The woman’s voice: In search of a lost voice

The goal of this article is to pursue and expand the discussion begun last summer in Avignon, at the 4rth European Congress of Analytical Psychology. The plenary lecture entitled “If the Master was a Woman” was prepared by a group of eight analysts from four member-countries of the Eastern and Central European Community of Jungian Analysts (ECECJA). It raised the question of how women can play a role of public authority. In this article, the authors look at the question of respect for women in the contemporary societies to which they belong. It is compared to the professional, artistic, and political leadership women exert de facto, in their respective communities. The authors shed light on “glass ceilings” and “off-limits territories” that still exist. They refer both to their clinical experiences and to situations outside the office setting. Exploring the Jungian approach, modern psychoanalytical theories, and cultural roots, the authors turned to the future, in search of a genuine female voice, able to resonate with the power it deserves in the public space.