I recently saw this post titled "From Mothers to Daughters: Do as I Say, Not as I Do" and I wanted to share it as it was a nice little reminder for me and I hope it is for others too.
Prompted by an article in the Atlantic titled "the Confidence Gap' (which is also an interesting read), Kathryn Sollman writes,
Too many professional women hold themselves back from the big promotion or raise and too many others believe they made an irrevocable choice to leave the workforce. All wish much bigger career achievements—and more confidence–for their daughters...
In my view, however, there is a big disconnect. I see this spectrum of women—those who work in and out of the paid workforce—in my community, at my child’s school and in my professional work. All of these women encourage the utmost confidence and achievement in their daughters—but not in themselves...
It would be hard to find a woman in my personal and professional circles who isn’t encouraging her daughters to be as good as—or better than–the boys. Speak up in class. Don’t be shy. Run for student government. Be the captain of the team. Be the editor of the newspaper. Get the best grades possible to get into the best colleges.....
And while you’re at it, make sure that you hold yourself to the same high standards. Both mothers and daughters need to continually build and refresh the confidence to reach, stretch and achieve their personal definition of work+life fulfillment. It takes lifelong tweaking, and a belief that there’s never an age or stage when your ship has sailed.
I have experienced the 'confidence gap' many times in my life and have felt like a fraud whenever I have been promoted or taken on more responsibility in my career...just waiting for people to realise they made a mistake! I know this isn't just an issue for women so I think we should all remember to back ourselves more and go after what we want. Read the full post here
Comments