Empower: What does it ACTUALLY mean?

Over the past few years, the word “empower” has become quite popular. Newspaper articles, podcasts, and even news stations have increasingly started using it, mostly in relation to minority groups. This leaves us with a predicament: what does “empower” actually mean? What is a definition that encompasses all the aspects of the word and more? How can we, as women, use the word in order to express our emotions and stance towards social issues(or something else)?

According to the dictionary, “empower” means “to give official authority or legal power to” or “to promote the self-actualization or influence of”. So according to Merriam Webster, “empower” means to promote power for yourself/something/someone. It describes the action of making someone feel like they are in control of their own person and aren’t weak. Now this is a breakdown of the literal definition, but I believe that the word “empower” is a potent one and can incorporate so much more.

The word “empower” conveys the feeling of a women empowerment group (like PowHER Up!). It reveals our belief that women don’t feel powerful - or don’t have power . In fact, feelings of weakness and vulnerability are common in many women . Women don’t feel confident, loved, or smart. Everyday, women have people putting them down, and no matter how hard they try to block it out, they can’t. Every insult makes them shrink in self-esteem. Comments that tell women proper ways to behave and that tear at our self-worth have been thrown for hundreds of years, leading to the status-quo surrounding us today. We are now seen as “weak”, “dumb”, and “unpractical”; no matter how items we invent, how many businesses we start, and how many books we publish, our status in society as viewed as lesser beings has not changed. The word “empower” conveys the history of women. By putting the word in front of us, we are showing everyone that the world may have pushed us down and made us weak, but we are rising back up to claim power.

The word “empower” also suggests that help/support is on the way. In order to empower women, we first have to help them fulfill their needs. This includes the basics like providing women with period kits, helping girls and teenagers love their body, and raising money so that girls all over the world can go to school. Even if these actions seem small, they will help females feel more confident. They will be able to hold their head higher in society. Empowerment doesn’t stop at these basic needs though. It carries on to more pressing issues like how to change the world’s view of women. This can be achieved through helping more girls enter STEM and rallying women to speak up against people who put them down. All of this and more will help empower women to take charge of themselves in today’s world.

Finally, “empower” foreshadows the future. It implies that one day, all women will have power for themselves. All women will hold their head up high. All women will be able to be happy with themselves. By putting the word “empower” in front of women, we are telling the world that we will fight until every societal problem that a woman faces will be gone. It sheds light into the future, helping women stay strong by letting them know that one day, their daughter will be more powerful than they were, an equally qualified being in society, not judged or discriminated against because of sex or gender.