This Harvard Business Review article explores the role of ambition in a woman’s life, and how ambition is critically undermined by social norms. While we have come a long way in the past decade, this article provides important insights in how we can support female talent from youth to adulthood.
Are women less ambitious than men? Despite common stereotypes, women are not born without ambition. Rather, the social norms and expectations surrounding women are the culprits that lead ambition in girls to be quashed in the cradle.
In children, ambition comprises of two distinct elements: mastery of a skill and recognition. The element of mastery applies in all sorts of scenarios. When a child learns how to ride a bike or do a cartwheel, a sense of accomplishment is created, boosting self-esteem. Yet this must be complemented by the element of recognition, a factor that we often fail to appreciate. In studies conducted by psychologists, it has been found that there is a high correlation between mastery and recognition. Without affirmation from others, the desire to do well wanes.
While the lack of recognition is hardly viewed as the end of the world by many, it has actually exacerbated gender divides. Though women might win hard-fought battles in their careers, they are often the most humble people and seek to deflect attention, attributing their success to factors like luck or the help of others. Rather than assuming women are all inherently shy and meek, this phenomenon can be attributed to cultural expectations of femininity. In the revised Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), it became clear that ideals of femininity exist only in the context of a relationship, and that a woman is viewed as a giver, providing love, care, and support for others. When a woman achieves career milestones or competes for job positions, they are portrayed as unfeminine. While society has increasingly accepted women advancing their careers nowadays, this is conditioned on the fact that the woman has met the needs of all her family members. Therefore, a woman faces diminished, even negative, utility for pursuing a dream, leading many girls to underestimate their abilities and failing to even strive.
In contemporary society, it is now normal to see a woman fill traditionally masculine jobs such as engineers or surgeons, and the number of women CEOs among global Fortune 500 companies has soared this year to reach an all-time high of 23. In the finance realm, Jane Fraser became the global CEO of Citigroup, the first among major Wall Street banks, while in the political realm, Michelle Wu became the first woman to be elected Mayor of Boston. While these give us occasion to celebrate, we must not remain complacent. Placing greater emphasis on encouragements and increasing the social rewards of achieving, will dramatically improve the chances of girls realising their personal bests. Work placement opportunities such as the F3 project also help girls get their foot in the door, where producing practical solutions and receiving acknowledgement from companies provide a significant boost to female students’ faith in themselves. Ultimately, parents, teachers, and employers all need to shoulder the responsibility and offer the needed recognition for females to excel.
