This weekend I came across a book that set me thinking – why are women ashamed of being ambitious. Yes , it’s true: a man who is ambitious is considered a real man,a go getter, a person worthy of emulating while a woman who is ambitious is called less complimentary names. This is possibly the reason why most of us remain where we are, too scared to step out of the box and claim our place in the sun. 

Mrs.Moneypenny’s Careers Advice for Ambitious Women is a book that I found lying around the house. I picked it up and was hooked

  

Mrs. Moneypenny—star Financial Times columnist, TV personality, wife, mother, and owner of a successful small business—is worried about women. She understands that although women can’t have it all, they’re expected to do it all. .

Heather MacGregor aka Mrs.Moneypenny deconstructs the myth that the ambitious woman is a b₹&ch . In a light hearted manner and easy to read manner, she shows you how easy it is to fulfill your ambitions, why you should be ambitious and how you can have it all. 

Being ambitious is normal 

What is even more encouraging is that you can claim your ambitions and your career at any stage in your life. Citing examples of real women who’ve become business leaders, Mrs. Moneypenny gives practical advice to women in business- the importance of qualifications, networking etc. While her methods may not always be possible (I, for example, can hardly go back to education at this stage and age,long distance,virtual or otherwise) the underlying message is a great takeaway – it’s perfectly natural to be an ambitious woman. 

At least when I was growing up, ambitious women were considered aggressive, unfeminine and therefore, unseemly. We were made to feel guilty for not being perfect mothers and were encouraged to work only as a supplementary income earners in jobs that didn’t threaten our primary roles as housekeepers and mothers. 

Embrace your ambition

The road to the top is rocky and hard with tough choices to make but Mrs.Moneypenny advises everywoman in the workforce who hungers to reach the top, to embrace her ambition and take the right steps to get where she ought to be! 

Now isn’t that a powerful and encouraging message for all of us women out there? 

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