Historically, the world has not been incredibly equal for all species – especially women and people of color. This has not stopped marginalized populations from breaking barriers socially, economically, and politically. With all the achievements made by women in the past ten to fifteen years, we are still constantly overcoming obstacles to make it easier for the next woman. Simply having a seat at the table is not enough anymore. We want to be represented, have our voices heard and also be respected for our thoughts. If you’re breaking into a male-dominated industry here are some ways to make the transition a bit easier.
Find a mentor
As obvious as this tip is, some don’t understand how important mentorship is in any industry. When you rarely see people who look like you in the field you want to be in, you may get discouraged. The reality is, you can’t do anything alone.
Having another more experienced woman to guide you will be helpful in more ways than you know. This is not just someone that you can go to for advice. A true mentor will fight for you. They will speak highly of you when you’re not around. A true mentor will speak up for your place at the table. They will build you up instead of tearing you down.
Stop second-guessing yourself
You’ve been applying for jobs for months. You finally land the interview and it goes great. The pay is fair and the culture seems great. Now you’re hired and can’t stop questioning if you really deserve it. You question if you’re only there because the company needs to meet a certain quota of women.
Getting in your own head with negative self-talk is the quickest way to lose self-confidence. If you know you worked hard for this position and didn’t do anything immoral to get it, then do it to the best of your ability! You are there for a reason. Your voice is unique and your perspective is necessary.
Step outside your comfort zone
Being an outlier in any environment can be uncomfortable. But it’s impossible to grow without some discomfort. Put yourself out there and most importantly be yourself. Your voice is important because it’s different from the majority. If you try to blend in you are unconsciously deterring from what makes you special. You may be comfortable just doing the tasks assigned to you.
You may be comfortable not trying to negotiate the raise you know you’re deserving of. Do you want to spend your days with regret and resentment because you were afraid to rock the boat? Your value should speak for itself but bias makes it so that is not the case. The gender gap specifically in pay is still a very real thing. Putting yourself out there for the things you deserve does not only help you but makes it easier for women coming behind you.
Empowering women does NOT mean bashing men
Plenty of women make the mistake of tearing down men in order to uplift women. This is not equality and is also unnecessary for women to flourish. We will be powerful regardless. Instead of bashing each other for ignorance, let’s teach others how to be better allies. Men for women and women for men.
We can all get a lot further by working together. The tides are turning however we are still a long way from complete equality and acceptance of ALL people. In order to achieve this, we must all be vibrating at a level that is outside of the realm of Western programming. We have to unlearn many of the gender norms we’ve been taught since birth and rewire our minds.