Women's Career Strategies - Image, Society

A professional career, self-realization in the chosen specialty is not easy. And here it does not matter what area we are talking about. Few are lucky enough to get promoted and never experience leadership underestimation or recognition in their lifetime

Women-specialists in Russian realities additionally face, as a rule, two specific problems:

• with its own internal prohibition on "asking for more" and
• with an external perception of an initiative and ambitious woman as an "upstart".

Perfect impostors

Of course, men also face self-doubt, the "impostor syndrome", but among women, almost every first woman has a similar attitude towards herself.

Surprisingly, on average girls study better, women in Russia are better educated and are more likely to maintain their qualifications, attend educational courses, and read professional literature

I often hear employers say that women are more executive and responsible, often take on increased obligations and fulfill them, it is convenient and pleasant to work with them. And yet - with such great introductions, we still don't see women doing particularly well.

Yes, in many respects the reason is precisely in the inner convictions of women themselves - I would single out two of the most significant beliefs here:

• 1. The need to be perfect and one hundred percent competent.
• 2. Confidence that it is impossible to ask for anything (promotion, salary increase, subordinate employment) is a shame. It is necessary for the management to notice and appreciate.

A huge number of really capable and highly qualified specialists hang somewhere in the middle positions because of these beliefs that they should be appreciated and noticed anyway. And since they do not notice and do not appreciate it, then, apparently, they are still not good enough and have not shown themselves well enough. And of course, such an “imperfect” employee is not yet eligible for a higher position or a higher salary.

Is everyone happy with everything?

It is not easy to deal with such internal inhibitions, but with the proper motivation, it is possible without even resorting to training or long-term psychotherapy.

To begin with, you should compare yourself with others and evaluate yourself against their background. Is your own leader perfect and never makes mistakes? Are all your colleagues wonderful and fully competent employees? Do they have no difficulties, no deadlines, no sick leave, no extra smoke breaks?

Very often, women immediately respond to this that it is true that they are good specialists, not at all worse than everyone else (real colleagues, not ideal images), but, on the contrary, are worthy and deserving of recognition. But there is no recognition, and asking yourself is both scary and awkward, and is it really not visible anyway?

And here it would be nice to take the place of your boss-employer: how does he see you? Most likely, he sees you as a good executive worker, effectively coping with their tasks (or even with a couple of "in the load"). It is good and convenient for him that you do the necessary things efficiently and on time. Everything suits him. And he believes that everything suits you too - after all, there is no request for more on your part.

Even if a position is vacated for which you are secretly applying for and for which you are approaching, there is a great risk that it will go to a newly hired employee, whom they will specifically look for. Or to one of your colleagues who at least sighed sometimes about a promotion in the smoking room.

This is how your situation may well look from the outside (this also applies to modest and hardworking men - in the same way they can give the impression of everyone being satisfied and satisfied with the existing state of affairs).

To ask or to demand?

The next difficulty, which women-specialists often, very often face, is the inability, the inability to formulate a request. How to get adequate pay for your work? How do you indicate your desire for a promotion? Ask? Require? To bargain? Make conditions? And where is the guarantee that it will not get worse, that you will not acquire a reputation as an impudent and careerist?

In many ways, the choice of the right strategy can depend on the personal qualities of the leader. If you know that your boss loves the initiative and even a little arrogant, it makes sense to have an open conversation with honest statements. If, on the contrary, he is inclined to make decisions for a long time, he himself, does not like unnecessary pressure on himself, he probably should stop at a written request with a tactful request.

In any case, it is better to indicate your intentions politely, and not in the form of manipulation "otherwise I will quit" (here you really need to consider this outcome of the case). Objective arguments must be presented:

• 1. That your salary, unfortunately, is lower than the average salaries in the market, and has not been indexed since the moment you started working.
• 2. That your real responsibilities and opportunities have long outgrown those for which you were originally accepted.
• 3. That you, for example, recently completed advanced training courses, have already worked for a long time in the company, successfully coping with your tasks, and are ready for more.

Even if you are clearly "underestimated" (in Russian companies, unfortunately, it is a common practice to save on employees to the last), then the desire to get more is still better to formalize in the form of a "deal". You can offer the management some of your additional skills, abilities and responsibilities

It is better for women-specialists to be especially careful in presenting their requests and demands, since women's initiative is usually perceived by the leadership more sharply and negatively. Feedback in the form of "What, not enough tights?" not uncommon even in large companies. Often, professional women have to be more patient as their requests are considered longer and more biased.

External perception

The problem with promotions is often not only about inner convictions and self-prohibitions - often managers and recruiters really underestimate women specialists. Research shows that the perceptions of men and women exhibiting the same qualities in the same situations differ, and very much.

Professional women who behave like men are most likely to cause negative reactions

This is why I very rarely advise professional women to look at their male colleagues and act like them.

Employers are people too, and like all people, they tend to follow stereotypes. Let's add here the fact that in Russia, especially in the provinces, the image of a courageous, even muzhik boss is very common and desirable. Plus, there is still a widespread belief that women should be more concerned with family rather than career.

It becomes obvious that even a very capable, qualified and proactive specialist may not find understanding from the management.

This is a sad fact, and I always recommend leaving a company where the boss does not hesitate to voice his opinion about the inability of women to lead or responsible work

Or, for example, that a woman should be provided for by her husband. And even if it's tempting to prove the boss wrong with your brilliant example, it's better to spend your time and energy looking for a better job.

Read also:

• 10 secrets to a successful interview. How to behave so that you are invited to work in the company?
• Toxic collective. How not to burn your soul
• How to deal with discrimination at work. 6 recommendations for victims of discrimination