At the risk of being on the controversial side of a conversation, I am proposing we all stop using #bossbabe. In an era where almost everything that is forward thinking and yes, even feminist has the phrase 'The Future is Female' attached to it, I am perplexed by those women who continue to use #bossbabe. What is that?
My entire career has been in an industry predominately run by women and 95% of my bosses have been women. Never have I called them Babe nor have I been referred to as one in the workplace (at least to my face). Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the word babe, particularly when referring to my husband, but I can promise you, I've never used it at work.
The other thing that is bewildering is it is used by women referring to themselves or other woman in a positive. I don't want to sound like I am taking this all too seriously, but I think we are taking two steps backwards with its use and proliferation. Furthermore, the title Boss is also not what we want to be aspiring to be. I know it's not literal, but have you read the 100+ articles about how not to be a 'boss' but to be a 'leader'? The word boss has a negative connotation and that's a fact.
So what is it? Why do women refer to starting their own company, building their brand, getting a promotion or landing a great gig into something less than with this reference? Does it make it sexier? Less intimidating to men? I find it derogatory. Can we please stop sabotaging ourselves and each other? Enough. We can be strong. We can be leaders. We can be female and we don't have to make it more palatable or endearing by diminishing it with #bossbabe. The future is female and I'm hoping we won't be calling each other Babe when the future finally arrives.