Are you mid-career and feeling like you’re not where you want to be? You’re not alone. This article from Harvard Business Review outlines three biases that can hold women back in their careers.

The article discusses three specific types of discrimination: the likability penalty, the confidence gap, and the motherhood penalty. Each affects women differently by either punishing them for their behaviour or penalising them for taking time off. For example, the confidence gap means that due to a lack of confidence, women may not take risks or ask for promotions or raises as much as their male counterparts do. The motherhood penalty points out how after having children, women are often seen as being less capable than men when it comes to job promotions and opportunities. And finally, the likability penalty shows how being too agreeable can lead to mid-career women not getting taken seriously by their colleagues at work.

These types of bias can have a huge impact on mid-career women’s financial success and career progression. It is important for managers, business owners and supervisors to be aware of these biases so they can better understand how they may be affecting their female employees and make changes accordingly. They should create policies which support working mothers and make sure that people’s qualifications rather than gender or behaviour are taken into account when considering promotions or assigning tasks.

How can managers and business owners address these biases? Managers can make an effort to promote gender diversity in their organizations. They can also make sure that there are equal opportunities for advancement for both men and women. Business owners can create policies that support working parents, such as flexible work arrangements and paid parental leave. And everyone can make an effort to give equal weight to the opinions of men and women in meetings and decision-making processes.

These strategies can help to level the playing field for mid-career women, but there is still much work to be done. We need to create workplaces that are free from bias and discrimination. We need to empower mid-career women so they can reach their full potential. Let’s work together to create a brighter future for all women in the workforce.

Find out more in the original article here: https://hbr.org/2022/09/3-workplace-biases-that-derail-mid-career-women?utm_campaign=59d2c81294a32640540086c5&utm_content=632868619fadda00017d851c&utm_medium=smarpshare&utm_source=linkedin

This article summary was created by Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a leadership trainer, success coach and people skills expert. She helps managers and business owners build thriving teams and organisations, using tools from Positive Psychology. She's trained more than 60,000 people during her career as a corporate trainer and professional development consultant. Her mission is inspiring talented people to become leaders who make a difference. 

Need confidence? Give yourself a chocolate. You’ve probably heard about the benefits of rewards for motivation. A new breakthrough in neuroscience suggests that rewards can also boost confidence. Giving yourself a small reward can train the brain to feel more confident.

A group of researchers published their findings from a recent study on using rewards to manipulate the brain. The researchers wanted to determine if self-confidence can be amplified directly in the brain. They explain that self-confidence is an essential quality to succeed in the modern world. Self-confidence may also help decrease the risk of mental illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

To complete the study, the researchers developed a unique method for reading and amplifying the brain. The method is called ‘decoded neurofeedback’. It involves mapping specific patterns in the brain linked to an individual’s feelings of confidence. The researchers used this technique to scan the brain and determine whether a participant is experiencing a high or low confidence state.

Participants were unaware of the nature of the study. They were instructed to perform a simple perceptual task. When a high confidence state was detected, the researchers gave the participant a small monetary reward. At the end of the training session, participants were asked to rate their confidence in completing the task. Participants were consistently more confident after receiving the rewards.

Researchers could also reverse the effects. By withholding rewards, they could lower the confidence of the participant. They essentially proved that it’s possible to train the brain to be more confident or less confident with a simple reward system. Keep in mind that the study was limited in scope. The study involved just 17 volunteers. However, it’s in line with the results of similar studies.

Research shows that a reward system helps drive motivation. It can also boost your confidence. If you’re an ambitious professional, your confidence influences career ambitions. Low self-confidence tends to lead to a feeling of inadequacy. You may start to feel unworthy of your job title. We call this imposter syndrome.

Giving yourself small rewards may offer a boost of confidence, but it may not be enough to beat imposter syndrome. To build authentic confidence, you need to get to the root of your insecurities. One solution is to reframe negative thought patterns using the latest neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) techniques.

So, should you start rewarding yourself to increase your confidence? It’s a good start, but you should also explore additional confidence-building methods. For example, a reward may not train the brain to overcome major fears and insecurities. To explore other techniques for a more confident mind, learn about my one-to-one coaching and online courses at https://thinklearnsucceed.com.au.