The Green-eyed monster among women

Jealous women    PHOTO: COURTESY

By Poshia Musesya (@pmusesya)

Women have been termed as their own worst  enemy. Recently, I went out dancing with my female friends, we met at a cosy restaurant that had some good live band on stage. In our company, were two men, one black African, the other was white. As we danced and made merry, I noticed that the two men were engaged in serious conversation and I sought to find out what it was that they were engrossed in. I mean, it is night, the band is entertaining and they are in the company of three beautiful women, what serious conversation would take place in such a setting? It should be noted that the two men had never met before; they were however, dating my two friends who knew each other.

I had to ask what they were talking about so I took my curious self to where they were seated. They were discussing business and prospective money-generating activities that they can engage while in Kenya. You should have seen them talk, they looked like they had known each other for a long time.

I looked around the club. Most of the women were on the dancing floor, moving their hips in provocative ways as they seduced their men, most of whom were left seated on the table, sipping their drinks. I took a walk around the club and realized that men were talking, occassionally lifting their heads to glance in the direction of their women, who would in turn move their hips and other body parts suggestively.

As I sat down with my "girls" after a dancing session, one of them observed that women would never be equal to men in the economic world because men have a strong powerful weapon that most women do not possess. MEN SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK. I started to disagree, but I had to hold my tongue when I noticed that the men we were seated with had already exchanged contacts with four other men seated on a different table.

What about the women in the club? Oh, we danced and eyed each others dress and commented on the shoes that "that girl seated on that table was wearing" or the way "that girl was dressed in a short dress which did not flatter her body shape." Did I forget to mention that we were on the look-out for that woman who would dare come near 'my man'?

So, are women really their own worst enemies? Do we seize opportunities to network and build business relations? Or do we size each other and refrain from making important contacts just because we are women?

That was an important lesson on that day. Business relations can be formed anywhere, at any time. Be it in a nightclub, in a salon during manicures, or in the toilet. Have you ever considered that the person seated next to you in a salon might be the CEO of a company and may offer you an internship/job? Or do you stare at her hairdo and silently pray that the relaxer burns her scalp?

I do not believe that women are jealous of each other, I just think that we pass up many opportunities to network and be great. No wonder, there are very few women leaders in the corporate world as compared to men. 

Happy International Women’s Day!

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