Will Western women save the world?

The Dalai Lama certainly thinks so – he’s said as much. This is not an insult to Eastern women; just an acknowledgment that affluent, self-realised Western women have a much better chance of rescuing the planet than less affluent Eastern women who may still be in survival mode.

Up until now we have had a massive imbalance between masculine and feminine power. Certainly in the past 100 years, we have been solving problems on the planet in a linear way, as if they are technical challenges. But in solving one problem, we often create another.

As Einstein said, you can’t solve a problem using the same thinking that created it. We need to start looking at solutions that pay attention to the consequences and get a better grasp of relationships of all kinds. This is the kind of thinking that comes naturally to women.

I was reading an article the other day in which a senior figure in the financial markets admitted that the crash of 2008 might never have happened had there been more women in senior positions on trading floors and in banks.

Without wanting to generalise about gender, women tend to be more risk-averse than men and will think through all the possible consequences of their actions.

Women intuitively think about systems; they seek balance; they care more about the solution than who gets the credit; they collaborate rather than go off on an ego trip.

So how will Western women save the planet? I think that depends on them owning their power and turning up in the world with their gifts and talents. It really starts on the individual level, working through and letting go of all your limiting self-beliefs, faulty thinking and old scripts.

If you don’t believe you are powerful then no one else will. Only it’s not the old type of masculine power I’m talking about – it’s the much more nuanced, nurturing, creative feminine power.

Is there something you want to create – a work of art, a business, a song, a charity – but you don’t have the confidence to start? Just do it. Start now, take baby steps and honour the unfolding of the process. The world needs you now!