, harassment, and toxic interactions [without absorbing the negativity.](https://www.workingal.com/articles/negativity-bias)\n\nUnfortunately, if you have any kind of online presence—particularly if you share opinions on substantive topics—you'll likely encounter negativity. [Research shows that women receive disproportionate amounts of hostile and harassing comments online](https://www.workingal.com/articles/do-people-love-to-hate-women-online), especially when discussing politics, social issues, or demonstrating expertise.\n\n#### Protective Strategies:\n\nDon't engage with trolls or bad-faith actors: The data is clear—engaging with hostile comments rarely changes anyone's mind and often escalates the situation. Instead:\n\n* Delete hostile comments on your own posts  \n* Block or mute accounts that harass you  \n* Report serious harassment to the platform  \n* Don't feel obligated to respond to every criticism\n\n#### Limit comment reading. If you share content publicly, consider:\n\n* Turning off comments entirely  \n* Having a trusted friend screen comments before you read them  \n* Limiting yourself to reading comments only once, then moving on\n\n**Build a support network:** Connect with other women who share your experiences. Private groups, direct messages, and real-life friendships can provide perspective and support when online interactions become toxic.\n\n**Remember the \"1% rule\":** Studies show that [roughly 1% of users create the vast majority of hostile content online](https://arxiv.org/html/2508.16040v1). That angry comment doesn't represent the majority of people—it represents a small minority with outsized visibility.\n\n**Document serious harassment:** Save screenshots of threatening or harassing messages. If harassment escalates, you may need evidence for reporting to law enforcement or platform administrators.\n\n**Your voice and perspective matter.** Don't let the possibility of negativity silence you—but do protect your mental health by setting firm boundaries around what you will and won't tolerate.\n\n## Strategy 6: Practice Digital Detoxes Regularly\n\nBuild in regular breaks from social media to reset your relationship with technology.\n\nEven with intentional use, everyone benefits from periodic breaks. Research shows that even short social media breaks (one week) result in improved well-being, reduced anxiety, and increased life satisfaction.\n\n### Types of [Digital Detox](https://www.workingal.com/articles/digital-detox) to Try:\n\n#### Daily micro-detoxes:\n\n* First hour of the day: no phone  \n* Last hour before bed: no screens  \n* During meals: phones away  \n* One evening per week: completely screen-free\n\n#### Weekly detoxes:\n\n* One full day per week social-media-free  \n* \"Digital sunset\" on Sundays after 6 pm\n\n#### Extended detoxes:\n\n![woman engaging in social media](https://assets.workingal.com/psychology_women_social_media_b3af8ae797.webp)\n\n* One week off quarterly  \n* One month off annually  \n* Delete apps during vacation\n\n#### What to do instead:\n\n* [Read physical books](https://www.workingal.com/articles/books-for-fall)  \n* Have face-to-face conversations  \n* [Engage in hobbies that require your hands](https://www.workingal.com/articles/hobbies-for-work-life-balance) (cooking, crafting, gardening)  \n* Exercise and move your body  \n* Journal or reflect  \n* Simply be bored (it's okay\\!)\n\nMost people report that after an initial withdrawal period (yes, that's real), they feel significantly better, more present, and less anxious without social media. When they return, they're often able to use it more intentionally.\n\n## Strategy 7: Cultivate Authenticity Over Perfection\n\nShare real moments alongside curated ones, and engage with content that reflects actual life rather than performative perfection.\n\nOne of social media's most damaging effects is the culture of performative perfection—sharing only the highlight reel while everyone struggles privately. This creates a collective illusion where everyone feels inadequate because they're comparing their messy reality to [everyone else's curated best](https://www.workingal.com/articles/do-social-media-and-influencers-damage-our-body-image).\n\n### Ways to Practice Authenticity:\n\n**Share the process, not just the result:** Instead of only posting the promotion, share the rejections that came before it. Instead of just the beautiful vacation photo, share the travel mishap that made you laugh.\n\n**Be honest about struggles:** You don't need to share everything, but when appropriate, talking about challenges normalizes the human experience and often generates the most meaningful connection.\n\n**Engage with authentic content:** Follow and amplify people who share realistically, not just those with picture-perfect lives. Your engagement shapes what content gets visibility.\n\n**Remember that everyone curates:** When you see someone's seemingly perfect life, remember you're seeing a tiny, selected fraction of their reality. They have struggles too—they're just not posting about them.\n\n**Ask yourself:** \"Would I post this if there were no likes or comments?\" If the answer is no, examine your motivation. Are you seeking validation or sharing a genuine connection?\n\nAuthenticity doesn't mean oversharing or making yourself vulnerable in unsafe ways. It means being honest about the fact that life includes both beautiful moments and difficult ones—and not perpetuating the illusion that anyone has it all figured out.\n\n## A Reflection on Intentional Social Media Use\n\nSocial media isn't going anywhere. And for all its problems, it also offers genuine benefits: staying connected across distance, finding community, accessing information, building professional networks, and amplifying important messages.\n\nThe question isn't whether to use social media. It's how to use it in ways that enhance rather than diminish your life.\n\n#### Intentional use means:\n\n* Being conscious of how much time you spend and how it makes you feel  \n* Actively curating what you see to support your wellbeing  \n* [Setting clear boundaries](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqgiluUC4X0&t=424s) around when and how you engage  \n* Prioritizing genuine connection over passive consumption  \n* Protecting yourself from toxicity and harassment  \n* Taking regular breaks to reset your relationship with technology  \n* Sharing authentically rather than performing perfection\n\nSmall, consistent changes in how you use social media can significantly impact your mental health, relationships, productivity, and overall well-being. You have more control than you think—and you deserve to use these platforms in ways that serve your life rather than dominate it.\n\n","psychology-social-media-women","intentional social media use, psychology of social media, social media and mental health, healthy social media habits, social media boundaries, digital wellness, social media detox, online harassment women, authentic social media, social media comparison","Learn how to use social media more intentionally with strategies backed by psychology. From boundary-setting to authentic engagement, here's how to protect your mental health online.","2021-01-02","2021-01-02T13:38:47.817Z","2025-10-25T01:14:44.678Z","2021-01-02T13:39:05.230Z",{"id":430,"documentId":431,"name":432,"alternativeText":76,"caption":76,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":433,"hash":462,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":463,"url":464,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":465,"updatedAt":465,"publishedAt":465},51,"fjqsjr7gmwxy64wad33j76bh","social-media-according-to-gender-13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg",{"large":434,"small":441,"medium":448,"thumbnail":455},{"ext":82,"url":435,"etag":436,"hash":437,"mime":86,"name":438,"path":77,"size":439,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":440},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg","f1790c972e4a688297ad16e561912e8d","large_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe","large_social-media-according-to-gender-13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg",35.11,35112,{"ext":82,"url":442,"etag":443,"hash":444,"mime":86,"name":445,"path":77,"size":446,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":447},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg","c0b17774ba13d02b975cfc215a94e342","small_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe","small_social-media-according-to-gender-13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg",14.17,14172,{"ext":82,"url":449,"etag":450,"hash":451,"mime":86,"name":452,"path":77,"size":453,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":454},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg","9917d80eab4cc059242afe4cd171a8d1","medium_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe","medium_social-media-according-to-gender-13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg",23.99,23986,{"ext":82,"url":456,"etag":457,"hash":458,"mime":86,"name":459,"path":77,"size":460,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":461},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg","4885ca9d83bd03e209bf5ad46be37faa","thumbnail_social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe","thumbnail_social-media-according-to-gender-13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg",5.42,5417,"social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe",64.64,"https://assets.workingal.com/social_media_according_to_gender_13f191af08e33d15b535bb38bea1fb80ca8ac5d798ab77d6b0c5d2375d9856fe.jpg","2026-09-06T10:31:56.439Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":26,"documentId":390,"name":391,"slug":392,"instagram":393,"facebook":394,"bio":395,"linkedIn":396,"createdAt":397,"updatedAt":397,"publishedAt":398,"avatar":468},{"id":42,"documentId":400,"name":401,"alternativeText":402,"caption":403,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":469,"hash":412,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":413,"url":414,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":415,"updatedAt":415,"publishedAt":416},{"thumbnail":470},{"ext":141,"url":406,"etag":407,"hash":408,"mime":145,"name":409,"path":77,"size":410,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":411},{"id":73,"documentId":472,"title":473,"content":474,"slug":475,"coffees":26,"seo_title":473,"keywords":476,"seo_desc":477,"bylineDate":478,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":479,"updatedAt":480,"publishedAt":481,"featuredImage":482,"category":520,"author":521,"img":518},"s5d1pd4u8guel70tml0322o4","All You Need to Know about Freebirthing","### Many things have changed in the pandemic regarding the relationship between people and hospitals. \n\nThat is why *many women choose not to give birth in a hospital but at home*. This tactic existed even before COVID-19, but only a small percentage chose it. Since March 2020, **freebirthing** has increased.\n\n**Hospitals are no longer considered a safe place for a great number of women**. Pregnant women fear contracting the virus and believe that it is safer to give birth at home. So since hospitals have somehow lost their credibility due to the pandemic and often cannot meet people's needs, they are forced to operate outside the system. \n\nSome women choose to give birth at home is some *previous bad experience in the hospital*. A small but significant percentage of women report *treatment* by health care providers.\n\nApart from the pandemic, other women believe that giving birth at home, **in a familiar environment** will positively affect both the mother and the baby's psychology. At the same time, many women want to avoid medical interventions, such as medications, which they do not need, and to follow a natural birth procedure as much as possible.\n\nOn the other hand, many doctors have a different view of freebirthing. Everyone agrees that it's **a woman's right to decide about her child and her body**. However, she must be fully aware of her own and her child's health about the dangers behind this tactic. In case of complications during childbirth, a certified midwife must be present. Still, access to a hospital must be immediate. However, any lost time on the way to the hospital can be fatal. *Many studies demonstrate the dangers of freebirthing as the risk is higher for children born at home than children born in the hospital.*\n\nAnother problem that women who want to give birth at the home face are that they did not allow independent **midwives** to attend to pregnant women's homes due to the lockdown. Homebirth services were canceled, and for many, it was just before they gave birth. Many women *have now lost confidence in maternity services* and need time to rebuild it.\n\nHealth professionals support women's choices and want to make them more comfortable. The woman should be aware of the risks from childbirth at home; she should take all the necessary measures for herself and her child's safety. Also, she should be ready to turn to health professionals in case of any problem.\n\n**It is a woman's right** to experience this process as she wants and do anything to feel comfortable. The arrival of a child is a unique moment for a family. For this reason, she must, in any case, feel safe, but also be safe. \n","all-you-need-to-know-about-freebirthing","unassisted childbirth, what is freebirthing, wild birth, planned unassisted birth, birthing outside the system","Considering an unassisted birth? We break down the psychological reasons women choose freebirthing, the key legal facts, and the critical safety risks you must know.","2020-12-30","2020-12-30T19:17:31.347Z","2025-10-24T01:51:41.473Z","2020-12-30T19:40:37.077Z",{"id":483,"documentId":484,"name":485,"alternativeText":486,"caption":486,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":487,"hash":516,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":517,"url":518,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":519,"updatedAt":519,"publishedAt":519},49,"e8op338b7jgmtvyfdqd3cyz7","all you need to know about freebirthing-3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","all you need to know about freebirthing",{"large":488,"small":495,"medium":502,"thumbnail":509},{"ext":82,"url":489,"etag":490,"hash":491,"mime":86,"name":492,"path":77,"size":493,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":494},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","ca8f84446364742bd30d7b45054250b3","large_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e","large_all you need to know about freebirthing-3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg",53.19,53192,{"ext":82,"url":496,"etag":497,"hash":498,"mime":86,"name":499,"path":77,"size":500,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":501},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","6ba9f6e60956ed83faeb5aac6e7f9ed2","small_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e","small_all you need to know about freebirthing-3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg",17.01,17014,{"ext":82,"url":503,"etag":504,"hash":505,"mime":86,"name":506,"path":77,"size":507,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":508},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","a97d95b140fc60f91d053656bdbff904","medium_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e","medium_all you need to know about freebirthing-3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg",33.23,33230,{"ext":82,"url":510,"etag":511,"hash":512,"mime":86,"name":513,"path":77,"size":514,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":515},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","3ca4e199cccf8e8804f60bf6865757c4","thumbnail_all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e","thumbnail_all you need to know about freebirthing-3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg",5.53,5530,"all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e",108.93,"https://assets.workingal.com/all_you_need_to_know_about_freebirthing_3a979b7e5b99496887159973a21b5583ef78ed5aaee241f5139f94d7f4daaf4e.jpg","2026-09-06T10:31:54.999Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":11,"documentId":205,"name":206,"slug":207,"instagram":208,"facebook":209,"bio":210,"linkedIn":211,"createdAt":212,"updatedAt":212,"publishedAt":213,"avatar":522},{"id":160,"documentId":215,"name":216,"alternativeText":217,"caption":217,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":523,"hash":226,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":227,"url":228,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":229,"updatedAt":229,"publishedAt":229},{"thumbnail":524},{"ext":141,"url":220,"etag":221,"hash":222,"mime":145,"name":223,"path":77,"size":224,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":225},{"id":526,"documentId":527,"title":528,"content":529,"slug":530,"coffees":26,"seo_title":528,"keywords":531,"seo_desc":532,"bylineDate":478,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":533,"updatedAt":534,"publishedAt":535,"featuredImage":536,"category":574,"author":575,"img":572},64,"furkx5li18cyao5hbmdnf9sy","Fawcett Equality Report: Gender Stereotyping is Harming Young People’s mental health","#### Gender stereotyping has helped raise the UK mental health crisis afflicting the younger generation, as the **Fawcett Equality Report** has warned. \n\nAlso, according to the report, it is at the root of body image and eating disorders, record male suicide rates, and violence against women girls.\n\nAs Sam Smethers, Fawcett Society Chief Executive, mentions, *“Gender stereotyping is everywhere and causes serious, long-lasting harm –that’s the clear message from the research for the Commission. From 'boys will be boys' attitudes in nursery or school, to jobs for boys and jobs for girls views among some parents, these stereotypes are deeply embedded, and they last a lifetime.”*\n\nStereotypes also limit youngsters’ **career choices**, which contributes to the gender pay gap. According to the research findings, stereotyping persists in parenting, education, and the commercial sector, i.e., toys, books, and fashion. Therefore, the commission **calls on the government to support teachers and parents**.\n\nThe commission urges the Department for Education *to challenge gender stereotypes a priority through teaching* – from initial training to the curriculum to inspection frameworks. It also encourages toy companies to drop separate categories in their advertising and product design. Designers can end stereotypical imagery and slogans on clothes, and female characters’ representation improved in books, TV, and online content.\n\nSam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: *“Gender stereotyping is everywhere and causes serious, long-lasting harm – that’s the clear message from the research for the commission. From “boys will be boys” attitudes in nursery or school, to jobs for boys and jobs for girls views among some parents, these stereotypes are deeply embedded, and they last a lifetime. We need to end the ‘princessification’ of girls and the toxification of boys.”*\n\nThe report culminated in an 18-month research and evidence gathering, co-chaired by *Prof Becky Francis* – now chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation and Labour MP David Lammy – formerly co-chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on fatherhood.\n\nThe exercise brought together a wide-ranging group of stakeholders, from online parenting group Mumsnet and the National Childbirth Trust, the National Education Union, campaigning group Let Toys Be Toys, Usborne Books, and educational publisher Pearson.\n\nMost parents recognize a problem in the home, with three-quarters saying **people treat boys and girls differently from an early age**. They are also seven times more likely to picture their sons working in construction and almost three times as likely to see their daughters in nursing or care work.\n\nWhen playgroup and nursery workers and primary school teachers were asked whether they had seen or heard gender stereotypes perpetuated, more than half said they had “often” or *“sometimes” witnessed people say “boys will be boys” when they misbehaved*.\n\nKevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “As a nation, we’re not making fast enough progress on equality between men and women. Issues such as subject choices in education and unequal pay in the workforce all flow from gender stereotypes. The NEU welcomes a conversation about the curriculum practices that could help teachers challenge gender stereotypes.”\n\nIn retail, an audit of 141 high street shops and 44 online retailers found that children’s clothes, cards, and stationery were often sold using explicit segregation, and toys showcased using pink and blue. However, two-thirds of parents said they wanted to see **companies advertise items to boys and girls in the same way**.\n\nLast year, a charter was drawn up by the French government with toy manufacturers and retailers to counter insidious messaging that discouraged girls from engineering and computer coding.\n\n\nReferences\n\n[GENDER STEREOTYPES ARE LIMITING CHILDREN’S POTENTIAL AND CAUSING LIFELONG HARM](https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/news/gender-stereotypes-significantly-limiting-childrens-potential-causing-lifelong-harm-commission-finds)\n\n[Gender stereotyping is harming young people's mental health, finds UK report](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/15/gender-stereotyping-is-harming-young-peoples-mental-health-finds-uk-report)\n","fawcett-equality-report-gender-stereotyping-is-harming-young-people-s-mental-health","gender, equality, fawcett, stereotypes, boys, girls","Gender stereotyping has helped raise the UK mental health crisis afflicting the younger generation, as the **Fawcett Equality Report** has warned. It adds that it is at the root of body image and eating disorders, record male suicide rates, and violence against women girls.","2020-12-30T18:13:57.958Z","2023-10-25T05:25:35.153Z","2020-12-30T18:20:21.179Z",{"id":537,"documentId":538,"name":539,"alternativeText":540,"caption":540,"focalPoint":77,"width":78,"height":79,"formats":541,"hash":570,"ext":82,"mime":86,"size":571,"url":572,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":573,"updatedAt":573,"publishedAt":573},48,"r6p5nrf0hitw136wdmfr5ybo","stereotypes-gender-equality-140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","stereotypes-gender-equality",{"large":542,"small":549,"medium":556,"thumbnail":563},{"ext":82,"url":543,"etag":544,"hash":545,"mime":86,"name":546,"path":77,"size":547,"width":89,"height":90,"sizeInBytes":548},"https://assets.workingal.com/large_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","408b8099a1c603b5ad8c4d8c685125d7","large_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9","large_stereotypes-gender-equality-140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg",91.24,91236,{"ext":82,"url":550,"etag":551,"hash":552,"mime":86,"name":553,"path":77,"size":554,"width":98,"height":99,"sizeInBytes":555},"https://assets.workingal.com/small_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","070823f7592b6d4785751aa26f5a17ff","small_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9","small_stereotypes-gender-equality-140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg",27.54,27535,{"ext":82,"url":557,"etag":558,"hash":559,"mime":86,"name":560,"path":77,"size":561,"width":107,"height":108,"sizeInBytes":562},"https://assets.workingal.com/medium_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","0d422e3dc3935f19a55c6312f59ad74f","medium_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9","medium_stereotypes-gender-equality-140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg",55.61,55609,{"ext":82,"url":564,"etag":565,"hash":566,"mime":86,"name":567,"path":77,"size":568,"width":116,"height":117,"sizeInBytes":569},"https://assets.workingal.com/thumbnail_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","e65ca091d6b25db415f02e9a641ef940","thumbnail_stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9","thumbnail_stereotypes-gender-equality-140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg",8.45,8448,"stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9",199.29,"https://assets.workingal.com/stereotypes_gender_equality_140cfb9ba1af7d9e115148d6282aaf4fccaa94bfc3947433083cd92099ebd5e9.jpg","2026-09-06T10:31:54.270Z",{"id":6,"documentId":7,"name":8,"slug":9,"createdAt":48,"updatedAt":48,"publishedAt":49},{"id":26,"documentId":390,"name":391,"slug":392,"instagram":393,"facebook":394,"bio":395,"linkedIn":396,"createdAt":397,"updatedAt":397,"publishedAt":398,"avatar":576},{"id":42,"documentId":400,"name":401,"alternativeText":402,"caption":403,"focalPoint":77,"width":138,"height":138,"formats":577,"hash":412,"ext":141,"mime":145,"size":413,"url":414,"previewUrl":77,"provider":122,"provider_metadata":77,"createdAt":415,"updatedAt":415,"publishedAt":416},{"thumbnail":578},{"ext":141,"url":406,"etag":407,"hash":408,"mime":145,"name":409,"path":77,"size":410,"width":148,"height":148,"sizeInBytes":411},{"id":580,"documentId":581,"title":582,"content":583,"slug":584,"coffees":160,"seo_title":582,"keywords":585,"seo_desc":586,"bylineDate":587,"bylineTimezone":68,"createdAt":588,"updatedAt":589,"publishedAt":590,"featuredImage":591,"category":629,"author":630,"img":627},60,"iizuaipmm43yunad7lns1q9u","Margaret Thatcher: From Margaret Roberts to the Iron Lady | Inspirational Women","## From Grocer's Daughter to the Iron Lady\n\nOn May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street and recited the Prayer of Saint Francis: *\"Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.\"* The irony would not be lost on history. The woman who had just become Britain's first female Prime Minister would go on to become one of the most transformative—and divisive—[leaders](https://www.workingal.com/articles/miranda-priestly-management-style) of the twentieth century.\n\nMargaret Thatcher was not born into privilege. She did not inherit wealth or political connections. She climbed her way to the highest office in British politics through sheer determination, intellectual rigor, and an iron will that would eventually earn her the nickname that defined her legacy. Whether you admire her or despise her—and few people fall anywhere in between—her story remains one of the most remarkable political journeys of the modern era.\n\n## The Grocer's Daughter\n\nMargaret Hilda Roberts was born on October 13, 1925, in Grantham, a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Her father, Alfred Roberts, ran a grocery shop and served as a local alderman—and later, mayor. Her mother, Beatrice, was a dressmaker before marriage. The family lived in a flat above the shop, without running hot water or an indoor toilet until Margaret was a teenager.\n\nAlfred Roberts was the dominant influence on young Margaret's life. A Methodist lay preacher and self-educated man, he instilled in her the values that would shape her political philosophy: hard work, self-reliance, thrift, and the belief that individuals, not governments, should be responsible for improving their own lives. Margaret would later credit her father with everything she became: \"I owe almost everything to my father.\"\n\nShe was academically brilliant. At Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, she excelled in everything she attempted, eventually winning a place at Somerville College, Oxford—one of the women's colleges at the university. She studied chemistry, but her true passion was already politics. At Oxford, she became president of the university's Conservative Association, one of the first women to hold that position.\n\n## Finding Her Way Into Politics\n\n![margaret thatcher inspiration](https://assets.workingal.com/thatcher0408130001_16_9_3c18bc2122.jpg)\n\n*[Photo](https://share.google/l5Uxxm9L1RQ1NVHVd)*\n\nAfter graduating, Roberts worked as a research chemist and later trained as a barrister, specializing in taxation. But politics remained her obsession. In 1950, at just 24 years old, she became the youngest woman ever to stand as a Conservative parliamentary candidate, running in the safe Labour seat of Dartford. She knew she wouldn't win—Dartford was solidly working-class territory—but that wasn't the point. She was making herself known.\n\nShe ran again in 1951, losing again but significantly reducing the Labour majority. More importantly, she had caught the attention of Denis Thatcher, a wealthy businessman who had heard her speak at a political function. They married in 1951, and Margaret Roberts became Margaret Thatcher.\n\nDenis Thatcher's financial support gave Margaret the freedom to pursue her political ambitions while raising their twins, Carol and Mark, born in 1953\\. In 1959, she finally won a seat in Parliament, representing the safe Conservative constituency of Finchley in North London—a seat she would hold for the next 33 years.\n\n## The Climb to Number 10\n\nThatcher's rise through Conservative ranks was steady but not meteoric. In 1970, she was appointed Secretary of State for Education under Prime Minister Edward Heath. It was in this role that she earned her first controversial nickname: \"Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher,\" after she ended free school milk for children aged seven to eleven. The policy was actually a continuation of a Labour initiative, but Thatcher became the face of it—and the target of public anger.\n\nWhen Heath lost two elections in 1974, Thatcher sensed opportunity. In February 1975, she challenged him for the party [leadership](https://www.workingal.com/articles/the-most-effective-leadership-books-you-will-ever-read)—something no one expected her to win. The Conservative establishment underestimated her. She won on the second ballot, becoming the first woman to lead a major British political party. Four years later, amid economic chaos, strikes, and the [\"Winter of Discontent,\"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_Discontent) she led the Conservatives to victory in the general election.\n\n## Eleven Years at Number 10\n\nMargaret Thatcher served as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990—the longest continuous tenure in that office since the early nineteenth century, and the longest of any British Prime Minister in the twentieth century. In that time, she fundamentally reshaped British society, economy, and politics. The question of whether that reshaping was beneficial or destructive depends entirely on whom you ask.\n\nHer economic policies—later dubbed \"Thatcherism\"—centered on free markets, deregulation, privatization of state-owned industries, and reducing the power of trade unions. She sold off nationalized companies like British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways, and British Steel. She introduced \"right to buy\" legislation, allowing council house tenants to purchase their homes, creating millions of new homeowners. She cut top tax rates and reduced government spending.\n\nSupporters credit her with reviving a stagnant British economy, ending the chaos of constant strikes, and restoring Britain's standing in the world. Critics blame her for devastating manufacturing communities, widening inequality, creating mass unemployment, and destroying the social fabric of working-class Britain. Both perspectives contain truth.\n\n## The Falklands and the Iron Lady\n\nIn April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British territory in the South Atlantic. Thatcher's response was swift and decisive: she assembled a naval task force and sent it 8,000 miles to reclaim the islands. The war lasted 74 days and cost 255 British lives (and over 600 Argentine), but Britain emerged victorious.\n\nThe Falklands victory cemented Thatcher's reputation for resolve and transformed her political fortunes. She had been deeply unpopular before the war, with unemployment soaring above three million. After it, she won the 1983 election in a landslide. To her supporters, the Falklands demonstrated strength and principle. To her critics, it demonstrated a dangerous willingness to use military force and the cost of lives for political gain.\n\nIt was a Soviet journalist who gave her the nickname \"Iron Lady\" in 1976, meant as an insult. Thatcher embraced it. *\"I stand before you tonight in my Red Star chiffon evening gown,\"* she joked at a Conservative dinner, *\"my face softly made up, and my fair hair gently waved—the Iron Lady of the [Western world](https://www.workingal.com/articles/the-illusion-of-safety-are-women-safe-in-the-western-world).\"*\n\n## The Controversies That Defined Her\n\nThatcher's relationship with trade unions was confrontational from the start, but it reached its peak during the miners' strike of 1984-85. When the National Coal Board announced pit closures, the National Union of Mineworkers, led by Arthur Scargill, called a strike. For a full year, mining communities across Britain held out—and Thatcher refused to back down.\n\n![margaret thatcher biography](https://assets.workingal.com/8310120376_Lead_72dbadb40d.JPG)\n\n*[Photo](https://share.google/dM77fhMeGPzMV6Fr7)*\n\nThe strike ended in defeat for the miners. Pits closed across the country, destroying communities that had depended on coal mining for generations. For Thatcher supporters, this was a necessary economic correction and a victory over union militancy. For her opponents, it was deliberate destruction of working-class communities and a vindictive campaign against organized labor. Decades later, the wounds have not fully healed.\n\nHer final controversy proved her undoing. The Community Charge—universally known as the \"poll tax\"—replaced local property taxes with a flat per-person charge. The policy was widely seen as unfair, taxing a duke the same amount as his gardener. Riots erupted in London in March 1990\\. Within months, her own party had turned against her, and in November 1990, Margaret Thatcher was forced to resign.\n\n## The Woman Behind the Image\n\nThatcher was not known for warmth. She famously survived on four hours of [sleep a night](https://www.workingal.com/articles/sleep-hygiene) and expected the same dedication from everyone around her. She had little patience for weakness, indecision, or what she saw as sentimentality. *\"If you want something said, ask a man,\"* she once remarked. *\"If you want something done, ask a woman.\"*\n\nHer marriage to Denis appears to have been a genuine partnership. He supported her ambitions without competing with them, provided stability and financial security, and stayed largely out of the spotlight while she dominated it. When asked about their relationship, Denis famously replied, \"I don't pretend to run the country. She doesn't pretend to run me.\"\n\nAfter leaving office, Thatcher remained active in public life for years, though dementia gradually diminished her capacities. Denis Thatcher died in 2003\\. Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87\\. Her funeral at St Paul's Cathedral was attended by over 2,000 guests, including Queen Elizabeth II—a rare honor. Outside, some mourners wept while others celebrated. In death as in life, she divided opinion.\n\n## A Legacy That Still Divides\n\nMargaret Thatcher was, undeniably, a woman who shattered glass ceilings. She became Prime Minister at a time when few women held positions of political power anywhere in the world. She proved that [gender was no barrier](https://www.workingal.com/articles/mind-the-gap-the-fight-for-gender-equal-compensation) to the highest office—and that women could be just as tough, just as decisive, and just as controversial as any man.\n\nBut she was not a feminist icon in any conventional sense. She appointed only one woman to her cabinet in eleven years. She expressed little interest in advancing women's causes and once said she owed \"nothing to women's lib.\" Her success, she believed, was entirely her own—and if other [women wanted success](https://www.workingal.com/articles/habits-of-successful-women), they could earn it the same way.\n\nWhether you see her as a necessary modernizer who saved Britain from economic decline or a destructive ideologue who tore communities apart depends largely on your politics—and, often, on where you grew up. In the former mining towns of northern England, Wales, and Scotland, her name is still spoken with bitterness. In the boardrooms of the City of London, she remains a hero.\n\nWhat no one disputes is her significance. She changed the terms of British political debate so thoroughly that even the Labour Party eventually accepted much of her economic legacy. She formed one of the defining political partnerships of the Cold War era with Ronald Reagan. She proved that conviction politics—the refusal to compromise, to seek consensus, to moderate—could win.\n\n## Seeing Her Story: The Iron Lady (2011)\n\n![meryl streep as margaret thatcher](https://assets.workingal.com/30_IRON_article_Large_ff2557a5ce.jpg)\n\n*[Photo](https://share.google/9pe52PDkLPhyK9mmW)*\n\nIf you want to understand Margaret Thatcher beyond the political talking points, there's no better place to start than \"The Iron Lady,\" the 2011 biographical film directed by Phyllida Lloyd. Meryl Streep's portrayal of Thatcher won her a third Academy Award for Best Actress—and it's easy to see why.\n\nThe film takes an unconventional approach, framing Thatcher's life through the lens of her declining years as she struggles with dementia and reflects on her past. Through flashbacks, we see her journey from grocer's daughter to Oxford student to young politician to Prime Minister. Streep doesn't just impersonate Thatcher—she inhabits her, capturing the voice, the mannerisms, the steely determination, and, eventually, the vulnerability of a woman whose mind is betraying her.\n\nJim Broadbent plays Denis Thatcher with warmth and humor, showing the supportive partnership behind the public image. The film doesn't shy away from Thatcher's controversial decisions—the Falklands, the miners' strike, the poll tax—but it also humanizes her in ways that pure political analysis cannot.\n\n\"The Iron Lady\" isn't a political endorsement or condemnation. It's a portrait of a woman who achieved extraordinary things, paid extraordinary costs, and lived long enough to watch her own story become history. Whether you agree with her politics or not, the film offers a compelling, deeply human look at one of the twentieth century's most formidable leaders.\n\n## What Her Story Teaches Us\n\nMargaret Thatcher was not a role model in the traditional sense. She was not nurturing or warm. She did not lift other women up behind her or champion causes beyond her own convictions. She could be brutal, dismissive, and uncompromising to the point of self-destruction.\n\nBut there are lessons in her story nonetheless. She proved that background does not determine destiny—that a grocer's daughter from a provincial town could reach the highest office through preparation, persistence, and absolute refusal to be underestimated. She demonstrated that conviction, however unpopular, has its own kind of power. And she showed that women could [occupy spaces that had always been reserved for men](https://www.workingal.com/articles/women-in-male-dominated-industries)—not by asking permission, but by taking them.\n\nYou don't have to agree with Margaret Thatcher to learn from her. You don't have to like her to acknowledge what she achieved. And in a world where women are still [underrepresented in positions](https://www.workingal.com/articles/why-women-are-underrepresented-in-leadership-positions) of political power, her story—complicated, controversial, and impossible to ignore—remains relevant.\n\n## In Her Own Words\n\n*\"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.\"*\n\n*\"If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.\"*\n\n*\"I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.\"*\n\n*\"Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.\"*\n\n*\"To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't an excellent plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.\"*\n\n## Related Reading\n\n*Explore more stories of remarkable women and leadership:* \n\n[Inspirational Women: Ada Lovelace, The First Computer Programmer](https://www.workingal.com/articles/inspirational-women-ada-lovelace)\n\n[Lessons from Oprah: How She Built an Empire by Staying True to Herself](https://www.workingal.com/articles/oprah-winfrey-leadership)\n\n[Emmeline Pankhurst: A Champion of Women's Suffrage](https://www.workingal.com/articles/emmeline-pankhurst-a-champion-of-women-s-suffrage)\n\n## Sources & Further Reading\n\n[Margaret Thatcher Biography \\- Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/political-figure/margaret-thatcher)\n\n[Margaret Thatcher Foundation \\- Official Archive](https://www.margaretthatcher.org/)\n\n[The Iron Lady (2011) \\- IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1007029/)\n\n[Britannica \\- Margaret Thatcher](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Thatcher)\n\n","inspirational-margaret-thatcher","Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady, first female Prime Minister UK, Thatcher biography, The Iron Lady movie, inspirational women, women in politics","Margaret Thatcher broke barriers as Britain's first female Prime Minister. 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