Celebrate Yourself!
LUX WMN
04 March 2024
In the 2023 hit film of the year, Barbie, there appeared a scene where various Barbies accepted awards for work in their respective career fields. After Journalist Barbie was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, instead of starting her speech by thanking others, she congratulated herself. She said, “I’ve worked hard for this and I deserve it”.
This one simple line sent a shockwave across the globe. It was so unheard of for women. In an article praising the film Ella Razzell said her first reaction was that it “hung in the air; it felt uncomfortable”. So why does hearing a woman praise herself publicly or imagining ourselves self-praising feel so unnatural?
Women historically have not recognized their accomplishments. Whether it be in their personal lives or professional lives, women do not like to brag. While this does not sound inherently harmful, women’s dislike of complimenting themselves has real concrete consequences. In a study done by Hewlett-Packard, researchers found that women only applied for a promotion when they met 100% of the qualifications, while men applied for promotions when they met 60% of the job requirements.
When researchers asked why women only applied for jobs when they met all of the criteria, the majority of women simply explained that since they did not meet them, there was no point in setting themselves up to fail and not get the job. This is likely due to the idea that historically women are hired based on their experience, while men are promoted on their potential.
However, this is the 21st century and strong women across the world are changing statistics every single day. As of 2024, more women earn college degrees than men and women make up half the workforce
Females have proven time and time again that they belong amongst their male counterparts in professional settings. The next step for women to keep achieving this success is to believe and know that they can hold these positions. Women have to celebrate their accomplishments.
Confidence can be a challenging concept for us all. In a world where one can compare their accomplishments to hundreds of others with the touch of a button, it is hard to feel satisfied. However, we must be confident in ourselves and our achievements. Next time you accomplish something big, look in the mirror and remember how far you have come and everything you have done to get yourself there.Â
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-worked-really-hard-deserve-ella-razzell/
https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/
