Many women are failing to achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential at work due to a lack of confidence and self-belief when compared to their male colleagues.
This is the view of Sadie Groom, founder and the managing director of media tech PR and marketing agency Bubble Communication, who told AVTE that she believed many women are letting themselves down by not being brave enough or outright refusing to take opportunities at work, which provide them with a position to prove themselves and, crucially, stand out.
She quoted statistics that around 80 per cent of men walk out of a job interview thinking they’ve got it, whilst only 20 per cent of women would walk out thinking the same, something she says needs to change.
“Women have a gremlin inside of them,” said Groom. “We say sorry all the time and we don’t put ourselves forward enough.
“I know so many women who are asked to speak at events and respond with ‘no no they couldn’t possibly do that’, whereas men are more likely to say they don’t want to, but they will do it anyway. Women just need to put their hands up for these roles or believe in their ability that they can do these things.
Not made equal
Groom is also a strong believer in a more gender equal workforce, and that women possess natural skills that males do not, making them a major asset to any company.
“Men and women are not the same,” she explained. “I very much believe we need to push our skills as women. We have more compassion, more empathy and better organisation. These are skills that we bring to a company.”
“I will always 100 per cent agree that the best person should always get the job – whether they’re male or female. But wouldn’t it be great if you were getting 16 applications for a job, and a third of them were female?”
Sadie’s six tips for women:
- Stand out – don’t be vanilla in a sea of black/grey – you don’t have to be in fancy dress but wear something bright
- Always hand over your business card straight away so that people can see your job title
- Prepare for meetings and have a question ready to go in the first 5 minutes
- When presenting remember to rehearse the delivery rather than spend hours on the content – you know the content it’s the delivery that is important
- Give credit where it is due to other female colleagues in meetings and back up what they say
- Practice assertive body language – literally lean-in
