"We need women leaders. But we need them to have a vision for something"
About this Quote
The line lands like a friendly correction to a slogan. Charlotte Bunch isn’t arguing against “women leaders” as a goal; she’s warning how easily representation gets sold as a substitute for politics. The first sentence speaks in the language of broad consensus, the kind that fits on a conference banner. The second sentence tightens the screws: leadership without a project is just a new face on an old machine.
Bunch’s intent is strategic, shaped by decades of feminist organizing where institutions learned to absorb critique by hiring it. Put a woman in the room, take the photo, declare progress, keep the agenda. Her “But” calls out tokenism without having to name it. It also pushes back on a narrower careerist feminism that treats power as an individual achievement rather than a lever for structural change. “A vision for something” sounds almost plainspoken, but it’s doing real work: it demands a direction, a constituency, an ethic. Vision implies risk, conflict, priorities - the things diversity initiatives often try to avoid.
The subtext is also a challenge to audiences who want feel-good milestones. If women leaders replicate the same economic, racial, or militarized priorities, representation becomes a shield for the status quo. Coming from a human rights activist associated with global feminist networks, the context is one where “women’s empowerment” can be embraced by governments and NGOs precisely when it is emptied of redistributive, anti-violence, or anti-imperial demands. Bunch’s sentence is a reminder: the point isn’t who holds the microphone; it’s what they plan to say, and who they’re willing to disrupt to say it.
Bunch’s intent is strategic, shaped by decades of feminist organizing where institutions learned to absorb critique by hiring it. Put a woman in the room, take the photo, declare progress, keep the agenda. Her “But” calls out tokenism without having to name it. It also pushes back on a narrower careerist feminism that treats power as an individual achievement rather than a lever for structural change. “A vision for something” sounds almost plainspoken, but it’s doing real work: it demands a direction, a constituency, an ethic. Vision implies risk, conflict, priorities - the things diversity initiatives often try to avoid.
The subtext is also a challenge to audiences who want feel-good milestones. If women leaders replicate the same economic, racial, or militarized priorities, representation becomes a shield for the status quo. Coming from a human rights activist associated with global feminist networks, the context is one where “women’s empowerment” can be embraced by governments and NGOs precisely when it is emptied of redistributive, anti-violence, or anti-imperial demands. Bunch’s sentence is a reminder: the point isn’t who holds the microphone; it’s what they plan to say, and who they’re willing to disrupt to say it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Charlotte
Add to List
