Today, its definition has broadened to describe women in management or executive positions, especially in traditionally male-dominated workforces. However, the mentality of girlboss feminism is, by its nature, exclusionary of WOC and women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This mainstream ideology is inherently linked to unjust hierarchies that late-stage capitalism promotes. According to activist Angela Davis, the concept of “glass-ceiling feminism” consists of “supporting women who are already at the top.” The idea that women need to shatter a glass ceiling and become powerful leaders in their industry furthers the capitalist propaganda that liberation of one woman comes from the exploitation of all others. In 2013, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg published her bestselling novel Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Since its publication eight years ago, the book has faced considerable backlash from WOC, most notably former First Lady Michelle Obama, who said in a 2018 speech that “it’s not always enough to lean in, because that sh*t doesn’t work all the time.” For white women like Sandberg, achieving corporate equality might be as easy as forming “Lean In circles” — groups of women who meet to support each other and learn new skills — with fellow professionals and asking for raises, but it’s often not so straightforward for WOC, who have to deal with implicit bias beyond just their gender identity. Beyond race, women of lower socioeconomic status who are forced to work multiple jobs or don’t have the luxury of hiring domestic services may not have the time to simply “lean in” due to responsibilities beyond the scope of their day jobs. Similarly, the trend of female professionals who have published self-help memoirs inspiring other women to take initiative in the workforce — Nicole Lapin’s Boss B*tch, and Ivanka Trump’s Women Who Work, to name a few — boast a watered-down version of feminism in which all it takes to achieve gender parity and equality is some hard work and effective elevator pitches. Despite criticism surrounding these books, like in Obama’s 2018 declaration, their ideals are still widely perpetuated, both by these authors and by white women in general.
The problem with this girlboss feminism isn’t the feminism itself, it’s the prioritization of white, affluent women as the dominant voice in spheres of discourse that should be led by individuals of color.
