Global Women's Leadership Network - Pink Paper

ISSUE #4: : INCREASE WOMEN’S CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM Across the globe, members described how women hold themselves back. From not stepping forward to share ideas in meetings to stifling their desire for career advancement, a remarkable percentage of GWLN members described how a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem impacts women’s advancement to leadership. A related theme is self-esteem. GWLN members report receiving conflicting messages about how their self-worth is linked to achieving career milestones. This contradicts a belief in being inherently good enough. GWLN members describe how Covid-19 has exacerbated existing challenges to mental health. As drastic numbers of women have dropped out of the workplace for family caregiving and other responsibilities. Women across the globe are stepping back amidst competing stressors and priorities, oftentimes at a serious disadvantage to their careers, which also impacts women’s confidence and self- esteem. GWLN members say the time is critical to confront this confidence crisis. They challenge both credit unions and themselves to erode deeply engrained messages about women’s self-worth through perfection and achievement and alleviate the confidence crisis holding many women back from advancing in leadership. 2021 GWLN Pink Paper | 1 1 | 2021 GWLN Pink Paper “Women need the courage to step up. There are so many competent, capable women in our industry, but the travesty is we don’t see them taking on those senior leadership roles in our industry.” “…women are trying their hardest to balance executive, teacher, homemaker, and other roles, then on top of that remaining equal with their colleagues who are men. Mental health is an unspoken challenge because it appears to reflect weakness.” “…women sabotage our efforts to grow by not raising our hands, by accepting the rhetoric that we are too emotional, and by exhibiting very little confidence in our capabilities.” “Don’t let what you think you don’t know stand in the way because your male counterparts are not doing that.”