Monday, May 5, 2014

Interesting Features at PWN for 5.5.14


News from the PWN Pipeline

"Confidence matters just as much as competence."

The Atlantic features an interesting and sobering account of the vast 'confidence gap' that often separates successful women from men. The authors of the article, BBC World News America anchor Katty Kay and ABC News reporter Claire Shipman, posit that self-doubt and low confidence interfere with women receiving promotions faster, taking more risks in professional development, and overcoming doubt. Eliminating self-doubt and focusing more on developing and maintaining a sense of confidence will contribute to greater opportunities for advancement. Furthermore, they suggest that confidence is what accelerates judgment and opinion into action. The article is definitely worth a read, and I was particularly struck by one major 'confidence gap' issue elucidated by the authors: women apply for a promotion only when they met 100% of the qualifications but men applied for a promotion when they met 50%.  


"The female 'confidence gap' is a sham."

As a counterpoint to Kay and Shipman's Atlantic article, Jessica Valenti of The Guardian expresses frustration that the 'confidence gap' is seen as a personal shortcoming of poor self-value and not as a structural and cultural female discrimination issue. Valenti argues that a professional and cultural transformation should take place that will value and promote self-assured women, and consequently will end the gendered disparity in displaying confidence.

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