Have you ever wrestled with that annoying little voice in your head telling you you’re just ‘not good enough’?
Apparently all too many women suffer from not only a lack of confidence, but a ‘confidence gap’.
Super successful authors and news anchors Claire Shipman and Katty Kay have spent their careers interviewing high-profile people.
When they compared notes and realised how many powerful women were reluctant to praise their own achievements, they noticed an alarming trend in society- a “confidence gap” among women.
“The power centers of this nation are zones of female self-doubt — that is, when they include women at all,” they say in their book The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance.
It seems most men don’t quite suffer from the same problem.
It’s been shown that in an interview, a man will always big himself up, whereas a woman will feel compelled to point out her own weaknesses.
Here are five hugely successful women who have played down their mind-blowing achievements.
1. Anna Wintour: “I don’t think of myself as a powerful person.”
She is the editor-in-chief of Vogue. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is naming an entire wing after her. Enough said.
2. J.K. Rowling: “I never wanted [fame] and I never expected it and certainly didn’t work for it and I see it as something that I have to get through, really.”
Even the billionaire author of one of the best-selling book in recent times isn’t singing her amazing talents from the rooftops.
3. Meryl Streep: “It’s not anything that’s valuable. I’m just an actor. That’s all.”
No, you’re Oscar-winning super star Meryl!
4. Jennifer Lawrence: “Everybody’s like, ‘How can you remain with a level head?’ And I’m like, ‘Why would I ever get cocky? I’m not saving anybody’s life. There are doctors who save lives and firemen who run into burning buildings. I’m making movies. It’s stupid.”
A feisty role model for young women everywhere, J-Law has fought to represent a realistic body image and even has an Oscar under her belt before turning 25. Not so stupid.
5. Oprah Winfrey: “I don’t think of myself as a businesswoman. There’s this part of me that’s afraid of what will happen if I believe it all.”
This household name has overcome countless life struggles to become one of the most powerful women in America. She uses her power to build schools and start networks and influence Hollywood – and is still unsure of herself. How?!
