You've Got This!

7Dear WomenStop selling yourself short and talking yourself down

We are woman, hear us roar!

Some days.

On others … not so much. More likely, those around us hear us talking ourselves down, second-guessing our decisions, dwelling on our mistakes or just worrying about when people will finally cotton on to the fact that we don’t know as much as they think or are less deserving than they thought. I’m fairly confident that’s not just me.

When it comes to self-doubt and internal recrimination, we women reign supreme.

The question is, at what cost? To ourselves, to the children we’re raising, the organisations we work for and the world at large?

Hillary Clinton once said that women are the greatest reservoir of untapped potential in the world. It’s true. We are. Despite all the progress that’s been made, we’re still such a long way from sitting at the decision-making tables in numbers equal to men.

There are many external barriers that tilt the playing field and steepen the climb for women. Unconscious bias. Unaffordable childcare. Inflexible workplaces. Caregiver expectations. Too few sponsors. Too many gendered ‘think manager, think male’ norms that create backlash for women who violate them.

Yet some of the biggest hurdles we must still contend with are the invisible barriers inside our own heads. Wherever I’ve travelled in the world, time and time again I meet incredibly capable women with so much to offer who doubt themselves too much, back themselves too little, and sell ...