Growing up on a small farm in rural Australia, my dad \u2013 who left school at 16 and milked dairy cows for 50 years \u2013 would tell me that he saw great things for me\u2026 like one day becoming a nun (Sister Margaret Mary) in charge of a convent. By the time I was in my teens, he\u2019d raised his sights. As the big sister of seven, perhaps it was due to how well I \u2018managed\u2019 my younger siblings. Whatever the reason, I still recall the day he said, \u201cActually I think you could do even bigger things. You could be Mother Margaret Mary, in charge of a whole order of convents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alas, I never felt the calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I share this story, amusing as it is, because my parent’s vision for me was confined by the horizons of their own lives. In the same way, the vision we hold for ourselves is often also confined by what we think is possible. We simply don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are all shaped by our environments; unconsciously taking on the expectations, norms, beliefs and biases of those around us. When it comes to gender, there are many. For instance, women are more likely to be labelled bossy for acting with equal assertiveness as the men around them yet showing compassion and sensitivity to the feelings of others makes them perceived as ‘less leaderlike’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even well-meaning parents can unconsciously hem in their daughters. For instance, parents of boys are more likely to see their sons being successful tech entrepreneurs<\/a> than their daughters. They\u2019re also more likely to praise their sons for being strong and daughters for being sweet. Gender bias starts early and runs deep, permeating into our psyche in profound yet invisible ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so on this International Women\u2019s Day, I want to share a few thoughts about how we can take-up the #ChooseToChallenge. So if you are a female leader (or aspire to be one), here are three ways you can embrace the theme of this year\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day<\/a>. And if you\u2019re a male champion for women, consider how you can encourage the women in your orbit to back themselves more, and doubt themselves less. After all, this is not a zero-sum game. As research by McKinsey has found, when more women are seated at decision-making tables, better decisions are made for the benefit of all stakeholders. When women rise, we all rise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n