Women supporting women: what to stop and start doing

We hear a lot about how women should support women but what does it actually look like and how can we do it genuinely? This was a blog request and I gotta be honest, I wasn’t sure how to write about it. I haven’t had a super strong and consistent presence of women in my life and I’m sure that’s partly my fault. To say this was intimidating to write wouldn’t be far off. I can only speak from my experience and I acknowledge this won’t be every self-identifying woman’s experience.

The Righteous Woman and The Queen Bee

The Righteous Woman

“The Righteous Woman” archetype believes it’s our moral obligation as women to lift each other up, to support each other, and to help one another since we all experience sexism. Madeleine Albright once said, “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!”

You see this when women start organizations to help women who are struggling. I think of The Cyclists’ Alliance — an organization representing professional women cyclists in UCI Women’s World Tour Events. It’s operated by and solely benefits women because they know the plight of the women’s professional peloton.

Iris Slappendel could be considered “The Righteous Woman” for starting the Cyclists’ Alliance, being…