On the occasion of the Women’s Day, Jeanne SISSOKO-ZEZE, Coach in Personal Branding and General Director of Reflet Consulting, joins the editorial staff of Financial Afrik to discuss the big topic of the day. Below is his editorial (to be found also in the monthly FA number 58 download) addressed to all those who dream of reconciling work and family life.
To be oneself simply!
Source of life, pillar of the family, foundation of society; the extent of our role and responsibility often makes us forget that we also have the right to live for ourselves.
In our modern African society, where we are required to combine professional and family success, it becomes difficult to find one’s place and to be oneself simply. At 18, we are told that our work must be
our “first husband” and at 35 years old we are often criticized for having prioritized our professional ambitions and for failing to start a family. When will we be free to decide on the direction of our own life?
In the professional world, we would almost like to be confined to the eternal role of the submissive and dominated.
Equal competence, the woman should be satisfied with remuneration
less because considered as not being the one who assumes the family expenses. In addition, every potential promotion is sifted through “will it be able to keep up the pressure and lead professional career and family life?”. How many have not survived the ruthless sieve and continue to suffer the daily frustration of not seeing their efforts rewarded? We want just one thing, to have the same opportunities and to be able to compete on equal terms.
Obliged to fight several battles, the weight of prejudice and conformity to political correctness oppresses us.
At the age of 30, we no longer believe in Prince Charming at Disney, but every woman aspires to meet this man whose scriptures she calls the flesh of the flesh and the bone of the bones.
Why take the risk of being content with a pale copy?
The most delicate choice of a woman is that of her companion because she has the power to break her dreams of greatness. How many fabulous destinies were sacrificed because the wrong choice was made, dictated by the desire to obtain the seal of respectability and social validation?
Whoever is destined for you and who deserves you, will not ask you to sacrifice your vision and your dreams for your family. He will not try to shine by extinguishing your light, but on the contrary will be proud to contribute to hatching the potential buried in you.
Our responsibility now is to separate ourselves from the
the weight of external validation. It is about being happy by us and for us; to get to know each other, to appreciate each other and to become aware of our value and potential. In reality we can only give what we have. How to give love if you do not have it for yourself? How to give happiness if one has not learned to be at peace with oneself and to be satisfied with what one is?
Mother, wife, blooming woman … You can be all that at once. You have nothing to sacrifice. And you do not have to be perfect. You just need to be YOU. Woman, You’re the only one responsible for your happiness, so make it your priority.
