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Evidence shows that women are less self-assured than men—and that to succeed, confidence matters as much as competence. Here's why, and what to do about it.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/
-- submitted from IRC
The elusive nature of confidence has intrigued us ever since we started work on our 2009 book, Womenomics, which looked at the many positive changes unfolding for women. To our surprise, as we talked with women, dozens of them, all accomplished and credentialed, we kept bumping up against a dark spot that we couldn't quite identify, a force clearly holding them back. Why did the successful investment banker mention to us that she didn't really deserve the big promotion she'd just got? What did it mean when the engineer who'd been a pioneer in her industry for decades told us offhandedly that she wasn't sure she was really the best choice to run her firm's new big project? In two decades of covering American politics as journalists, we realized, we have between us interviewed some of the most influential women in the nation. In our jobs and our lives, we walk among people you would assume brim with confidence. And yet our experience suggests that the power centers of this nation are zones of female self-doubt—that is, when they include women at all.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by termigator on Sunday November 15 2015, @06:53PM
The researchers may be making an unjustified correlation. I think many people who are competent at what they do have levels of self-doubt. They know what their weakness are, and they know they do not know everything. This is trait that as not gender specific. This doubt can drive many to work harder to avoid showing failure, hence success becoming a natural byproduct.
From what I observed, high levels of confidence correlates to incompetence much of the time. Yes, there are those that show high confidence and high competence, but that does not seem to be the norm. I would be concerned of someone that is to take on a major endeavor and not voice any signs of doubt or concern.
Another thing to consider is the women interviewed may have been more honest about their doubts, but may not voice them in public. How one portrays themself in public does not necessarily reflect how they view themself in private. Maybe women tend to be more honest about their shortcomings than men, regardless of the setting. Historically, a man's worth in society has been judged by (men and women) how successful he is, so there may be greater societal pressures for men to never voice self-doubt, regardless if in a private or public setting.
The societal penalties of not being successful is higher for men than women, historically. If a man is not successful, he is deemed less worthy for mating purposes. While for women, their attractiveness for mating purposes is normally based on physical characteristics more than their success level.
How humans have chosen mates over our existence as a species is likely the driving force why men will be more agressive in pursuing societal status, even to a levels of over confidence and the extremely reluctance to ever admit they cannot do something.
What may be worth studying is if over confidence is more likely for men, women, or neither. A challenge may be getting men to be fully honest on how they view themselves. How confident (no pun intended) can researchers be that a subject is truly honest about their view of themself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 15 2015, @10:28PM
An otherwise reasonable post, but the bit tying it in to "mating purposes" is just weird.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 16 2015, @12:35AM
It is only weird if you are a big enough idiot to think that evolution doesn't apply to humans.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 16 2015, @02:05AM
But Jebus says evolution is a sin!