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Preface: “Woman Up!”

“Woman up!” These words appeared on my computer screen as my Microsoft Office messenger pinged. To my surprise, they were sent from a senior-level partner at my organization who was on the same team call as I was. With my best interests at heart, this partner was calling me out for sitting quietly during the session with other consultants and not advocating for myself or the work I had done, not asking questions, and not using my voice. Instead of saying “Man up,” she was rephrasing it in the hope that I would “Woman up” and be bolder and braver in these discussions. To her dismay, I sat silently while others dominated the conversation and failed to attribute my contributions and ideas to me.

Not long before this call, at ...