“Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg has taken the business world by storm. In it, she talks about how women need to take a seat at the table and how important it is for women to rise up in corporate America.
“The Confidence Code” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman takes the foundation of “Lean In” and begins to evaluate why women aren’t always pulling up a chair when they are most certainly able.
It’s no secret that women are consistently under-represented in technology companies. This infographic was just released that shows the percentages at some of the biggest tech companies today:
We know that women should take their rightful place in business, but we also know that they aren’t. The obvious question is….why?
The Confidence Code offers a few different reasons for this. Some are biological:
One study suggests that women have 30 percent more neurons firing at any given time than men. “The activity in these regions probably indicates female strengths, including empathy, intuition, collaboration, self-control, and appropriate worry,” Amen told us, “but women are also more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, insomnia, pain, and being unable to turn off their thoughts.”
Some are learned:
Testosterone is the hormone that encourages a focus on winning the game and demonstrating power, instead of connecting and cooperating with others. Testosterone is also heavily correlated with risk taking…When women are told to adopt classically male seating poses—taking up more space, spreading their legs and arms—our testosterone levels rise.”
And some are created by well-meaning parents:
First, don’t overly criticize the bad behavior. When your precious girl does interrupt, shriek, throw a tantrum, or tear her new dress, check your instinct to reprimand her. And especially check your instinct to tell her she’s acting out of character, as if somehow being the golden girl was what she’s supposed to be.”
Confidence is far from simple. We are born with certain biological slants, but studies have shown that much of what we are born with can be altered through practice and mindfulness. One of the greatest lessons to learn is that it’s important to DO things, not just think things. Try something. If it fails, try something else. It’s impossible to learn new things without taking risks.
And as for the technology jobs? Girls are perfectly capable at math…they just THINK that they aren’t. If we encourage our daughters to learn about science, computers, the weather, health issues and climate change, we are teaching them about math. We are laying the foundation for an interest in technology.
Let your daughter wear pink, but also let her fall off her bike, make mistakes in soccer and get dirt under her sparkly nails. Celebrate failure. The more times you fail, the more times you will succeed.
And teach them to challenge ideas that they don’t agree with…even if that means disagreeing with you.
