Muriel de Saint Sauveur/Photos provided by Muriel de Saint Sauveur
After being published in 12 countries, author Muriel de Saint Sauveur has brought A Women’s World, a Better World to China.

The book is based on Sauveur’s interviews with more than 100 women from 33 countries that explore how women would change the world if they were so empowered.

A feminist

As a feminist, Sauveur, 59, decided early on that motherhood was not for her. Even marriage was out of the picture.

While she still has no desire for family life, she did marry three years ago.

A Woman’s World, A Better World, Chinese edition

“The feminist movement of 30 years ago gave women the idea that freedom was possible. There was no reason to chase after a fairytale ending,” she said.

“I think feminism is about thinking of possibilities. It pushes you to look at the world, at men and women and at how men and women are living. We are fighting to give women possibilities,” she said.

As the leader of her company’s work on gender equality and diversity, Sauveur has seen many recruitment figures firsthand. Even when organizations recruit 50 percent men and 50 percent, only 9 percent of the women ever reach the upper levels of management.

To find what leads so many women off course, she began to travel.

She said women in many countries are discriminated against on the basis of their gender, and that the best way to address their struggles is to survey the world’s women about where their power and dreams end.

The resulting book’s Chinese title means “If Women Ruled the World.” But Sauveur says that is not her goal.

“The title was chosen to open discussion. But I want the world to be shared between men and women, and I want women to be able to choose their life as men do today.”

Tough situation in China

Sauveur was not sure how women would respond to the idea. But the candid interviews of several women in Shanghai showed her that life as a woman in China is not easy.

“Many women are not willing to take charge of their lives or don’t know how. They need help to change – especially in China,” she said.

Sauveur met many women who had clear goals, such as an artist in her 30s who flies between Europe and Asia and a 50-year-old businesswoman.

She can also meet many young women who were still in school. While most of the dreamed of career life, they all said they felt pressure to go home and raise a family.

“One young girl asked whether desiring family life was something to be ashamed about. I said of course not: feminism is about choice,” she said.

“In China, being married is considered more important than having a job or being happy. But many women are realizing that this isn’t fair. In big cities, we are seeing many women who fight against their families for the freedom to choose both family life and career,” she said.

“Young women were very happy to talk with me because they did not have anywhere else to discuss this. I hope Chinese people can learn about and be inspired by how women live in other countries,” she said.

Global environment

During Sauveur’s interview, she found women in the world have something in common even their lives are quite different. All are concerned about the education of their children.

“When I say education, I am talking about concepts of male and female roles, how their children see the world, how they learn about religion and how they learn about other peoples,” Sauveur said.

Sauveur said the interviews made her reconsider how difficult it is to be a woman in today’s world.

“But I feel that this world is about to change because women are gaining more and more power in many countries,” she said.

There’s some evidence that companies are learning to appreciate women’s contributions in business.

According to “Women Matter 2010”, a McKinsey report, male leaders tend to focus on short-term issues and bias whereas female executives are better at long-term planning and image building.

“Women do not want power for the sake of having power, but for changing the world and improving it,” she said.

“One African proverb says that when you educate a woman, you educate a family; when you educate a man, you educate one person.”

Women around the world reported very different challenges in their lives.

In Pakistan, women said even going to school is a battle. Most struggle to avoid being married off at the age of 12 or 13.

In Russia, she also met young girls at a university who wanted to work and have only one or two children. But Russian women face religious pressure, as many families ask them to leave the workplace and fulfill their traditional roles in the domestic sphere. Latin American women are similarly bound by tradition.

“In Mexico, India, Pakistan, China, Russia and Malaysia … women faced pressure of society, their families and their husbands. The traditional role of a women is the mother, and family life is still considered very important in some countries.”

“I think US and France are very free by comparison. In France, most women work and have a family at the same time, and are happy to have both,” Sauveur said. “One thing that was common around the world was the desire to change and choose freedom. For me, that represents the dawn of a revolution.”

At the same time, she found women lack the confidence to take charge of their lives.

“In some countries, I met successful women who received great support from their fathers or husbands. They assured them they could achieve anything,” she said.

“Around the world, many of the most important women are supported by their husbands and fathers. These men raise daughters who believe they are smart enough and excellent enough to achieve anything. That’s something I saw in many of my interviews,” she said.

Sauveur’s first book took her half a year to finish. She plans to write another one about men in September.