Did you know that 50% of women miss leadership opportunities due to self-limiting biases in India?
A recent survey by India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) with women professionals in the social sector, who have 15-18 years of experience, shows that more than 50% of respondents feel that they got slowed down by their own self-limiting biases. At a time when the whole world is talking about increasing the representation of women in leadership roles, this study presents an insightful perspective on factors that are holding back progress. The survey made efforts to understand the issues and complexity surrounding women's leadership in the sector by examining gaps, challenges, best practices, scope for positive interventions, and identifying possible support structures to build leadership capacities.
These self-limiting biases are often called Imposter Syndrome. There are two schools of thought about Imposter Syndrome: one is to accept and address it, and the other is not to address it as Imposter Syndrome but to end it in the workplace by creating a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. It is necessary to create such an atmosphere not only in the workplace but also in the family and in society. But for that, we need to know where the self-limiting biases come from.
It always comes from only one place: society's conscious and unconscious biases. They are there in society, in the family, and everywhere surrounding us. Often, it is endorsed in the form of additional security for women. Many times, self-limiting biases stem from the social and cultural conditioning women experience, shaping a sense of inferiority. These beliefs lead to 'self-limiting' behavior that often results in women having stereotypes about their own abilities, talents, opportunities, and goals, which could end up holding back one's career.
But the problem lies in the way we address the issue. What we did was to name these issues as Imposter Syndrome, declare that many women have this syndrome, and then try to fix it through empowering women and improving their leadership quality, etc. But the root cause still lies at the very heart of society: the unconscious biases that got ingrained into society through beliefs and cultures. Here comes the importance of awareness. In my opinion, Women's Day is not a day to celebrate by women; it's not a day to empower women. It's a day to slap society with a loud voice that there is no more space for conscious or unconscious biases that it carries for centuries. It's a day to celebrate a biasless society.
Happy Women's Day to all.
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