Addressing confidence gaps for women in media

A highly qualified woman sat across from me yesterday.   Her resume showed 15 years of C-suite experience. Multiple awards. Industry recognition.   Yet she spoke about her success like it was pure luck.   SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of female executives experience this same phenomenon.   I see it daily through my work with thousands of women leaders. They achieve remarkable success but internally believe they fooled everyone.   Some call it imposter syndrome. I call it a STRUCTURAL PROBLEM.   Let me explain...   When less than 5% of major companies have gender-balanced leadership, women question whether they belong.   My first board appointment taught me this hard truth.   I walked into that boardroom convinced I would say something ridiculous. Everyone seemed so confident.   But confidence plays tricks on us.   Perfect knowledge never exists. Leadership requires:   • Recognising what you know • Admitting what you miss • Finding the right answers • Moving forward anyway   Three strategies that transformed my journey:   1. Build your evidence file Document every win, every positive feedback, every successful project. Review it before big meetings. Your brain lies. Evidence speaks truth.   2. Find your circle Connect with other women leaders who understand your experience. The moment you share your doubts, someone else will say "me too."   3. Practice strategic vulnerability Acknowledging areas for growth enhances credibility. Power exists in saying "I'll find out" instead of pretending omniscience.   REALITY CHECK: This impacts business results.   Qualified women: - Decline opportunities - Downplay achievements - Hesitate to negotiate - Withdraw from consideration   Organisations lose valuable talent and perspective.   The solution requires both individual action and systemic change.   We need visible pathways to leadership for women. We need to challenge biased feedback. We need women in leadership positions in meaningful numbers.   Leadership demands courage, not perfect confidence.   The world needs leaders who push past doubt - not because they never experience it, but because they refuse to let it win. https://lnkd.in/gY9G-ibh

Stop teaching women to be confident. We don’t need another pep talk. We don’t need more “you got this” speeches or workshops on how to feel stronger. Because let’s be real: women already are confident. They study. They deliver results. They lead teams. They launch businesses. They have the expertise. Confidence isn’t the problem. The real gap? 👉 Credibility — when a man speaks, authority is assumed. When a woman speaks, her credibility is questioned. 👉 Self-trust — not “can I do it?” but “do I trust myself enough to stop apologizing, overexplaining, or shrinking when I do it?” And yes, this is maddening to witness: we’ve all seen mediocrity celebrated as authority on one side of the table, while brilliance gets interrogated on the other. Double standards drive me crazy. So instead of pushing women to “fix themselves” with more confidence, the work is two-fold: ⚡ Fix the systems that undermine them. ⚡ Practice the subtle shifts that close the credibility gap. Here’s the simple micro-framework I share with clients when influence feels harder than it should: 1️⃣ Align — Anchor in what actually matters: your values, your expertise, your goals. And ask yourself the hardest question: am I sitting at the right table? Because if you’re at the wrong one, it’s like fighting windmills. No amount of “confidence” will make that worth it. 2️⃣ State — Share your perspective clearly. No hedging. No over-explaining. No apologizing for taking space. This is the one piece where practice is everything — the muscle you build each time you refuse to downplay yourself. 3️⃣ Evidence — Back it up with data, examples, proof. Unfair? Absolutely. Necessary? Yes. Because credibility isn’t handed to us the way it is to others. We build it, brick by brick. Here’s the secret: 👉 Just “being confident” without credibility, without alignment, without self-trust… is like shouting into the wind. 👉 Alignment + clarity + evidence? That’s what shifts the room. And no, you don’t have to wake up every day ready to “fix the system” by yourself. None of us do. But every aligned statement, every piece of evidence, every time you refuse to shrink — you’re not just protecting your seat. You’re reshaping the table. Now tell me: when was the last time you noticed credibility being assumed for someone else… and questioned for you? (And if this hit home: my DMs are open.)

“I knew my stuff and I still got talked over.” The brutally honest truth about what it takes for women to command respect in the room. She had the deck. She had the metrics. She had the vision. Five minutes into the pitch, one of the VCs interrupted her. Then another tried to “reframe” her idea like it wasn’t already clear. By the end of the meeting, she had presented everything perfectly But walked out thinking: “Why didn’t they take me seriously?” That’s from someone I connected with right here. ⸻ Here’s the truth I wish someone had told her: Being great isn’t always enough. Especially if you don’t fit the default picture of what a “leader” looks like in that room. If you’ve already heard all the advice— ✔ “Be confident” ✔ “Own your space” ✔ “Know your worth” …yet you still struggle to command respect, it’s not because you’re doing something wrong. But you might be focusing in the wrong places. So here’s what I tell the women I work with: ⸻ ➤ ➤ ➤ 1. Stop Chasing Respect From the Wrong People If someone walks in with baked-in bias, you won’t argue your way into their respect. Don’t give their opinion more weight than it deserves. Seek out allies, not approval. ⸻ ➤ ➤ ➤ 2. Project What You Want Reflected Back Confidence isn’t a personality trait, it’s a practice. Watch how you speak, sit, pause, and pitch. Rehearse. Record. Refine. You don’t need to fake it, but you do need to train it. ⸻ ➤ ➤ ➤ 3. Don’t Borrow Someone Else’s Leadership Style You don’t have to “act like a guy” to lead like a boss. Command respect in a way that’s true to who you are, clear, calm, direct. Conviction is more powerful than volume. ⸻ ➤ ➤ ➤ 4. Use Power Moves (That Don’t Make You a Jerk) If someone cuts you off: “Hold on, I wasn’t finished.” If they go quiet: Let them sit in the silence. Authority is in the micro-behaviors. ⸻ ➤ ➤ ➤ 5. Build a Respect-First Circle If respect isn’t landing in the boardroom, start with one-on-one conversations, early hires, mentors. You get better at commanding respect by practicing where the stakes are lower, then scaling it. ⸻ Here’s the part I want you to remember: You’re not the problem. But you are the solution. If you’ve ever walked out of a room wondering why they didn’t take you seriously, don’t carry that as self-doubt. Carry it as a signal: It’s time to stop asking for respect and start expecting it. 👇 What’s ONE thing you’ve done that helped you go from being heard to being respected? ♻️ If this landed repost your network.

As International Women’s Day nears, we’ll see the usual corporate gestures—empowerment panels, social media campaigns, and carefully curated success stories. But let’s be honest: these feel-good initiatives rarely change what actually holds women back at work on the daily basis. Instead, I suggest focusing on something concrete, something I’ve seen have the biggest impact in my work with teams: the unspoken dynamics that shape psychological safety. 🚨Because psychological safety is not the same for everyone. Psychological safety is often defined as a shared belief that one can take risks without fear of negative consequences. But let’s unpack that—who actually feels safe enough to take those risks? 🔹 Speaking up costs more for women Confidence isn’t the issue—consequences are. Women learn early that being too direct can backfire. Assertiveness can be read as aggression, while careful phrasing can make them seem uncertain. Over time, this calculation becomes second nature: Is this worth the risk? 🔹 Mistakes are stickier When men fail, it’s seen as part of leadership growth. When women fail, it often reinforces lingering doubts about their competence. This means that women aren’t more risk-averse by nature—they’re just more aware of the cost. 🔹 Inclusion isn’t just about presence Being at the table doesn’t mean having an equal voice. Women often find themselves in a credibility loop—having to repeatedly prove their expertise before their ideas carry weight. Meanwhile, those who fit the traditional leadership mold are often trusted by default. 🔹 Emotional labor is the silent career detour Women in teams do an extraordinary amount of behind-the-scenes work—mediating conflicts, softening feedback, ensuring inclusion. The problem? This work isn’t visible in performance reviews or leadership selection criteria. It’s expected, but not rewarded. What companies can do beyond IWD symbolism: ✅ Stop measuring "confidence"—start measuring credibility gaps If some team members always need to “prove it” while others are trusted instantly, you have a credibility gap, not a confidence issue. Fix how ideas get heard, not how women present them. ✅ Make failure a learning moment for everyone Audit how mistakes are handled in your team. Are men encouraged to take bold moves while women are advised to be more careful? Change the narrative around risk. ✅ Track & reward emotional labor If women are consistently mentoring, resolving conflicts, or ensuring inclusion, this isn’t just “being helpful”—it’s leadership. Make it visible, valued, and part of promotion criteria. 💥 This IWD, let’s skip the celebration and start the correction. If your company is serious about making psychological safety equal for everyone, let’s do the real work. 📅 I’m now booking IWD sessions focused on improving team dynamics and creating workplaces where women don’t just survive, but thrive. Book your spot and let’s turn good intentions into lasting impact.

58% of Americans say women have to do more to prove themselves. I learned that -- at lunch with my stepfather. We'd built a media business for 10 years. When he retired, he wanted me to co-lead with his younger (male) partner. But I had a different vision. I wanted to own it. Fully. So I told him. He paused. Then said: “Yeah, but you haven’t proven that you can do it yet.” 💥Gut punch. 💨Wind, gone. That moment stuck. Because it wasn’t about readiness. It was about optics. Power. Proof. Even in families, women are asked for evidence. Not potential. Not vision. Just proof. 10 Things that work when you're ready, but they don’t see it yet: 1) “Not proven” doesn’t mean “not capable.” → Don’t confuse doubt with insight. → Do trust what you know you’re ready for. 2) Your past role isn’t your ceiling. → Don’t let old labels define your future. → Do use every quiet contribution as evidence. 3) Prove it by doing it. → Don’t defend your ambition. → Do show your work, loudly if needed. 4) Ask for stretch assignments before you're “ready.” → Don’t wait for someone to tap you. → Do signal readiness by asking for risk. 5) Speak first in meetings you usually sit through. → Don’t blend into the background. → Do offer the comment that advances the discussion. 6) Wanting more doesn’t make you selfish. → Don’t apologize for your vision. → Do chase it—unapologetically. 7) Fear means you care. Not that you’re not ready. → Don’t wait for perfect confidence. → Do move through fear with action. 8) Find your people before you leap. → Don’t go it alone. → Do build your advisory board. 9) Leadership isn’t about loudness. → Don’t assume leadership looks one way. → Do lead in the way that’s true to you. 10) Doubt sharpens your focus. → Don’t internalize it. → Do let it clarify your next move. If someone’s telling you to wait until you’re more proven… Treat it like a campaign. You’re earning belief, not waiting for it. What’s one move you made before you felt fully ready? Share in the comments. 👇 --- ♻ Repost to share with someone questioning their readiness. 👉 Follow me, Stephanie Eidelman (Meisel), for real talk on credibility, visibility, and owning your leadership voice.

I was shocked when I read this statistic. 🤯 👉 65% of women believe they’re underrepresented in leadership positions due to ONE factor: Lack of confidence. (source: TeamStage) Not lack of ability. Not lack of experience. Not lack of education. Just confidence. This isn’t just a statistic to me. Last month, I watched a colleague—brilliant, experienced, with an MBA—hesitate to apply for a senior role because she “only” met 8 of 10 requirements. Meanwhile, her male colleague with 6 of 10 qualifications applied without hesitation. He got the interview. She didn’t even try. The data confirms what I witnessed: 📉 43% of young women regularly doubt their professional abilities, compared to 36% of young men. (source: American Survey Center) And here’s why it matters: At current rates, gender parity for women of color will take 48 YEARS to achieve. (source: McKinsey & Company) We can’t wait that long. For women reading this: ✅ Apply for that job even if you meet just 70% of the qualifications. ✅ Speak up in that meeting even when your idea isn’t fully formed. ✅ Put yourself forward for that promotion even if you’re scared. For allies and organizations: 🔍 Examine your job descriptions—are they inviting the best candidates or just the most confident? 🙋♀️ Actively encourage qualified women to apply—don’t wait for them to volunteer. 🎯 Specify clear requirements instead of vague phrases like “several years of experience.” (source: Rowing News) The business case is clear: Companies with 10% greater gender diversity see higher gross profits, and diverse leadership teams consistently outperform homogeneous ones. (source: TeamStage) Because here’s the truth: No one feels 100% ready. The successful ones jump anyway. What ONE action will you take this week to close the confidence gap—for yourself or others? #MondayMotivation #WomenInLeadership #ConfidenceGap

“Too confident.” “Too ambitious.” “Too much.” Funny how the things that make men leaders… are the same things that make women a “problem.” And we call that a confidence gap? It’s not. It’s an opportunity gap. - For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 87 women are. - Women of color? Just 73. Women are less likely to be promoted based on potential. More likely to receive personality-based feedback instead of performance-based. And constantly navigating a double bind: - Be confident, but not too confident. - Be strong, but stay “likable.” So what happens? We over-prepare before speaking up. We shrink our accomplishments to stay palatable. We live in fear of being “too much” for rooms we’ve already earned a seat in. And when we finally do advocate for ourselves? We get labeled. “Aggressive.” “Difficult.” “Not a team player.” This isn’t a confidence issue. It’s a systems issue. -> Confidence in women is often perceived as a threat. -> Assertiveness is misread as arrogance. -> Leadership potential goes unseen because it doesn’t come in the expected “package.” Confidence grows where it’s safe to show up fully. Opportunity fuels self-belief - not the other way around. So if we want more women leaders? ✅ Stop promoting based on tenure alone - look at potential. ✅ Sponsor women the way we mentor men. ✅ Redefine leadership to include collaboration, empathy, and intuition. Women don’t need fixing. The system does. PS: What’s one leadership challenge you’ve faced as a woman - or seen another woman go through?