#05
Society makes a woman her harshest critic.
Women leaders are often held back by their toughest critic: themselves. This is not surprising given generations of social conditioning. Girls often hold themselves to a higher standard in subjects like maths, where boys are considered to excel. Because of this, girls are less likely to believe that they will succeed and, ultimately, less likely to pursue a STEMM career.
RESEARCH.
Mother Nature Needs Her Daughters: A Homeward Bound Global Review and Fact Sheet Investigating Gender Inequality in STEMM
Prepared by Fabian Dattner, Homeward Bound CEO and Co-founder;
Dr Mary-Ellen Feeney, Jacobs Group (Australia); and
Professor Tonia Gray, Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University.
Compiled by Homeward Bound Alumni from 2018 & 2019
Copies can be download at https://doi.org/10.26183/5d22d5fbe2349
Entrepreneurial Perceptions and Intentions: The Role of Gender and Culture.
Shinnar RS, Giacomin O, and Janssen F. (2012) Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 36(3):465–93.
The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention
Imposter syndrome – early family dynamics and later gender stereotyping contribute significantly. Men tend to own their success as a quality inherent to themselves; women project the cause of success outward as ‘luck’ or ‘effort’ that they don’t equate with inherent ability.
MEDIA.
Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW – You’ve probably heard the following statistic: Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.
The finding comes from a Hewlett Packard internal report, and has been quoted in Lean In, The Confidence Code and dozens of articles. It’s usually invoked as evidence that women need more confidence. As one Forbes article put it, “Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list.” The advice: women need to have more faith in themselves.
https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified
Act Now To Shrink The Confidence Gap
FORBES – Women, we aren’t taking action often enough and that’s crucial. We don’t have to be perfect. Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list.
SHARE YOUR STORY.
How have you experienced this gender fact in your life or in your workplace?
Share your story, or how your organisation has overcome this fact.
New research? Let us know.
SHARE THIS #GENDERFACT.
It’s time to give women in STEMM a bigger voice. Share these facts with everyone you know. Shout it out loud. Be heard. Rally together. Pass it to your peers, your networks and social circles.
BECAUSE TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE THE STATUS QUO
Start A Conversation.
When you hold a GenderFacts.org mug in your hand, you must stop and think about the bias faced by women in the workplace.
What will you do to change it?
STRONGERTOGETHER
It’s time to give women in STEMM a bigger voice. Share these facts with everyone you know*. Shout it out loud. Be heard. Rally together. Pass it to your peers, your networks and social circles.
BECAUSE TOGETHER, WE CAN CHANGE THE STATUS QUO
* Steal the Gender Facts resources from our public TRELLO board. We don’t mind at all.