Let’s Stop Calling Women “Powerhouses” (and Celebrate Everyone)

Success Doesn’t Need a Gender—Let’s Celebrate Entrepreneurs, Not Stereotypes

You’ve probably heard it before—“She’s a powerhouse in business!” Maybe you’ve even been called one. It’s meant as a compliment, right? Someone sees a woman thriving, hustling, and making waves in a male-dominated industry, and boom—she’s suddenly a “powerhouse.”

But here’s the thing: I can’t stand that word. It feels like we’re handing out gold stars for showing up to play a game everyone’s already in. When we call women “powerhouses,” it suggests their accomplishments are somehow different, maybe even more impressive, than those of men. And while we’re at it, it also suggests that men’s achievements are so expected, they don’t need a catchy title to be noticed. Guess what? I think it’s time we celebrate accomplishments, period—no qualifiers needed.

Stop Putting People in Boxes

The problem with calling a woman a “powerhouse” is that it subtly reinforces the idea that success is gendered. It’s almost like saying, “Wow, she’s doing great… for a woman!” You know how it sounds, and it’s cringey. If we celebrate accomplishments by attaching these loaded terms, we start putting people into boxes instead of simply recognizing their hard work, creativity, or leadership.

Is a woman a powerhouse because she’s managed to juggle work and life, crack the code on leadership, or grow her company tenfold? Sure! But you know what? So is anyone who’s doing those things. Why are we adding a special title when it’s a woman? Men and women (and everyone in between) deserve to have their hard-earned success acknowledged without needing to qualify it with gender-specific praise.

Let’s Talk About Normalizing Success

The word “powerhouse” normalizes the idea that men don’t need flashy labels to validate their success. Meanwhile, women get labeled like it’s an achievement unlocked. Can we all agree that success is success? Last time I checked, entrepreneurship is a hustle for anyone brave enough to sign up for the ride. There’s no secret formula that makes it harder or easier based on your gender.

Let’s start normalizing success for everyone—entrepreneurs, leaders, hustlers, creatives, and visionaries. Let’s stop acting like it’s a surprise when women kick ass and instead recognize that it’s par for the course.

Celebrate the Entrepreneur, Not the Gender

In the world of business, everyone’s grinding to achieve their goals, whether they’re a man, woman, or anything in between. So, let’s leave the terms like “powerhouse” behind and just celebrate the fact that someone’s out there doing what they do best. No extra titles. No qualifiers.

Success doesn’t need an adjective. It just needs to be celebrated. If you’re leading, you’re leading. If you’re growing, you’re growing. Let’s celebrate people for what they do, not for how surprising it is based on what box they check.

Here’s to all the entrepreneurs—no matter who you are—building, growing, and showing up every day. You don’t need a label to validate your journey. Your success speaks for itself.

Here are 10 ways to celebrate the accomplishments of entrepreneurs without resorting to female-specific or gendered language: