Do Women Need Higher Confidence or Do Organizations Need to Change?

Recently, Dr. Leonora Risse, Lecturer in Economics at RMIT University and Women and Public Policy Program Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, published an article titled “Leaning In: Is Higher Confidence the Key to Women's Career Advancement?” I will highlight a few of her points and some findings presented in her research. 

In her article, Dr. Risse pushed back on the research that women need to be more confident to progress in their careers. She suggested that job promotions are a more important driver of career progression. Therefore, any differences between a man’s and woman’s ability to receive a job promotion will undoubtedly impact their difference in future earnings, leadership abilities, and societal influence. Historically, an individual’s ability to receive a job promotion falls back on external factors such as industry conditions and necessity. However, it has been noted that the decision whether to hire or promote is also tied to a worker’s personality traits, particularly those reflected in an individual’s willingness to lead, take risks, and compete. And, of course, according to literature, men tend to express agentic traits such as assertiveness while women tend to express communal and expressive traits such as nurturance, which can disadvantage women.  

Background

An employer’s decision to promote their workers tends to be influenced by the desire to retain top talent, incentivize higher productivity, and fulfill staffing needs at top levels. The decisions are intended to position the firm to achieve its goals and maximize profit. Dr. Risse points out that, consequently, an individual’s opportunity to get promoted is based on the employer’s evaluation of the worker’s predictive value to the firm. This value may be measured in objective ways (i.e., tenure, performance) or in subjective ways such as personal characteristics. Similarly, a worker’s decision to seek out a promotion is often linked to the person’s overall objective (i.e., higher status or greater responsibility within the organization). Application for promotion is also based on valuation of the rewards brought forth with the promotion. Additionally, the evaluation of an individual’s own productivity capacity to fulfill the requirements of the position also influences the decision.

As you know, the “lean-in” campaign was initiated by Facebook Executive Sheryl Sandberg and urged women to express more confidence and assert themselves in the workplace in order to close the gender gap in career outcomes. This campaign assumes that women ”hold themselves back” and do not have the necessary self-confidence to pursue opportunities for career advancement. Yet Dr. Risse points out that existing literature suggests that women are at risk of negative repercussions for exhibiting more assertive behaviors in the workplace. According to Risse, the two-fold question is whether there is a link between personality and job promotion, and, further, whether the advice for women to “lean in” and act more confidently will positively affect their career advancement. Honestly, I always struggle with the “either-or” mentality and believe it is nearly always and “and”!

The Study

Dr. Risse sought to examine whether personality and confidence were linked to an individual’s ability to receive a job promotion. Personality characteristics, in this instance, were defined by the two dimensions of personality that are commonly examined in labor market studies: The Big Five traits—agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extroversion, and openness to experience—and  the Locus of Control (LOC)—the degree to which an individual believes their life outcomes are dependent on their own actions. This study examined whether the gender gap in job promotion prospects is linked to other personality traits.

This particularly study found that, while there was a positive link between workers’ hope for success and job promotion—and women displayed lower levels of confidence than men—confidence had no effect on an individual’s ability to be promoted. In fact, women were generally evaluated more harshly when considered for promotion. Of course, increasing confidence for women is still important, but she found some interesting results that should be considered.

The findings align with those of previous studies concluding that that women find stagnation in their career progression is more strongly linked with workplace gender discrimination. Additionally, women who express assertiveness and confidence in pursuit of a job promotion are more likely to experience a lower return or potential backlash as a direct result. Dr. Risse points out that these phenomena are driven by the fact that women expressing assertiveness and ambition goes against the gender-patterned cultural norms and roles that exist in the workplace. And, these norms influence the perception of competency and leadership.

In the study, Dr. Risse found that the societal stereotype that positions men as leaders is consistent with all the Big Five and LOC personality characteristics that are often associated with job promotion. Additionally, those who are appointed into leadership positions often reflect the characteristics of those who appoint them.

Conclusion

So, where do we go from here? Risse points out that while the “lean-in” movement is well-intended, there are caveats that need to be added to advising women to act more confidently. First, understand that personality traits are not easily malleable. Second, even if an individual could deliberately change their personality, there is no significant evidence that they will be rewarded for expressing more ambition and confidence in the workplace. Lastly, the onus should not be put on the women to change. This perpetuates the idea that women need to conform to the model of behavior that is demonstrated by men, thus devaluing the unique behaviors and perspectives that a woman could bring to the workplace.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that women should still strengthen their confidence to pursue career advancement. However, it is just as important (if not more) that organizations scrutinize their own structures, systems, and cultures. It is not “either/or.” It is definitely “and”; organizational leaders need to step up and do more!  

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is a global thought leader, author, speaker, and scholar on the topic of women and leadership. She is also the Inaugural Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.