The red cape – myths that no longer serve.

Why are Superman and Little Red Riding Hood so different? After all, they both wear red capes. Why are Snow White and Gulliver so different? After all, they both were giants in a land of short people.

Maybe I cannot blame Cinderella for my shoe fetish. Maybe it is a stretch too far to suggest that fairytales of knights in shining armour there to save girls from themselves create enduring images of helpless damsels in distress. Maybe little girls being told happily-ever-after stories of being married to a prince who is heir apparent to a vast and wealthy kingdom does not contribute to the lack of women in boardrooms running corporations. Or maybe it does.

Our stories shape us and the stories we tell our little girls and boys shape them. And while stories are wonderful expressions of our rich imaginations, single stories can be dangerous.

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks of The Danger of a Single Story in a TED talk, reminding us that when we hear or tell a single story, we risk misunderstanding or miscommunicating the richness of our human existence, inadvertently creating stereotypes that stick … and shape how we see the world and ourselves in it.

What if bedtime stories were a little different? What if Red Riding Hood negotiated with the woodcutter to save the forest and trees so critical to a sustainable environment? Maybe Cinderella, recognising her own power to help herself out of poverty, decided to become an entrepreneur, launching Cinderella’s very successful Slipper brand and going on to become the next Jimmy Choo with a massive online presence. Maybe Snow White overcomes her self-confidence issues, realising her height is not an impediment but a strength that serves her and the short people she lives with very well. She can reach places they cannot, she can see further than any of them ... and she becomes a very successful basketball player.

As we close out August 2016 Women’s month in South Africa, I appeal to you all: let us add richness to the images we create for our little girls. Let us tell them empowering stories, not disempowering ones. Let us remind them that there are many stories, all very different, and that they can shape their own very unique ones, limited only by their imagination.

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Dr Roze Phillips leads Accenture Consulting in Southern Africa, including the Human Capital practice. She has consulted in consumer related industries across Africa for more than 16 years.