Why women are still held back:
History, health, money and power

What children and women told me

How women's history still affects women today 

Women's history and health: our painful history

Long ago, women were highly valued. They made important decisions, healed people with energy and herbs, and were sought out for their wisdom. Women and power went hand in hand: through their knowledge they had a strong informal position in society. During the femicides of roughly 1450 to 1750, also known as the witch burnings, thousands of women were murdered. By calling them "witches", society drove a wedge between women. Women distanced themselves from each other to stay safe, and a great deal of knowledge about women, the body, healing and the spiritual world was lost.

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In the centuries that followed, women's worlds grew smaller. The history of women's rights is a story of small steps. Women fought for the right to vote and the right to education. Married women in the Netherlands were only granted full legal capacity in the twentieth century, which included the right to work and to manage their own money. That step was the beginning of women's financial independence. In 1971 the law stating that the man is the head of the family was removed.

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In 1957 my grandmother worked full-time, ran a household and a business, and raised a new generation. Officially, she still needed my grandfather's permission to buy a piece of meat at the butcher's. All the credit for her work went to him. Newspapers wrote: "Mr. …, who runs the business together with his wife." In that sentence, the woman is literally a side note.

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Generational patterns and intergenerational trauma

To survive, women adapted for hundreds of years. They learned to stay on guard, to follow and to keep their knowledge to themselves. These survival strategies became generational patterns, and they are still present today. Women often find it difficult to speak their truth, and they sometimes see each other as competitors rather than allies.

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Everything your foremothers experienced is stored in your body. Your cells remember. Through your female lineage, experiences, patterns and intergenerational trauma pass on to each new daughter, for up to seven generations. Pain that stays in the body lowers the frequency of your cells and costs you energy. Over time it can show up as physical complaints. The pain of women comes from choices made before our mothers and grandmothers, rather than by them.

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Gender bias in healthcare: how history lives on in your health

After the femicides, the scientific medical world arose, built mostly by men and for men. That is where women's health inequality begins. To this day, medicines are mainly tested on men, while women's bodies and hormones work differently. The temples of men and women are built with different materials, yet the "renovation materials" were developed for the temples of men.

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Gender bias in healthcare is still visible. Women are more often sent home with the same complaints as men, and they more often receive a psychological diagnosis for a physical problem. Many doctors learned that a heart attack in women shows different symptoms only recently. Knowledge about women's health and medicine is growing, and your body deserves care that fits you: your cycle, your hormones and your energy. Clinical medicine is sometimes necessary to heal, and the choice is always yours.

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Women and money: how history lives on in your relationship with money

The generations before us learned that a woman's work is a side matter, and that her money belongs to someone else. That belief still echoes in our society, and often in ourselves. Our economy is still largely built so that men set the rules and create money, while women maintain society, paid or unpaid. They care for the older generation and raise and teach the new one.

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The result is visible. The gender pay gap means that women still receive a lower wage for equal work. They build up considerably less pension, and few women sit at the heart of decision-making in companies. The insecure woman has even become an earning model. The lower salaries are the companies profits and many products carry one basic message, "With my product you are better."

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Most importantly, in our society money is a way to express value. By paying women less, we teach them that they are valued less. Women then adapt their behavior to this belief. When someone is not truly valued, she will most likely not live her true life path or reach her full potential. In a way, paying women less is a form of suppression.

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Women and safety: money, health and safety are connected

Research shows a direct relationship between income, health and safety: the more income, the healthier and safer people live. That is why women's financial independence matters so much. When a woman knows she will always have enough food, a roof over her head, love and appreciation, she connects with others from love and certainty. Your worth is visible in the care you receive and in the money you are paid. You are worth living in safety and being paid well for your work.