Where Do We Come from and What Does that Do to Us?

Transgenerational transmissions, the development of self-esteem and ego strength, as well as growing up in a functional family of origin, significantly influence the power development of women—and either slow it down, prevent it, or promote it. This developmental history forms the basis for healthy power behavior and a critical approach to role attributions. The power development of women has always been and almost without exception been slowed down in every society. The distortion begins with the fact that women are denied any striving for power. And they hardly have any. Whether they strive for power, they usually cannot answer themselves, because every attempt at it has been nipped in the bud and still is. Various psychological explanatory models provide insight into the power development in women.