There has been much debate in recent years regarding the underlying reasons that men still outnumber women in the C-Suite by a large margin. Some theories are quite controversial, such as beliefs that executive men subconsciously dismiss women’s opinions, that women are less willing to take on high-stress roles due to family obligations, and that even if they’re willing to take on such roles higher-level executives will assume they either aren’t interested or can’t handle them.
I don’t wish to debate these theories in this post. Instead, I wish to raise the question of whether women (in general, particularly women in business) experience a deficiency of belief in our own worthiness, and if this may be a large part of what is holding women back from C-Suite assignments.
In a nutshell, I’m wondering if we are holding ourselves back.
It was this infographic from EngineeringDegree.net that led to my pondering:
Created by: EngineeringDegree.net
While most of this data is disconcerting, there were three glaring items in this set of data that truly concern me:
1. The steep drop in girls’ self-confidence over the course of just a few years
2. The fact that by the age of just 15 (10th grade) almost half of all girls don’t feel confident about themselves
3. That when reminded they are a girl prior to taking a test, they score 20% lower than when they don’t even think about their gender.
So my question is this: is there an underlying sense of unworthiness that somehow becomes instilled in girls at an early age? Why does just thinking about the fact that you are a girl cause a girl to score 20% lower on a test? Are we given messages at an early age that as girls we are not as worthy of success as boys? And if so, does this belief system lie within women throughout our careers and impact whether or not we ask for promotions, more money, more responsibility, and ultimately a C-Suite role?
If there is even a remote possibility that this is the case, then how do we as adults, as leaders, as educators, and most importantly as parents address this? How do we ensure that not only do young girls feel confident in themselves, but they feel fully worthy of success in all its forms?
Because the greatest tragedy for us as women would be to go through life being less than we are meant to be. We are all worthy – every single one of us – of being our fully actualized, transcendent True Selves!
What do you think?
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6 Response Comments
Hi Lisa. Thanks for sharing this compelling infographic.
Although startling, your infographic did not really surprise me. As an engineer and business leader, I have seen these same statistics for decades. And, I am biased and believe that we need many more engineers and scientists (more so than C-level executives even :>)
I have seen how expectations, encouragement, and reinforcement by parents, teachers, colleagues and managers play a strong role in shaping self-belief at an early age and throughout a person’s career. This is true with both men and women, but I suspect that more men are influenced in a positive fashion, whereas many women are influenced in a negative way.
I also believe that there is a competitive advantage in a business culture that encourage initiative, self-confidence, and self-reliance. And if women as a group have been less encouraged, there is greater upside potential in focusing attention on developing this untapped human resource.
Chris, I really appreciate you sharing this perspective based on your own experiences! I like that you’re pointing out the direct link between encouragement and confidence, which may be stronger for women. Ultimately, as leaders, managers, educators and parents it’s heartening to know we can truly make a difference! Thank you again for being here and taking the time to share what you’ve witnessed throughout your career!
Interesting data, particularly the drop in self confidence by age 15 part. I wonder what the comparable figure is for males. Puberty is a trying time for many people – if the figure differs significantly for males, maybe the hormones act differently in males and females?
Regarding the 20% drop in score due to identifying yourself as a female at the top of the test – this seems so unlikely. 20% is a MASSIVE drop. Frankly I would question whether this is real. Marker bias may contribute perhaps, but still, a drop of 20% would require the onset of severe depression, rather than a little self-doubt!
It is interesting that the bias in career choice is somewhat less in the sciences than engineering. Which is interesting in itself as science careers are much less rewarded than engineering. However, what are the choices in commerce, law, and accounting where the real money is made?
Hi Tim, Great questions about how this compares to males. And the 20% drop, to me, represents a whole shift of mindset – which is truly concerning. I wish we had more data to answer your other questions! But we should continue to ask these questions and do our best as leaders to influence both women and men in a way that increases their confidence! Thank you for taking the time to comment, I sincerely appreciate it!
I have heard those stats, but I feel there are more recent stats that may give quite another view. I have lived in both a housing project with much anxiety and little knowledge. I have also lived in West Palm Beach with the sons and daughters of doctors, lawyers, and engineers. We need to take a much more close look at the idea of intelligence. I could see virtually the same children in both areas, but greatly affected by the much more stable/knowledge rich areas of West Palm. We need also to release both girls and boy from the horrible teachings of genetics, for it hurts all of us. We need to see how both girls and boys begin equal, but are greatly affected also by differential treatment. I feel today, girls are feeling much more superior, and boys are now feeling much more inferior. Without understanding how environment creates large differences in mental/emotional/social growth, both boys and girls will feel inferior in at least some areas. We need to help both girls and boys see how each one’s individual environment not only affects their lives but also how they can begin to approach their lives more delicately and differently to continually change and improve their lives. I will leave my site address for all to read my theory and its hope for improvement.
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