March Essay Competition
March 9 — March 22, 2026,
Prompt
The average man, regardless of creed, family background, religion, personal convictions, or social, economic, or marital status, will always feel threatened or intimidated by a successful, strong, independent woman.
Competition Home Page
Essay
Score
Society is to blame
March 15, 2026
¡ 829 words
¡ 5 min read
<p>Last year, I ran for an executive position in school, against a male candidate. While this was an absolutely fun and amazing experience, it also was an early exposure to the realities of being an ambitious woman in today's world.</p><p><br></p><p>One would love to think that statements like this were to be dropped somewhere in the 18th Century, but I actually heard young men say this first-hand:<em> "</em><em>We can never be here and a woman will win over a man."</em> At first, I really thought I was the problem. You know that self-doubt that creeps in and makes you question your own qualifications? I really wanted to believe that this opposition was because they did not see me as fit for the position, but the disheartening reality gave me the biggest shock of my life! The answer was simple: the harsh opposition I faced, stemmed majorly from one gender. </p><p><br></p><p>That is when it actually hit me. Every candidate will see themselves likewise, but this campaign race barely became an issue of individual qualifications or what each party had to offer, and more of a consequence of the "gender roles" some men stand firmly on, in a bid to mask their own inherent insecurities. You WILL be amazed that even in 2026, men exist who insist that women should never lead from the frontlines and should only surrender the position of "breadwinner" to their kind and type. Why? Because qualities like ambition, firmness, strength and at this point, wealthiness, have already been defined by the less educated who lived before us as "traditionally masculine". </p><p><br></p><p>I would love to raise another statement that sat on my chest for the longest time. You see, while a greater fraction of these young men were fixed in their belief that a man will always be better suited for any position I was vying for, an unbelievable amount of these men said this proudly on different occasions, to my face: <em>"You're a very pretty girl, so we will vote for you".</em> Alright let's pause here, because this is the part that actually got my head spinning - another part of societal pressure, where women like myself are judged by their looks, rather than merit. What might have been a simple joke to them, actually had me thinking for weeks. Did it hurt their ego less to say they voted for a capable woman because she was pretty, and not because they deemed her a better fit for the position than the man was?</p><p><br></p><p>This. Exactly this, is what undermines a woman's achievements and perpetuates strong, harmful stereotypes. Even well-meaning men would rather want their women to depend largely on them, than face impossible standards to excel professionally, while also constantly facing the fear of objectification and sexual harassment. These men, even when not financially buoyant, take up exhaustingly long hours on jobs to make ends meet. This is to simply earn the right to ask their wives to stay satisfied with being unfulfilled, than risk being thrown into a den of wolves. Societal expectations clearly in play once again, pressuring women to choose between their careers and traditional roles. </p><p><br></p><p>The question I have to ask now is, why are these men-wolves gender-selective in their choice of meat? Why should her independence be a new type of threat?</p><p><br></p><p>The idea that "a top-tier man will always be an average woman"- <em>Kiraisme, Medium</em>, will continue to remain a pointer to how societal biases and expectations, simply position men as the ones who success should embrace (even when they give nothing but the bare minimum, when compared to the standards women must place). Hence, for a woman to achieve similar or even greater success on a scale that was never equal, her outstanding leadership qualities which should be human, become seen as a challenge to traditional masculinity. Then, what happens to the average man? The average man becomes conditioned to think of a strong, independent woman as a threat to their dominance.</p><p><br></p><p>The loss from that particular election is definitely one that I will never forget, because it really just hits different when you are not even allowed a chance to prove yourself against a âsupremeâ gender, while still facing open judgment. Even now as an excellent, firm and successful female student leader, I have countless stories to tell of real-life experiences that have shaped my view on this subject. This is why I can boldly tell you that until the mindset that independent women are threats is fixed, society will continue to lose able and qualified women in leadership positions, capable of positive change.</p><p><br></p><p>Yes, power intoxicates, but please be reminded that it is not gender specific. If culture remains the way of life of people in a society, this simply means that if you and I start by challenging these outdated norms, we would finally be taking a bold step towards shifting this culture to a space where feminine strength and independence is celebrated and not perceived as a threat or reason for intimidation.</p>
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