According to a study done with Yale undergraduate students, when asked how much they would pay a writer based off of an article that the students wrote, the women paid themselves 18% less then the men. This is the result of a concept known as the Confidence Gap. We see it all the time. Women consistently undervalue their worth or ability in job interviews, while men overvalue their worth and ability. This has happened time and time again since it was even possible for women to have jobs. But how can we start to change this?
First off, we need to keep the momentum going on encouraging young girls to participate in STEM. It’s not so much that STEM fields are more important than others, but more so that girls start to lose interest in those courses around the age of 10, due to factors related to a lack of confidence in their ability. This leads into my second point. We need to start changing the ways that we raise girls. This change doesn’t necessarily require you to be a parent. Children are raised by not only their parents, but their grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and coaches. We need to change the way we talk to children, especially young girls, and instill in them a sense of self worth that they start to lose in middle school.
But what about all those girls, now grown ups, who didn’t receive encouragement when they were young, and are now entering the career world? If this sounds like you, here is some advice. When preparing for a job interview, rather than thinking introspectively and tearing yourself down, consider the other applicants. I know that comparing yourself to others is not generally the way to go, but when it comes to the interviewing process, it is purely based off of how well you sell yourself. By that time the interviewer has seen everyone’s application, which puts the applicants on a pretty even playing field. It is now up to you to sell your skills, your assets, what makes you special. The worst thing you could do is say you have no experience, because honestly it doesn’t matter the amount of experience you have, what matters is your capacity to learn the necessary skills needed.
chat with you next time,
@notlikeothergirls
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
LOVE THIS! I am starting to think back to all of my past interviews or experiences and you are right, I, a very confident woman, do have this problem with under selling myself! Whether this be in a job interview or even talking to a boy I always assume it is my fault, FALSE.
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This is a great topic. I personally am a guy so I might not be the best to talk about this but I have seen this time and time again with my female friends or my sister of undervaluing themselves. My sister recently took a willing pay cut from her job because the place just asked her to and told her that the wording of her new contract was not really paying her less. That lead to a huge argument between us because I felt like she was getting cheated and really cheating herself. I personally would never agree to less money than already stated. She just said what could I do when there was no actual need for her to take less money, but she just felt like that was her best opportunity. which is part of the confidence deal. For me I would just state I would not take less money and if the company did not agree with me then I would leave because I have confidence in myself to find the same amount if not more. She on the other did not. It is very import for all to have confidence in themselves in the workforce, because if you do not then it only will lead to people taking advantage of you.
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I think that this confidence gap is such a problem that is hardly ever recognized. In my own life, I have noticed I shy away from stating my opinions around men or even speaking in general because I feel like what I’m going to say would not be as important or valued. My parents growing up instilled great self-empowerment in me and confidence yet I am still scared to put myself out there. I think our society continually conditions women to be silent and let the men take over. I hope that as time goes on I can become even more confident and fully accept that my voice matters just as much as any mans does.
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This is so important! Thank you so much for writing about this. As someone who wants to work into the magazine/writing industry, this is something I am sure I fill face upon entering a potential job.
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