Confidence, women, and success

Here’s something I can’t get off my mind: 

A review of personnel records found that women working at HP [Hewlett-Packard] applied for a promotion only when they believed they met 100 percent of the qualifications listed for the job. Men were happy to apply when they thought they could meet 60 percent of the job requirements. […]

Under qualified and underprepared men don’t think twice about leaning in. Overqualified and overprepared, too many women still hold back. Women feel confident only when they are perfect. Or practically perfect.

This is from a fantastic Atlantic piece by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, called “The Confidence Gap.”

And it’s that last sentence that I can’t seem to forget: “Women feel confident only when they are perfect.”

Of course, it’s worth having a larger, more complex conversation about both women’s under-confidence and men’s (at times) over-confidence.

But, for this weekend, I just want to ask: In what area of your life are you waiting to feel perfect, in order to feel confident?

You’ve got this.

Katie

---

Sign up for my newsletter to get helpful + encouraging essays like this every Sunday morning. It’s free!