empowerment
Building personal authority
Empowerment is the process of gaining power, authority, or confidence—or of granting these to others.
The word appears frequently in discussions of social justice, workplace dynamics, and self-help: women's empowerment, employee empowerment, personal empowerment.
Critics sometimes dismiss the term as corporate or political jargon, but it remains widely used to describe giving people control over their own circumstances.
Absence of constraint
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- releaseTo let go
- enfranchisementGranting citizenship rights
deliverance · unshackling · suffrage · decolonization · abolition · reclaiming · voice · agency
Freedom from external control
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
agency · self-direction · self-governing · self-sustaining · unencumbered
Ability to direct others
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- commandAuthoritative instruction given
- controlAuthority to direct
- managementOrganizing and directing resources
oversight · direction · delegation · jurisdiction · administration · mandate · influence · decision-making
Making tasks easier
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- resourcesAvailable assets or supplies
- toolsDevices for doing work
- accessRight to enter
training · education · skill-building · mentorship · advocacy · sponsorship · opportunity · uplift
One's sense of worth
- self-assuranceConfidence in one's abilities
- self-worthInternal sense of value
- assertivenessConfident self-expression quality
- self-respectValuing one's own worth
poise · boldness · self-confidence · conviction · courage · assurance · dignity · self-belief
Progress toward maturity
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- progressMovement toward improvement
- transformationThorough change in form
- flourishingProspering vigorously
self-improvement · maturation · evolution · self-actualization · becoming · thriving · blossoming · cultivation
freedom
Absence of constraint
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- releaseTo let go
enfranchisement · deliverance · unshackling · suffrage · decolonization · abolition · reclaiming · voice · agency · resistance
independence
Freedom from external control
- self-relianceDepending on oneself alone
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
sovereignty · agency · self-direction · self-governing · self-sustaining · unencumbered
leadership
Ability to direct others
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- commandAuthoritative instruction given
- controlAuthority to direct
management · oversight · direction · delegation · jurisdiction · administration · mandate · influence · decision-making · accountability
facilitation
Making tasks easier
access · training · education · skill-building · mentorship · advocacy · sponsorship · opportunity · uplift · equipping
self-esteem
One's sense of worth
- self-assuranceConfidence in one's abilities
- self-worthInternal sense of value
- assertivenessConfident self-expression quality
self-respect · poise · boldness · self-confidence · conviction · courage · assurance · dignity · self-belief · self-acceptance
development
Progress toward maturity
- advancementForward movement or promotion
- progressMovement toward improvement
- transformationThorough change in form
flourishing · self-improvement · maturation · evolution · self-actualization · becoming · thriving · blossoming · cultivation · rising
- social causesfeminism, charity, environmentalism, volunteering, pacifism
- leadershipleadership styles, leader, leadership skills, boss, leading
- women's historywomen's history, herstory, women's movement, suffrage movement, notable women
- emotional changehealing, heartbreak, falling in love, grief, recovery
- leadership skillsdecision-making, strategic vision, empathy, listening, direction
- Leadership Valuesvision, integrity, honesty, transparency, accountability
empowermentdisempowerment
Loss of agency
subjugation · oppression · domination · powerlessness · subjection
empowermentdisenfranchisement
Removal of voting rights
marginalization · exclusion · disqualification · silencing · repression
empowermenthelplessness
Lacking ability to cope
powerlessness · learned helplessness · disempowerment · dependence · demoralization
- women empowermentAdvancing females' rights and influence
- female empowermentWomen claiming their power
- women's empowermentAdvancing female autonomy
- personal empowermentCultivating one's own agency