What Are the Qualities the Woman of Today Needs in Order to Be Successful?

"What are the qualities the woman of today needs in order to be successful?" In order to answer this question, firstly it is essential to define successful. What is `success'? What does it mean to the woman of today?

To most of us, `success' is attained when we have reached all our goals, targets and objectives in life. In addition, all of us have to reach other goals, targets and objectives set on us by the pressures of society before we are deemed successful in society's eyes. Each woman has vastly different goals in life. Thus, a woman's personal success is not measurable and not comparable to other women because such goals may only be known to herself. Society's expectations are more definite and precise, and they affect all the women in the society. She must be a good citizen, contributing to and serving actively in the labour force. Sloe must be a good wife and mother, fulfilling all the traditional roles of women. She must balance both roles. She can forsake neither in favour of the other. If she concentrates on her, career and postpones or avoids marriage and motherhood altogether, she is deemed to have fallen short of the basic traditional expectations of a woman. If she were to give up her job when marriage comes a-knocking and pleases the in-laws by bearing and raising children, she is deemed to have short-changed the society, especially after all the education she has received.

There are thus many varied qualities that a woman must possess today to be considered successful. These can be examined in relation to the roles she has to fulfil in this society. Firstly , by the time she reaches womanhood, she is expected to have been a good youth, obtaining a good education. When she embarks on her career, she is expected to put all that acquired knowledge to productive use. The woman must be as productive and competent as any man. She must be hardworking, meticulous and punctual, on top of a host of other qualities such as law-abiding and co-operative.

The second major role is of mother and wife. As a wife, a woman must fulfil all the traditional requirements. Her 'job' as a wife requires her to be a companion, cook, maid and soul-mate all rolled into one. Even in today's society, she is expected to be submissive to the `master' of the household. She is thus required to set aside her preoccupations with her job and concentrate solely on her family. As a mother, a woman must be cook, teacher and maid. She must have the traditional qualities that have been around for centuries. This is because despite all the progress that 'society has made, the responsibility of bringing up the children still falls on the mother's shoulders. The father tends to take a backseat either because he does not know what to do, or he chooses not to.

All these roles are very varied. Thus the qualities that: a woman must possess are numerous and demanding. Two very important qualities that will help her to reach all the other qualities are time-management and the ability to prioritise. In the days gone by, men were the sole breadwinners of the househcld. The women could thus sit around to mind the children and the house all day. But with the progress and development of the past decades, women are expected to leave the house and help bring the bacon home. This shift outwards, however, does not necessarily mean that her husband would step in and help complement her role at home. Such husbands are in the minority. No matter how big a role women play in the workforce, the men still view themselves as masters of the households. Even if they have a wife bringing home an equally large salary, the, would still lord it over the household. A married woman would now have to balance two full-time jabs, as a worker and as a wife. The issue is compounded if there are children. They need proper guidance and have to be brought up correctly. The woman must set her priorities and balance her limited time among all these tasks.

I have attempted to analyse the various callings of women today and the qualities they require to meet such roles. To list them down would take forever. I believe that men ought to play a larger role in the household just as women are playing a larger one outside it. The present generation of men have been largely brought up in homes where the mistress of the household way a full-time mother and wife. This could be why many women now shy away from marriage and motherhood. Some postpone it and some avoid it like the plague. Hopefully, things would change for the better in future. I think they would because the next generation of men would have beer, brought up by women who are severely pressurised by today's society and would influence the thinking of these, husbands-to-be. On a lighter note, I believe that unless a woman is avoiding marriage altogether, the best quality she could have is an ability to find a good and understanding husband.