When feminism and capitalism donât mix [Quartz]( [The Wing co-founder Audrey Gelman and Jennifer Lawrence speak onstage.]( Photo: Getty Images(Monica Schipper) When feminism and capitalism donât mix The [girlboss mentality](, which tends to value an individual womanâs success rather than the importance of making workplaces fairer for everyone, has been on its deathbed since at least 2020. Amid a [pandemic]( that hit womenâs careers especially hard, an [international reckoning]( on racial inequality inspired a [reassessment]( of the [merits]( of dubbing high-powered, high-earning corporate women as champions of feminist empowerment. The final nail in the girlbossâs millennial-pink coffin may be the [shuttering]( of the storied womenâs club and coworking space The Wing, which announced in August 2022 that itâs closing its six branches in the US for good. [The Wing](, cofounded by Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan in 2016, embodied the girlboss era in all its contradictions. Between its [political event programming]( and its membership [roster]( of successful writers, CEOs, activists, and influencers, The Wing promoted the importance of [female ambition]( and womenâs solidarityâa mission that became particularly relevant in the wake of the [#MeToo movement]( and Hillary Clintonâs loss in the US presidential election. But The Wing also frequently [faced criticism]( for representing a particular brand of polished, privileged white feminism. Just how committed to equality could a club with $3,000-a-year memberships really be? Those criticisms came to a head in 2020, when employees accused The Wing of being a [toxic workplace]( with disturbing racist undertones. Gelman [stepped down as CEO](, and The Wing struggled on until the remote-work era persevered. Surely thereâs a better way to talk about womenâs ambition in the 21st century? Letâs show this topic whoâs boss. Brief history [2013:]( Sheryl Sandberg, then-COO of Facebook, publishes her corporate-feminist manifesto, Lean In. [2014:]( Sophia Amoruso, founder of the fashion retailer Nasty Gal, coins the term âgirlbossâ in her memoir of the same name. [2015:]( Nasty Gal is sued for allegedly discriminating against pregnant employees. [2015:]( A Wall Street Journal exposé calls the technology behind Elizabeth Holmesâ much-ballyhooed startup Theranos into question. [2016:]( Nasty Gal files for bankruptcy. [2016:]( The Wing opens its first location in New York City. [2017:]( Employees of period-underwear startup Thinx accuse founder and self-proclaimed âShe-EOâ Miki Agrawal of sexual harassment, and Agrawal steps down. [2017:]( The Netflix series Girlboss, based on Amorusoâs memoir, debuts, but is canceled after its first season. [2020:]( Female leaders of companies like The Wing, Man Repeller, and Refinery29 resign amid allegations that theyâve perpetuated toxic and discriminatory work environments. [2021:]( The satirical meme âgaslight gatekeep girlbossâ spreads across the internet. [2022:]( The Wing closes for good. [Businesswoman is shown speaking on telephone at a desk. ]( Photo: Getty Images(George Marks/Retrofile) Misogyny and the girlboss Women leaders arenât necessarily [any more ethical or upstanding]( than male ones, as high-profile scandals at female-led companies ranging from The Wing and [Away]( to (at the more extreme end) [Theranos]( have made clear. But it can still seem a bit misogynistic to dance upon the girlbossâs grave. Writer Moira Donegan writes in a [recent newsletter]( that the disdain heaped upon the figure of the girlboss is similar to the stigma that surrounded the trope of the cold, calculating, deeply unhappy âcareer womanââencapsulated by Glenn Closeâs bunny-boiling stalker in Fatal Attractionâin the 1980s. Both, she says, stem from a deep cultural discomfort with ambitious women. Meanwhile, a [recent article in the BBC]( argues that movies and TV shows like I Care A Lot, Industry, and Succession demonize powerful women, portraying them as both ethically vacuous and personally miserable. Girlboss discourse can be a slippery slope, shifting from rightful criticism of women who publicly espouse feminist politics while abusing their employees to deriding women in positions of power more broadly. True, individual woman founders and CEOs are not a solution to the problems of systemic sexism and racism. But as Donegan writes, girlboss mockery risks sending the message that women ought to âpursue moral purity at the expense of material progressâ while men arenât held to the same standard. âWhy would you want women to have more power in an unjust system?â Donegan asks. âBecause the unjust systems are the only ones available.â By the numbers [$3,000:]( Typical annual cost of a Wing membership [12,000:]( Number of Wing members at the height of its popularity in 2020 [9,000:]( Number of people on the Wingâs waitlist as of March 2020 [500,000:]( Copies of Sophia Amorusoâs #Girlboss sold, to date [4 million:]( Copies of Sheryl Sandbergâs Lean In sold, to date [44:]( Number of women leading US Fortune 500 companies [24:]( Number of women leading Fortune Global 500 companies [2%:]( Portion of VC funding received by female-led startups in the US in 2021 [Starbucks protestors holding signs outside a coffee shop]( Photo: Getty Images(Jason Redmond / AFP) What comes after the girlboss? The pandemic has reshaped a lot of peopleâs relationships with their careers, and by extension, itâs also played a big role in making the girlboss passé. For one thing, school and daycare closures threw working mothersâ schedules into such turmoil that [one in four women in 2020]( said they were considering cutting back hours or leaving the workforce altogether. Many seem to have followed through: There were 1.1 million fewer women in the US labor force as of January 2022 compared to February 2020, according to the [National Womenâs Law Center]( (pdf). Donegan also observes that the Supreme Courtâs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer means that âmany more womenâs ambitions will be curtailedâ as women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies that radically [reshape their futures](. In this climate, a glowing media profile of a female CEO offered up as a role model for the typical working woman can be more readily recognized as wildly out of touch with many peopleâs realities. Whatâs more, at a time when Americansâ [approval of unions is at a 57-year high]( and TikTok posts of Starbucks baristasâ organizing efforts [garner millions of views](, being the boss may not be so aspirational anymore. Itâs the workers who are winning public admiration now. [Key chains that say ]( Photo: Getty Images(Emma McIntyre) Pop quiz What was the median pay for the 18 female CEOs of S&P 500 companies in 2021? A. $5 million
B. $10 million
C. $16 million
D. $20 million Find the answer below! Rethinking ambition The pandemic has also prompted people of all genders to [reassess their relationships]( with their jobs, and with ambition itself. The current buzz about â[quiet quitting](ââchoosing to do the minimum at oneâs job rather than striving to be an exemplary workerâunderscores just how many people are no longer interested in climbing the career ladder or making work a cornerstone of their identity. Pandemic-induced [burnout]( is one commonly cited factor behind this phenomenon. The realities of [workplace bias](, a subject of ample discussion during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, may also play a role in some womenâs thinking about the importance of professional success. If work isnât a meritocracy, whatâs the point of putting in all that extra effort anyway? Writing in The Cut this spring, writer Amil Niazi declared that sheâd decided to [choose mediocrity over ambition](âin large part because her professional experience as a woman of color had taught her that hard work and talent are not reliably rewarded. Ann Friedman [recently posited]( in Elle that many women are learning to channel the energy they once put into their individual career goals toward other ends: âa more just world, a healthier self, a stronger community.â As for the former girlbosses accused of creating toxic work environments, time will tell if theyâve learned from their mistakes. At least oneâGelmanâspoke recently about giving up on hustle culture and embarking on smaller, less intensive ventures. She recently opened her new business, an upscale country-homeware store in Brooklyn called the [Six Bells]( that peddles wares like [$35 artisanal soap]( carved to resemble a bunch of grapes. âObviously, yes, the life I am living now is really different than the life I was living, but it was actually, itâs a life that I fantasized about before,â Gelman [told Vanity Fair]( this summer. âItâs not a consolation prize, you know?â [Beyonce and her back up dancers are all dressed in yellow and standing in a line.]( Photo: Getty Images(Mason Poole) Listen to this! None other than the famously industrious Beyoncé seems to be [feeling fed up and burned out]( these days. In her recent single â[Break My Soul](,â she sings about quitting her job: âThey work my nerves / Thatâs why I cannot sleep a night,â the pop legend declares. Whether youâre feeling equally frustrated with work or, like an earlier version of Beyoncé, ready to [run the world](, thereâs a song to suit your mood. Quartz compiled a playlist that features women singing about ambitionâfrom Dolly Partonâs classic â9 to 5â lament to Fifth Harmonyâs high-flying âBO$$.â [Listen here](. Poll Who is your favorite fictional girlboss? We know, itâs hard to [pick just one](. ð¬ Letâs talk! In last weekâs poll about [Queen Elizabeth II](, 53% of you said youâve never bought memorabilia of the late royal girlboss, but 33% of you said you bought the occasional Elizabethan tchotchke. ð¦ [Tweet this!]( ð¤ [What did you think of todayâs email?](mailto:hi@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20the%20girlboss%20&body=) ð¡ [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:hi@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) Todayâs email was written by [Sarah Todd]( (Tracy Flick admirer), and edited and produced by [Morgan Haefner]( (ainât all that bossy). The correct answer to the pop quiz is C., [$16 million](. Median pay for male CEOs was $14.4 million. [ð View or share this email online.]( Enjoying Quartz Weekly Obsession? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here](quartz-obsession) to sign up. If youâre looking to unsubscribe, [click here](. 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 © 2022 G/O Media Inc.