Bridging the gender gap in confidence

Underconfidence among women can reduce their career aspirations and thwart advancement in whatever career they choose. For managers seeking to retain and promote capable women, we recommend addressing the gender gap in confidence to increase the effectiveness of women in the current workforce as employees and leaders and thereby attract the best new hires among women seeking opportunity. Based on a wide range of research and the broad experience of the authors, we discuss useful approaches-include helping women learn how to be more self-confident through classes and webinars-but also discouraging practices such as equating low confidence with low competence. The entire organization can benefit when its practices recognize the need for and payoff from reducing the confidence gap between women and men.