What Works for Women at Work: Four Patterns Working Women Need to Know

3. Prove-It-Again! Action Plan

43 3 Prove-It-Again! Action Plan Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes.” — clare booth luce of the many strategies women have for Prove-it-Again! bias, perhaps the most straightforward one came from a general counsel at a Fortune 500 company: “the best strategy for proving it again is proving it again, right?” she said. “if somebody needs you to prove it again, pointing out that that’s unfair is unlikely going to actually be successful, and proving it again gracefully is probably the best you can do.” A Catalyst study of women holding the title of vice president or above in Fortune 1000 companies found that a resounding 77 percent of respondents said consistently exceeding expectations was critical. More women attributed their success to outstanding performance than to any other cause.1 And it’s true: most women and men who make it to the top have worked extremely hard to get there. So the most basic Prove-it-Again! strategy is to prove it again. but while hard work may be necessary for success, it’s not always sufficient. in the previous chapter, we discussed the subtle biases that make women’s achievements fade into the background while men’s continue to shine. in this chapter, we’ll address specific steps women can take to make their achievements stick. 44 • Prove-It-Again! Action Plan Strategy 1: Trump the Stereotype Prove-it-Again! stems from assumptions about how women will behave.2 As we’ve mentioned, when we have relatively little information about people, we tend to depend heavily on stereotypes to describe them. Descriptive bias is a function of the shortcuts we use in order to think efficiently. As a result, this type of bias tends to lessen as we get to know people better. When you think of a mother, chances are you think of a woman who is nurturing, selfless, and patient. When you think of your mother, you think of an actual human being with strengths and weaknesses and maybe a great sense of humor or a paralyzing fear of cicadas. A similar principle applies in the office. When people think of a businesswoman, they may think of a hard-driving, emotionless harridan—or an Ally Mcbeal–type ditz in teetering heels. one way to combat these stereotypes is to make sure people don’t think “businesswoman” when they see you but rather think Joan or Rachel or Jennifer or whatever your name is. When Madeleine Kunin first ran for governor of Vermont back in 1984, her campaign conducted a poll listing her credentials and the credentials of her opponent, John easton, and released two versions. in the first, the candidates’ names were shown at the beginning of the poll. in the second, their credentials were listed first. Kunin came out ahead in the poll in which credentials were listed first—but fell behind in the poll in which the candidates’ names were at the top. As a result of the findings, Kunin later ran a commercial with her accomplishments shown first and ran her name only at end, to level the playing field. She learned from the experience that voters were less likely to stereotype a female candidate if they had her accomplishments at the front of their minds. “if voters have a chance to absorb qualifications first, they are less likely to be influenced by gender stereotypes,” she said. this bit of real-world wisdom is borne out in the literature. As Madeline heilman writes, there is no single global stereotype of Prove-It-Again! Action Plan • 45 women, and as a result, “providing defining information about women diminishes the ascription of traditionally stereotypic attributes .”3 Sometimes this is as simple as Kunin’s strategy of leading with your accomplishments. to ensure that everyone around you recognizes your competence , you need to have detailed information at hand to trump the stereotype that the typical woman is not suited for career success. So the single most important part of your Prove-it-Again! Action Plan is to keep careful records of your accomplishments with original documents in real time: “i did this pitch; we got that job.” “here’s this metric; here’s the number that shows that i met...