When things go south, organizations and individuals swirl and twirl. Perhaps you have a team that not only can’t “shoot straight,” they are engaged in target practice. Tempers flare. Good people get caught in the crossfire. Or even worse, other people begin to tattle. Work can begin to resemble a pre-school sandbox more than a professional environment.
An autonomous worker is an incredible asset. They are happier, more productive, loyal, more creative, and they experience greater wellbeing. Autonomous workers are the types of employees you want in your business. Yet, true workplace autonomy is surprisingly uncommon.
What’s less discussed is why imposter syndrome exists in the first place, and what role the workplace plays in fostering this thinking. Case in point: what if imposter syndrome isn’t rooted in the individual women but in the lack of gender parity that exists in the office?
There are so many long-overdue important conversations taking place across corporate America right now around discrimination, harassment, bias, and prejudice. As a woman who deeply values self-expression, meritocracy, and the power of diverse voices, I want to add a seldom discussed but nonetheless crucial topic to the conversation: women of power who repress and discriminate against other women.
When it comes to the workplace, women, indisputably, are treated this way. It's simple biology, we hear over and over, that we're too emotional, less logical, more prone to getting upset, less proficient at data-driven fields, natural caregivers, and so on (never mind the actual data that invalidates these sexist stereotypes). But perhaps there is nothing thrown our way more invidious than discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.