Why women tend to undersell themselves?

The first time I realised that women tend to undersell themselves was during my first job interview, when I was applying for a lead generator/inside sales role at a call centre of a large corporation in Dublin.

The recruiter asked me a typical interview question: “What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?”
I started with a long list of strengths and concluded by mentioning two areas for improvement.
The recruiter looked at me with a big smile and said, “Usually, it’s the other way around when I interview women.”

I got the job, but his comment stayed with me.

Later on, during my career in talent acquisition, I noticed this pattern repeatedly in different situations. One frequent example was women asking for much lower salaries than their male peers, even when interviewing for exactly the same position.

Of course, nowadays many corporates have policies to stick to the midpoint of the salary range. However, male candidates often still manage to secure higher salaries, either by pushing for the maximum of the range or sometimes convincing interviewers that they are worth more than the top of the range.

I recently read an article in The Guardian about gender pay gap stagnation in the UK. In fact, the article stated that women are still paid less than their male peers at 4 out of 5 employers.
I also came across other statistics claiming that at the current rate of progress, it will take until at least 2044 to close the gap.

When discussing this with a friend, I remembered my first interview experience and shared my story with her. I’ve always thought that this tendency to undersell themselves is one of the factors contributing to the gap.

When she asked why I didn’t undersell myself, I said it was because of my dad and how he raised me and my twin sister. He always wanted daughters, and although we grew up in South America, in a very Catholic and conservative society at the time, he always made me feel like I could do whatever I wanted. I never felt that I was capable of less than my male friends.

While education seems to be key, since I started working as a career coach, I’ve realised how powerful coaching can be in raising awareness among women.
I often coach women who are unhappy because they feel overlooked for promotions and opportunities.

When discussing possible reasons and challenging them with questions, I’ve heard more than once from talented women that they haven’t asked for a promotion because they believe their good work should be noticed. They feel uncomfortable speaking up about their accomplishments.

Once they become fully aware of this, we then work together on finding the right tools to change it.

The right tools can differ for each person. Some find working on negotiation techniques really helpful, while others prefer a step-by-step plan to start speaking up.

Below is a picture of my twin sister and me the day we decided to steal some cigars from my dad. I didn’t manage to light mine, but my sister did. When my dad discovered us seconds later, he helped me light mine, although I was only allowed to hold it for a couple of seconds.

Thank you, Dad, for the way you reacted to that and for always reassuring me that I could do whatever I wanted. I was not restricted or expected to fit into a certain role just because I’m a woman.

#WomenEmpowerment, #ClosingTheGap, #FulfimentAtWork