Despite progress toward gender equality, women continue to be significantly underrepresented as experts on visible platforms of influence. Globally, less than 24% of news sources (World Economic Forum, 2020) and approximately 31% of paid speakers are women (Forbes, 2023).
This underrepresentation stifles not only the progress of gender equality but also the societal benefits it unlocks. According to the World Economic Forum (2024), at the current rate of change, achieving gender parity will take another 131 years.
Whilst there is extensive research into exposing what drives gender inequality there is limited research that specifically focuses on understanding what holds women back from positioning themselves as experts and seeking visible opportunities to demonstrate their expertise to influence systemic change.
My groundbreakingWhitepaper: “Where are all the female experts?” seeks to explore how a woman’s relationship with the word expert impacts her ability to become one and offers multifaceted recommendations on how we can create opportunities for more women to step up as experts.
The findings suggest that the relationship women have with the word expert is often complex and likely to create a barrier to owning their expertise publicly.
The word expert is often negatively associated with arrogance or overpromotion and is strongly associated with a fear of other people’s perspectives, criticism and being exposed as an imposter. These findings diminish women’s confidence and willingness to become an expert. Furthermore, there is a perception that one has to feel “enough” in order to become an expert which limits women’s willingness to visibly experiment their way to the impact they seek. In addition, the lack of visible diverse female expert role models impacts women’s perceptions of becoming one as they struggle to believe that they can if they can’t see others like them.
All of the evidence suggests that experts are made not born which means every single one of us has a responsibility to do our part to shift the significant inequality and elevate more diverse female voices. Whether you’re a woman wanting to make an impact, a corporate or government leader, a conference organiser or an influencer in the media this paper offers you the power to make a difference and move us closer to a more inclusive and compassionate future.
I invite you to download a copy of theHidden Figures Whitepaper here. Share it with your peers and start conversations around how you can use the insights and recommendations within it’s pages to create more opportunities for women of impact to step up as experts and own their voice.
