--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wonder whether there has been too much…" description: "\"I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on teaching women to conform, to fit into the system. Certainly that suits conservative organizations..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/rosabeth-moss-kanter-4386_conform_i-wonder-whether-there-has-been-too-much_126473.png" --- # I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on… ![“I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on teaching women to conform, to fit into the system. Certainly that suits conservative organizations in conservative times. But now ... innovation and creativity are necessary.” quote by Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/rosabeth-moss-kanter-4386_conform_i-wonder-whether-there-has-been-too-much_126473.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/rosabeth-moss-kanter-4386_conform_i-wonder-whether-there-has-been-too-much_126473.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/421/rosabeth-moss-kanter-4386_conform_i-wonder-whether-there-has-been-too-much_126473.png) > “I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on teaching women to conform, to fit into the system. Certainly that suits conservative organizations in conservative times. But now ... innovation and creativity are necessary.” [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive pressure on women to conform limits innovation; creativity is now essential. **In simple terms:** Conformity stifles innovation. Key Takeaway Encourage creative freedom. Themes gender conformity innovation creativity Mood determined optimistic Type sociological inspirational When to use this quote - education - workplace - policy making Key Concepts sociology organizational behavior Practical Applications - promote diverse perspectives - challenge norms Questions to Reflect On - How does conformity affect women's potential? - What steps foster creativity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Conservative Organizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative-organizations-1462004/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Creativity and innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity-and-innovation/) [Creativity Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity-necessary-1160076/) [Emphasis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emphasis/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Innovation And Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation-and-creativity/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Organizations Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizations-conservative-1462002/) [Suits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suits/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-women-1462005/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Women Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-conform-1462003/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [What it feels like is that we want women to conform to a certain image. 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Creativity is a necessary sequel to being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-express-our-being-by-creating-creativity-is-a-necessary-sequel-to/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [There's always been a lot of interest in the tech community about how to foster innovation and creativity - both within a company but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taavet-hinrikus/there-s-always-been-a-lot-of-interest-in-the-tech-community-about-how/) [Taavet Hinrikus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taavet-hinrikus/) > [Scheduled shipping is one of many inventions that has made New York a global capital of innovation and creativity - from Willis Carrier's invention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gebbia/scheduled-shipping-is-one-of-many-inventions-that-has-made-new-york-a/) [Joe Gebbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gebbia/) > [“We are a species driven by innovation and creativity. The world is full of information and any number of things to learn and discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-voight/we-are-a-species-driven-by-innovation-and-creativity-the-world-is/) [Ginger Voight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-voight/) > [“innovation and creativity are greatest when we are not at our best”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/innovation-and-creativity-are-greatest-when-we-are-not-at-our-best/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [I think if more people actually pursued what they loved, we'd have a lot more innovation and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hyman/i-think-if-more-people-actually-pursued-what-they-loved-we-d-have-a/) [Jennifer Hyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hyman/) ## More by Rosabeth Moss Kanter > [Not everyone in an organization is in a position to accumulate power through competent performance because most people are just carrying out the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/not-everyone-in-an-organization-is-in-a-position-to-accumulate-power/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [After years of telling corporate citizens to 'trust the system,' many companies must relearn instead to trust their people - and encourage their people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/after-years-of-telling-corporate-citizens-to-trust-the-system-many/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. 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We don't live in that world anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/companies-used-to-be-able-to-function-with-autocratic-bosses-we-don-t/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Everything looks like a failure in the middle. In neary every change project, doubt is cast on the original vision because problems are mounting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/everything-looks-like-a-failure-in-the-middle-in-neary-every-change/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Confidence is not lodged in people's brains, it comes from the support system that surrounds them. Let's not confuse confidence overall with just self-confidence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/confidence-is-not-lodged-in-people-s-brains-it-comes-from-the-support/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [During the Boom Years, it was so easy to lose sight of basic values. For example, there was lots of nonsense said and written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/during-the-boom-years-it-was-so-easy-to-lose-sight-of-basic-values/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Winning becomes easier over time as the cornerstones of confidence become habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/winning-becomes-easier-over-time-as-the-cornerstones-of-confidence/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [Throughout human history, people have developed strong loyalties to traditions, rituals, and symbols. In the most effective organizations, they are not only respected but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/throughout-human-history-people-have-developed-strong-loyalties-to/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) [Explore all 111 Rosabeth Moss Kanter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) ## More Conform quotes > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. 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Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-smalley/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-the-ageless-law-of-nature-but-the/) [Dave Smalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-smalley/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) [Benedict Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-fitzgerald/) > [ \[An engineer's\] invention causes things to come into existence from ideas, makes world conform to thought; whereas science, by deriving ideas from observation, makes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-mitcham/an-engineer-s-invention-causes-things-to-come-into-existence-from/) [Carl Mitcham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-mitcham/) > [You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' 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That means we are governed by the terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/more-importantly-the-court-forgets-that-ours-is-a-government-of-laws/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [No one familiar with the common law of England can read the Constitution of the United States without observing the great desire of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-freeman-miller/no-one-familiar-with-the-common-law-of-england-can-read-the/) [Samuel Freeman Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-freeman-miller/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Fathers never have exactly the daughters they want because they invent a notion a them that the daughters have to conform to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/fathers-never-have-exactly-the-daughters-they-want-because-they/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Extroversion is an enormously appealing personality style, but we've turned it into an oppressive standard to which most of us feel we must conform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/extroversion-is-an-enormously-appealing-personality-style-but-we-ve/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ's image. Not to make you a smarter sinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/the-bible-was-written-not-to-satisfy-your-curiosity-but-to-help-you/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) [Browse all 640 Conform quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on teaching women to conform, to fit into the system. Certainly that suits conservative organizations in conservative times. 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