"For many women, moving up in their careers is often a leap into the unknown. It's uncomfortable, even scary, and requires overcoming many challenges. But you have to fight to win this battle", says Marie Stephenson, executive coach, who led a particularly enlightening webinar on the subject with Joanna Menezes, professional coach and trainer. About twenty members of the Cala Learning Hub network had gathered virtually to attend.
Taking note of the headwinds that women face in the workplace
"In order to understand the subject, we must first understand the challenges that women face in the workplace," explains Joanna Menezes. Many external factors hinder their careers. First, women's emancipation from their husbands is still relatively recent: it was the law of July 13, 1965 that allowed married women to work without their husband's permission and to open a bank account in their own name. Moreover, although the situation is improving, women spend on average twice as much time (4 hours 22 minutes per day) as men doing domestic chores and looking after children.
Women also operate in a still largely inegalitarian labour market. For example, even though they are more qualified than men, they are still generally paid less. According to the Observatoire des Inégalités, women in France earn on average 22% less than men.
Taking into account the struggle against "inner dragons"
"Psychologically, women are also conditioned by many injunctions and messages heard during childhood, which do not encourage them to assert themselves and progress in their careers," explains Marie Stephenson. Phrases such as "Be perfect", "Be strong", "Don't be yourself"... In addition, there are many limiting beliefs: "If I pursue my career, my personal life will suffer" or "I must not earn more than my partner".
Faced with all these doubts and personal pressures, what can one do? "There are ways to silence our inner critic," explains Marie Stephenson. Acknowledge it exists in order to create a distance, name it in order to personify it and separate yourself from it, and more importantly, understand that it seeks to protect you."
How to achieve professional fulfilment
"To make concrete progress, you must first ask yourself the right questions," says Joanna Menezes. Am I fulfilled in my current role? Where do I want to be professionally in three, five or ten years' time? What knowledge or skills have I acquired? And which ones do I want to develop in the coming year? What actions will I put into place to reach my objectives? There are many tools at your disposal: training, being active on social media, finding a mentor, networking... and even visualization your own success!
Did you miss our webinar and wish to view it? Please click here to access the link.
Do you want to know more about the customized coaching program created by Joanna Menezes and Marie Stephenson? Our next session kicks off in September 2023.
Click here for further details.
And if you want to participate in our next free webinars, check out our program and save the date!
Blog article written by Laure Blancard : https://www.linkedin.com/in/laure-blancard/