The truth is, if you're not insecure, you're not paying attention. Sexual assault on college campuses is rampant and goes largely unpunished, women can barely walk down the street without fear of harassment, and we make up the majority of American adults in poverty. A full 56% of female students report being sexually harassed. Adolescent girls - especially girls of color - are given less teacher attention in the classroom than their male peers.
In girlhood, starkly-divided toy aisles teach us that engineering, electronics and science toys are for boys, that the futures for which we should be preparing are those of the Barbie Dream House variety. In fact, we've known this for some time: "imposter syndrome" – a phenomenon in which high-achieving women believe "they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise" – was first written about in 1978.īut the "confidence gap" is not a personal defect as much as it is a reflection of a culture that gives women no reason to feel self-assured. It's true that there's a gendered disparity in confidence – American men overestimate their abilities and skills while women underestimate them. So you'll have to excuse my guffaw when I hear what American women really need is more "confidence." It seems to me our insecurity is well-earned!
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