Telling Women's Lives

Leigh Moriarty Reader Response

One of the points from this week’s readings that resonated with me is the tremendous power of a singular word: confidence. Reading Eileen Pollack’s article, I was infuriated to watch how the lack of affirmation and entrenched biases amongst the male power brokers within the science fields hindered intelligent, incredibly talented young women. Eileen and other women she spoke with both expressed that had they had just one male professor express confidence in their potential to move forward in the field, they would have. Confidence—that intangible yet invaluable magic juice—has the power to propel women straight through the barriers currently limiting their progress. Yet while this key to success appears entirely internal—these woman had the intelligence, drive, and work ethic to succeed—confidence is built as much from the energy the external environment a woman finds herself in as it is from her internal disposition. In failing to believe in our women we are discouraging them from believing in themselves, and consequently denying our society from sharing in the spoils of the gifts they possess.
Yet after reading the remainder of the material and viewing Dr. Mahzarin’s talk, I was forced to consider the reality that women, too, can also play a role in enforcing the biases against them. Sheryl Sandberg captured this reality in her Ted Talk “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders.” Often, as Sandberg expressed, women “leave before they leave.” If women are currently not receiving reinforcement from outsiders, then perhaps they must assume responsibility for creating the change they wish to see. If we wait for someone else to tell us he or she thinks we can do it, we are relinquishing our decision to succeed to the hands of another. There must first be a few brave women to believe they are enough—by themselves–before young girls can have the vital examples to turn to when they craft their visions and goals for their own future selves. Without the first snowflake, the snowball can never start its roll, producing a product far larger than its own meager being.