Mary Kay Inc. was interested in finding out what women want in today's world, so we took a few months to learn from women in several countries around the world.  They weren't shy and they held nothing back.  We've been exploring these things over the last several posts, and we've reached #5.  In addition to completeness, strength and independence, family + choice, and a fulfilling career, women around the world are longing for a connection and sisterhood with other women.

For some, "girls night out" has become a never-to-be-missed weekly ritual.  These female escapes provide carefree times, to get away, however briefly, from the everyday stressors of life.  It can be as simple as meeting for tea or coffee, or involve pampering in the form of manicures/pedicures, or even full-blown weekend long retreats.

Our girlfriends, in many ways, are our family.  They provide a source of strength and security.  They assist us when we need the help.  They validate who we are and what we do.  They can be our creative muse, and they (almost) always accept us as we are.  Girlfriends are a safe haven from daily troubles, and can be great resources for help in many areas of our lives.  Talking to girlfriends is an important part of our daily routine for many of us.  For all the women we talked to, their female friendships are their most important, and often most stable relationships.

I see the results of a strong connection to other women, the sisterhood if you will, play out daily in Mary Kay.  Just a few moments ago, as I was on Twitter getting updates from the people I follow, I noticed a tweet from a Beauty Consultant.  She suffers from a serious chronic pain condition and was having a bad day.  She had a party booked with several women, and due to the pain, she was unable to conduct the party.  Rather than cancel and disappoint the women who were excited about their facials and makeovers, a "sister" Consultant offered to hold it for her.  That is the sisterhood in action.

I have traveled on numerous international trips with our top Sales Directors and National Sales Directors, and inevitably, someone's luggage doesn't make it to our destination. Now, these aren't just any trips mind you.  These are trips to 5 star hotels in some of the most widely sought-after cities of the world.  These women worked their buns off all year long to earn the trip for themselves, and you know darn well that they didn't just go to the closet and throw last year's family vacation clothes into the suitcase.  No ma'am.  There was major power shopping to get just the right outfits, planned strategically to each day and every special dinner.  And, then, well, all those cute outfits are floating around someplace in luggage limbo.  Not to worry.  Mary Kay sisters to the rescue.  When that happens, anybody else who is on the trip and is anywhere close to being your size will pony up her cute outfits for you to wear until your luggage is found.  Nevermind the fact that she couldn't wait for everyone to see her in THAT outfit.  That's the power of the sisterhood at work.

This same sisterhood is one of the reasons that I feel very safe even when I travel to someplace that I have never been.  You see I know that just about anywhere I go, there are Mary Kay people there, and they would do whatever they could to help me if I needed something.

No doubt this very strong desire for a connection with other females is what is driving women to social media in record numbers.  (We'll explore this particular aspect of social networking in a future post, so I don't want to dwell on it here.)

In closing, I think Sister Sledge said it best (okay, I know I am dating myself) . . . "We are family — I got all my sisters with me."

Another of the "10 Things Women Want Now" is a fulfilling career.  We heard from some stay-at-home moms in the US that they feel adrift when their kids no longer need them every minute of the day, and wonder if they should have continued to pursue their careers or completed their educations.  Latina women in the US felt that a career was a vital part of being a "complete, modern woman". The Chinese women we heard from were well aware of the trade-offs of their careers, and few were completely comfortable with being stay-at-home moms.  They seem to need a modern, autonomous view of themselves, apart from their family.  This same desire for an element of autonomy drives women in Ukraine and Russia to pursue a career.

This sense of autonomy seems to be relevant regardless of culture or geography.  Our careers are a very important part of our identity, and are significant contributors to our overall sense of independence and completeness.  What seems to differ regionally is how long this has been important to women.  In the US, it's well into the third generation, and some may even say four.  However, in Eastern Europe, this phenomenon is barely a generation old.

I think this aspect is at the very center of the on-going challenge that women have in finding balance in their lives. On one hand, a fulfilling career is part of who we want to be, yet it comes with many trade-offs that impact other areas of our lives that are equally, or even more, important.  I have been off-balance many times in the past, and found myself struggling with deciding what I needed to do to get things flowing smoothly again. The answers were never immediate, easy or win-win.  They were tough choices.  I'm sure I made some bad ones.  But sitting where I am now, things turned out okay in spite of that.  That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have made some different choices if I had known then what I know now.  (I'm not sure I will ever understand why we get the wisdom after we make all the mistakes!)

When I was growing up in my Mary Kay career, I learned from watching the other women around me.  Apparently, others do too, as evidenced by our research.  These women told us that they model themselves after other successful women for their own roapmap to professional success.  (I will also tell you that some of my greatest learnings came from watching women that I DIDN'T want to behave like.) Women who appear "put-together" and "complete" are the most revered, and their advice is trusted.  I was blessed to be able to watch and learn from Mary Kay Ash herself, as well as our many female sales leaders who gave me plenty of positive examples for female leadership in business. 

Now, as a tenured professional woman, who has survived managing family and career as I was climbing the corproate ladder, I know one thing for certain.  I know that my career filled a very important role in shaping who I am.  It gave me an identity that I alone owned, separate and apart from my identity within my family.  I know for certain that, had I not had the career that I have loved for the past 25 years, I would now not feel as complete and fulfilled as I do.