Not only does girls’ socialisation impact their ability to promote themselves and be visible, it can have negative repercussions for them when they do
For example according to The Harvard Business Review article, "Nice Girls Don’t Ask”:
“Women who assertively pursue their own ambitions and promote their own interests may be labelled as bitchy or pushy”
This means that “They frequently see their work devalued and find themselves ostracised or excluded…”
“More typically [these responses] are a product of society’s ingrained expectations about how women should act”
Meaning that women can be impacted by societal expectations and gender norms:
Internally (in terms of what they are taught to believe that they can be, do or have and therefore go towards)
Externally (in terms of what other people believe that they can be, do or have and are therefore give them access to)
The answer? To quote Issa Rae, “don’t be afraid to be a bitch”
Because being “afraid to upset people…will get you nowhere”
This is something that we see with Mahlah and her 4 sisters (Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah) in Numbers 27:4
If they didn’t advocate for themselves and demand their inheritance by saying “Give us a possession among our father’s brothers,” they would have walked away with nothing in the end
Because it’s not only nice guys that finish last, sis, so do nice girls!
So, if you truly want to be a woman of influence, know that it cannot be done without disappointing or even offending some people.
You simply cannot defer to others and walk in your light all at the same time.
Want more visibility tips? There’s loads more where those came from, sis!
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