After watching this video, I was intrigued by the idea that there is a confidence gap across genders which contributes to the lack of women in leadership positions. The central idea rests on the fact that women are less likely to highlight their accomplishments and often underestimate their abilities, and areas of concentrated power are reliant on female self-doubt. In anecdotal evidence and research, women are less likely to attribute their success to their own merit and more to external factors. This feeling of "imposter syndrome"is not exclusive to females but is extremely prevalent among many accomplished women.
This confidence gap has been quantified repeatedly, and I wanted to share a small glimpse into the most surprising evidence. A professor at Carnegie Mellon University found that men initiate salary negotiations four times as often as women, and when women do, they ask for 30 percent less than men. After graduating, men think they will make $80,000 annually while women believe they will only make $64,000. Additionally, a study of the women at HP showed that they only applied for a promotion when they believed they met all of the qualifications while men tended to apply even if they only met 60% of the requirements. Generally, studies have shown that women tend to underestimate their abilities and performance even though their performance is very similar to that of their male counterparts. This ultimately causes women to enter less competitive fields and not compete for higher-level positions despite their competence.
An important point I would like to make is that this discussion is not to take away from the self-doubt men face as well. However, this doubt is less likely to stop their growth comparatively to women.
So, why does this confidence gap matter? A study conducted by the University of California at Berkeley revealed that confidence matters as much as competence when predicting status and success. Confidence often manifests as "expansive body language, a lower vocal tone, and a tendency to speak early and often" which others view as confidence. Similarly, the most loved in a group were those that had true overconfidence (they weren't faking it). On the other hand, lack of confidence leads to many women taking the blame for negative outcomes and crediting other factors for their success. Women tend to attribute difficulties due to faults in themselves and avoid certain risks in the pursuit of perfection.
The reasons behind the confidence gap are highly controversial and include reasons from hormones to neurochemistry to the school environments that contribute to boys' resilience and girls' chasing perfection/approval. One of the large controversies is that women are not inherently less confident (backed by numerous studies), but women can not be more confident without the fear of being labelled aggressive. Therefore, it is not as easy as telling women to "be more confident" because she risks being disliked and this advice could be entirely counterproductive.
What can we do about this? The authors that pioneered the confidence gap theory found it useful to define confidence as the belief in one's ability to succeed and the belief to create action from thoughts. And taking action, working hard, failing, and succeeding all contributes to the accumulation of confidence. Confidence is self-perpetuating. We simply need to stop thinking and just act - and this goes for everyone.
In my own life, I began to notice the lack of confidence I have in my own abilities and how frequently I question the reason behind my successes unlike many of my equally accomplished male counterparts. For my fellow females reading this, I want you to ask yourself if you gaslight yourself in your emails or professional conversations with the phrases "I am not sure, but I think. . ." or "let me know what works for you" or "I hope this works". You are not alone - I am certainly guilty of this as well. I know that we pose the risk of being viewed as aggressive in a system designed to encourage female "gentleness", but I am going to try to manifest this confidence through taking those risky actions and taking credit for my strengths and successes. How about you?
Thanks for reading,
Janvi :)
This has been one of my all-time favorite blog posts to research and write, and I would love to hear your comments and ideas!
Nicely put together Janvi.
ReplyDeleteSurprising part is women are not short of confidence when dealing with their children or other family matters. I am of the view that menfolk deliberately induce such feelings of confidence gap amongst women at workplace by indulging in extraordinary aggressive behaviour and oneupmanship.
With just a bit of additional understanding and acceptance of their own capabilities, most women shall undoubtedly prove to be more than a match in all spheres of activities. All those who recognise and follow the path of their destinies are bound to attain the heights of success!
Yes certainly! I think that is an interesting point to bring up in terms of differences in confidence in the professional and domestic spheres, and certainly one that needs to be more thoroughly researched. I don't know if its intentional whether men try to diminish women's confidence because the reasons behind the confidence gap are typically smaller details about the workplace environment and culture rather than obvious flaws.
DeleteSneha here. This is an an amazing piece. I was completely unaware I was gaslighting myself in professional emails. You’re so right about the confidence gap amongst women in the workplace. Thank you for shedding some light on this topic!
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