This June, I’m excited to be participating in Alexa Bigwarfe’s Write, Publish, Sell online summit where I’ll give my insight on how you can develop confidence and be BOLD in your business (see below for details!).
Confidence is a popular topic in today’s media, and for good reason. It’s also a subject I write a lot about, so today, I thought I’d share some stats that demonstrate why confidence is a key topic we should all be talking about.
Confidence issues affect all areas and phases of a woman’s life, including:
Self-Image:
- Dove®’s latest research found that just 4% of women worldwide consider themselves “beautiful”.
- Over half of women agree that they’re their own worst beauty critic.
- By the time girls reach the tender age of 17, 78% will be “unhappy with their bodies.”
- The Dove Self-Esteem Project found 47% of girls aged 11-14 refuse to take part in activities that might show their bodies in any way.
In the Workplace:
- Women’s confidence actually declines (yes, declines) with experience: 27% of new female employees are confident they can reach top management; this drops to a mere 13% in experienced female employees.
- In a KPMG Women’s Leadership study, 67% of women said they needed more support building confidence to feel like they can be leaders.
- Further, women lacked the confidence to: pursue a job opportunity beyond their experience (73%); ask for a promotion (65%); request a raise (61%), or request a new role or position (56%).
- HP once found that male employees were likely to apply for promotions when they felt they met 60% of the qualifications listed, while its female employees stayed away unless they believed they met 100% of the job qualifications.
Women make up 50.8% of the US population, they’ve outnumbered men on college campuses since 1988, and they control 80% of consumer spending in the US.
Yet, consider these stats:
- % of female Fortune 500 CEOs: 4.6
- % of females holding F500 board seats: 16.9
- # of female CEOs in financial services industry: 0
- # of female CEOs in health care and social assistance: 0
- % of female creative directors in advertising: 3
The statistics are shocking – after all, this is 2016. While there is no single approach to improving confidence, at least one thing is true: self-confidence starts with you. If confidence has been a struggle for you, I have a great free e-series to help jumpstart your journey.
While it’s important to build up your own confidence so you can make BOLD moves in your life and your career, don’t forget to reach out and encourage young women around you to develop their confidence, too!
I’d love to have you join me for
WRITEPUBLISHSELL: Grow A Business Beyond Your Blog
45 EXPERTS share ADVICE & TOOLS for FEMALE business owners in the DIGITAL realm
When: June 13th – 19th, 2016 – 100% ONLINE! View at your own pace.
Alexa is focusing on the business side of blogging and writing, providing useful information so you can take your unique area of expertise beyond blogging to launch a profitable career, build your brand, grow a targeted audience, AND effectively market to that audience.
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of mrsiraphol at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Colleen Slaughter, Proud Executive Coach to the UN World Food Program, the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
As an Executive Coach for Women in Leadership and Transformational Facilitator, my intention is to help leaders in positions of high influence to understand their worth at a profound level.
Supporting women leaders to truly thrive and step into their greatness, while succeeding in male-dominated industries and spaces is my native genius.
My technique and approach show you how to achieve incredible career success without compromising any part of who you are and what makes you magnificent.