Playtimes HK Magazine February 2018 Issue | Page 45

features
A woman’s self-esteem is often impacted by
criticisms of their appearance and body image. The
feeling of not being accepted often stems from the
subconscious and childhood experiences
The Women’s Foundation (TWF), a
research-based NGO that is dedicated
to improving the lives of women and
girls in Hong Kong, conducted a 2012
study and found that parents and
children view housework as primarily
women’s work and many agree that
women should put more emphasis on
family than career. Lisa Moore, senior
research and advocacy manager at
TWF, adds that, “Hong Kong culture
has prescribed gender roles that are
pervasive. [A woman] can have a
career but there is still a lot of pressure
on her to [fulfill multiple familial roles]
which puts a lot of pressure on women
midway through their career and
results in many dropping out. This
holds true for younger girls, as well.
While in secondary school, they are
taking in images from the media about
women and leadership styles. And the
message they’re getting is that if you’re
aggressive, ambitious, and confident
you are socially stigmatised.” Not only do cultural attitudes
contribute to the confidence gap,
but environment and experiences
in childhood also play a role. Sonia
Samtani, founder of the All About You
Wellness Centre, adds, “A woman’s self-
esteem is often impacted by criticisms
of their appearance and body image.
The feeling of not being accepted often
stems from the subconscious and
childhood experiences. What is missing
is self-acceptance.”
On the flipside, perhaps societies
haven’t given women enough of a
reason to feel self-assured. A 2006
Harvard study exposed that women
are penalised more than men by men
evaluators when attempting to negotiate
for higher compensation. Men were
also significantly more inclined to work
with “nicer and less demanding women
who accepted their compensation.”
The social consequences may justify
women’s lowered confidence in
negotiations.
1. Help your children explore and pursue
their talents. It develops their sense of
identity which is important in building
confidence. 3. Allow your child to fail in order to learn
resilience. The Child Mind Institute
writes, "Trial and error is how kids learn
and falling short on a goal helps kids
find out its not fatal. It can spur kids
to greater effort, which will serve them
well as adults." 5. Encourage them to take on a sport.
Research has shown links to playing
sports in high school with a higher
salary later in life. It also increased the
likelihood of girls being employed in
male-dominated industries.
2. Encourage risk-taking. A desire to
be perfect is more often seen in
girls. Girls often internalise the need
to get everything right in order to be
accepted, which can lead to low self-
confidence. 4. Praise effort, moderately and
specifically, regardless of outcomes.
It takes time to develop new skills. Let
kids know you value the work they
are doing irrespective of how trivial or
grand the task at hand is.
22.2 per cent in the last decade. This
may put women at risk of suffering
from a lowered self-esteem. This is
because when “women were earning
less than their male counterparts with
whom they were equal to in terms
of education and work experience,
they had a higher chance of being
diagnosed with a depressive disorder
and generalised anxiety disorder,”
accounts a study from Columbia
University in 2015. Social comparisons
with the opposite gender are common
in developed regions where equality
is present. When the result of such
comparisons is negative, as in unequal
pay, women are inevitably left with a
sense of insecurity. This partly explains
why the confidence gap is more
pronounced in developed countries.
Socio-Cultural
Hong Kong’s conservative family
culture creates an environment where
gender stereotypes are rampant.
TIPS
How to Increase
Confidence in our Children:
6. Foster a growth mindset rather than
a fixed mindset. It creates a love
of learning rather than a need for
approval, teaches children that talents
can be developed through hard work,
and creates motivation – elements that
lead to increased confidence.
February 2018
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