Women and Confidence: Start From Within
Confidence is something many women are constantly striving to gain, told to achieve, or afraid to have too much of. Having too much causes us to appear cocky, egotistical, or self-centered; having too little makes us weak and unsure. The truth is, confidence is tied to success, and as a whole, women do not have much confidence when it comes to their careers.
The Confidence Gap
Women make up only 5.2% of CEOs in S&P 500 companies, according to Catalyst. The reason for this? It’s not as simple as you’d think. A recent article from Forbes on the gap in confidence between men and women states, “A Hewlett Packard internal report found that men apply for a job or promotion when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. What doomed them was not their actual ability, but rather the decision not to try.” Another research study by the Harvard Business Review found that women rate themselves as less confident than men until their mid-40’s. That makes the gains in women’s confidence 3 times more than men’s in the length of their careers, but only because men start out with the confidence they need to be successful, and women slowly build theirs with age and experience.
So, while part of the issue regarding the lack of women in leadership roles stems from society as a whole, many of the roadblocks come from our own minds. If women are not being trusted to be leaders, and if women aren’t putting themselves up for roles that they deserve, then we are going to be stuck in a repetitive system forever. And the facts are, women are perceived as being “slightly more effective than men at every hierarchical level and in virtually every functional area of the organization,” as told by the Harvard Business Review. How do we prove to ourselves and society that we can overcome this? Start with you.
Look Inward
Confidence starts from within. If women aren’t putting themselves up for the roles or promotions they deserve, how can they set themselves up for success? Sure, there are significant hurdles for women in the workforce. Unfortunately, there’s no guide book that works for each woman on how to be confident and advance your career. Things to remember are:
Every one of us is different, but we are all fighting the same fight for career advancement. The only thing we can control is how we react and how we handle ourselves from the setbacks.
Hold yourself high and with confidence and know you are fighting along with every other woman out there.
Take comfort knowing that change is happening. Women are getting the job done just as well, if not better than men at every step; we just have to believe in ourselves.
By MNT2LEAD featured writer Jacqueline Bailey
Contact Jacqueline at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-b-80972b98/