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Last Word | Catalyst
qualities and the ability to show that they are caring
and nurturing.
The research, conducted in collaboration
with IE Business School and INSEAD, looked at
high-performing workers in a male-dominated
global tech company. We spoke to Guillén to discuss
the findings.
What inspired the research?
The gender
confidence
gap is a myth
Andrew Dickens explores how women
face unwritten rules around their
suitability for leadership.
T
he stereotypical image of the
‘successful executive’ is of a person
dripping in self-confidence, even
brashness. People are told that,
to get ahead, they need to appear
confident. One of the many reasons given for the
discrepancy in men’s and women’s earnings is that
men come across as more assured.
However, research by Laura Guillén, professor of
organisational behaviour at international business
school ESMT Berlin, shows that women who are
viewed as self-confident are not more likely to
get ahead. They require extra ingredients: social
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When I was doing my professorship, I had a mentor
who said to me: “Laura, you have to project a self-
confident appearance if you want to succeed.” He
was really talking about himself, saying that the
secret for success, not only in teaching, but also in
organisations, is self-confidence.
That’s when I started discussing self-confidence
with colleagues. Of course, there’s a lot of “you
have to believe in yourself. If you think that you
can, you will make it happen”. But there were some
critical views saying that it can also be problematic,
because you stop listening to others; you can appear
arrogant. That’s when I thought it might not be
straightforward and there might be a general angle
I’d like to study.
How would you summarise
key findings?
The correlation between the confidence you project
and your actual self-confidence is very, very small.
I think that’s interesting.
The other thing is that the relationship between a
self-confident appearance and influence is different
for men and women. With men, when they perform
well, they appear to be confident and this allows
them to gain influence in the organisation.
Women not only have to perform well and appear
confident, but must pay attention to their social
qualities: whether they are perceived as warm,
and the extent to which they are seen to nurture
others, being helpful and creating harmony
within their team. Without that, a self-confident
appearance is not going to pay off.
Why is this happening
in practical terms?
There’s a lot of literature around gender
stereotyping. The main conclusion is that there are
certain expectations for women; gender-traditional
roles. Women are expected to have social qualities
and men to be self-confident, to make decisions
quickly and to be forceful.
Research shows that these subconscious
expectations are prevalent and can affect how
we judge women in male-dominated professions.