The Age Of Influential Women

We seem to be entering an era of influential women unlike anything we’ve seen in modern history

That may seem like a little bit of an exaggeration, but when you look at some of the trends in politics and influence these last few years, it’s an idea worth considering. To name just a few examples:

• #WomenAreNATO – The #WomenAreNATO trends this site has discussed before sum up the activities of several women doing remarkable things in foreign and security affairs. Their actions are not necessarily “firsts,” but they represent a wave of women exerting power over areas that have for the most part been dominated by men in modern history.
• The Women’s March – Faced with a president associated with infidelity, accusations of harassment and, by his own admission, sexual assault, women (and supportive men) throughout America famously conducted the “Women’s March” in one of the largest political demonstrations in history. This movement is largely credited with helping to sweep an unprecedented number of female leaders into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018.
• Female Candidates In The U.S. – Continuing with American politics, the world is also about to watch a record number of female candidates vying for the presidency in 2020. In some countries this wouldn’t be new, but U.S. politics command a massive stage and influence the world, and it’s going to be quite something to see a race that involves so many women. Furthermore a few of them – senators Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, in particular – are believed to have a real chance to win.

There are more examples of women’s movements and growing roles around the globe. The focus here however isn’t entirely on what we’ve seen so much as how it might have come about. And to that point, it’s worth exploring the potential impact of pop culture here.

That may sound somewhat strange, but the reality of modern life is that pop culture exerts enormous influence over us. It helps to dictate how we act, what we pay attention to, what we value, and ultimately how we think. Given this, perhaps it isn’t so surprising that the international women’s movements listed above have largely coincided with a growing presence of women in some of our biggest pop culture mediums. Again, consider a few examples: