Feminism – Photo credit: pinterest.com

I’m a feminist. So are Beyonce and Emma Watson. And really, if you want my opinion (that I’ll go ahead and give you anyways), Frozen‘s Elsa, despite all the anti-feminist critique heaped on the poor Disney girl, is also a feminist in my book. Except as much imaginary swag as I may have in common with Queen Bey (please refrain from giggling), or equally imaginary magical powers with Emma or Elsa (keep refraining), I also have this thing called…a J-O-B.

And it’s not like I can just ice my way out of my cubicle like Elsa, and go on and do me (which technically, with a substantial supply of Ramen noodles – preferably shrimp flavor- would be possible). Or stay “On the Run” without Bey and Jay’s astronomical paycheck, entourage, yacht vacations, etc…I could extend an invite to all the professional men out there to assume their sensitive side and join the feminist ranks like Emma, but the fluctuations in testosterone levels may prove a challenge.

So what are professional women, mere mortals reporting to Cubicle World every day, to do to be feminist and happy in their current careers? How could we even walk into our male-dominated, hierarchically traditional workplaces, with our feminist bravado and not be deflated like cheap water-filled balloons the minute we swipe our badges at the door? Considering the US had an even lower participation of women in the workforce than Europe in 2013, what presence or influence does a regular Jane Blow even have to push any type of women-oriented, let alone feminist agenda, at work? And with only 7% of visible minorities in management positions, the question is even more dawning for Black women at work.

Theoretically, being a feminist woman at work just sounds like an oxymoron, and not even a

Beyonce Feminist banner – Photo credit: http://womenaresociety.tumblr.com

cutesy, play-on-word one at that. But theoretically, I also have swag like Bey and magical powers like Emma…Realistically, we may not be able to give brilliant speeches in front of a United Nations audience, or perform the heck out of Bey’s songs in front of a lit-up “Feminist” banner.

Yet what we can do is show up in our own lives and be excellent. Not good, not average, but kick-ass! We can learn, re-learn and out-learn our trades. We can motivate other women to kick ass, and not take “no” for an answer. We can be the best version of ourselves, even when our voices are not heard. And to make ourselves heard, we can pinch our forearms, move to the front of the room and ask the same question our boss was going to ask, except we thought it was a stupid question and he thought we couldn’t have thought about it in the first place.

We can swipe our badges at the door, and refuse to be deflated like water-filled balloons every time someone else takes our opportunity. And instead, work better, smarter, stronger, on our own terms. We can start telling our stories, and giving value to our experience. And even when it looks like our efforts are but a drop in the ocean, we’ll still feel a little warm tingling somewhere in the space between our heads and hearts.

I guess in our overachieving, never-enough kind of minds, that would equate to being happy…Or at least getting there…

And Emma, I have to say, of all the magic tricks in Harry Potter, your speech to the UN is one of the most magical things I’ve ever heard. So much so I may need to hear it again:

The Corporate Sis.