Fake-it-’til-you-make-it-ology
Lately, several web professionals have asked why there aren’t more high-profile women working with CSS. Now, this could just as easily be "Why aren’t there more high-profile women in business?" or "Why aren’t there more high-profile women coaching college sports teams?" and so on.
Many folks have suggested reasons, including from ingrained sexism (I agree) to variations on the "It’s too complex for women" (bull shit) theme.
I think one key reason is this: Women, on the whole, don’t self-promote.
Oh, there are plenty of women using CSS. But there aren’t plenty of women tooting their own horn.
Why is that? We don’t know the rules of the game.
That’s a generalization, of course. Many women know the rules. At least as many know them and choose not to play. But I’d venture that most women just don’t know that there *is* a game, so they definitely don’t know the rules to it.
The game is called self-promotion
Shit-talking and bragging — better known as “self-promotion” — are skills that men learn from birth (men in the States at least). As a result, men are (over-?)confident. They, by and large, believe that their success is due to their own efforts.
Women, on the other hand are supremely under-confident. Several studies show that women attribute their success to luck instead of their own hard work, intelligence and will.
Women’s lack of confidence means that we believe we are less competent. Men, conversely, are accomplished fake-it-’til-you-make-it-ologists. Whether they know their stuff or not, men act like they do. And people believe the bluff.
That said, I think we (women, in case you were wondering) have to work on our professional self-esteem. I’m offering some affirmations — I use them myself — for the cause.
Print ’em. Hang ’em on your wall. Repeat as often as necessary until you believe.
Daily affirmations for women in technology
- I know my shit. Not only do I know my shit, but people who I think know more than me may actually know less than I do.
- Stop trippin’. I am where I am because I can do the job. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t have made it past the interview.
- Pretend I know. Don’t make an ass or a liar out of myself. But say it with authority, even if I’m not sure. If they’re asking me, chances are they don’t know either.
- I will be a braggart. Knowing my shit means nothing if no one knows that I know it. The only way they’ll know is if I tell them and back it up by showing them.
- I will not wait for approval or validation of my skills. Why not? See affirmation number 1.
Feel free to scratch your crotch, drink a brew or cough a loogie.