Despite women’s liberation and apparent equality in most of the ‘civilized’ world, it is still very much a man’s world.  In the west, women are still being passed over for promotions and are hardly represented on company boards, while in the East many women continue to be subjected to horrific discrimination and abuse.

 Is this situation is sustainable?  One could argue that the state of the world today is largely due to primarily ‘male’ drivers – such as aggression, competition, ego and ruthlessness.  If those in power used their ‘right’ or female brains a little more often, then perhaps conflicts could be resolved through arbitration rather than war, and a sustainable future could be enjoyed by all.

 Chinese medicine equates this to an imbalance of the world’s Yin and Yang.  Yin is the feminine, quiet, cool aspect of nature linked with the Moon and the Earth, while Yang is the masculine aspect of nature, linked with the Sun, that is active, bright and expansive.  It is said that the continued balance of Yin and Yang keeps the life energy or ‘Chi’ flowing through the body and life in general.

 It is evident that too much Yang energy exists in the world today, creating the delusion that we can live selfishly, in constant conflict, and with little regard for our connection with others and the Earth.  Yang people are still admired, as they are the aggressive movers and shakers in society, while Yin people can often be regarded as weak and ineffectual.

 These perceptions have contributed to the frequently dysfunctional attitudes towards women in society both past and present.  In the Middle Ages, they burned women as witches, in an attempt to quell their instinctive rapport with nature and the elements.  In many primitive societies women are severely oppressed and subject to barbaric and archaic laws.  Today’s advertising frequently trivializes women and stereotypes them as either boring housewives, neutered executives, or dumb sex kittens. 

 Relationships between men and women suffer as a result:  instead of appreciating each other’s strengths and weaknesses, men and women often either idealize or degrade each other.  Astonishing as it may seem, Internet porn, which both idealizes and trivializes women, has become for many more exciting than actual sex.  

 The Chinese remedy for distorted Yang – in other words, Yang that has little or no healthy Yin balance – is to strengthen the Yin.   To do this, we all need to become more Yin, in other words, develop, foster and revere our Yin qualities of introspection, intuition, sensitivity, gentleness, compassion and love.    We need to reconnect with ourselves, and start to understand our intrinsic connection with others, and the Earth. 

Does this mean that women leaders, who are more likely to display Yin characteristics, need to take power to lead humanity in the right direction?  Probably. 

Men, and their excess of Yang energy (and women with too much of it),  have led the world into the state it is today.  It will take a completely different approach to lead us out of it, because the current world system is in a state of collapse.  It is still fragile, and the ‘fix-it’ measures  that governments keep applying are just band aids.  Our world’s current economic and social system is not healthy and sustainable.  The only way we will survive is by creating a new paradigm, and it is quite likely, and indeed preferable, that the chief architects of this new world order will be women. 

Ultimately, leadership in the 21st century will involve a balance of feminine and masculine intelligence.  When we truly balance our masculine and feminine, we open to our true potential. Our left and right brains integrate throughout the body and nervous systems, grounding our connection with Spirit. Leaders displaying this quality will restore the natural balance with Earth.