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6 min.

Coaching | Personality Development

Women, be worth it! The role of self-marketing and how coaching can support it

From Sabine Walter, Head of netzwerk managementberatung | coaching

On 11 February this year, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Helen Mets, President Resins & Functional Materials at Royal DSM, published an article on LinkedIn with the title "We're not "women in science" - we're scientists".. The questions Helen Mets asks in her article include: "In 2019, why does it still matter what gender scientists are? Why is there still an International Day of Women and Girls in Science?"

Article: „We’re not women in science – we’re scientists“

The answer she gives is as self-evident as it is sobering: Because there is still the glass ceiling of science. This glass ceiling is reflected in concrete figures: While the gender ratio is still almost balanced at the beginning of a degree course, only 45 percent of doctoral students are women. From habilitation onwards, it is only about a quarter.

Glass ceiling for women

The glass ceiling in industry is not quite as thick as in science. There are now also some women who have successfully broken through it. Nevertheless, it is still there in many industries.Why is that so? And why is this the case in Germany in particular? In my view, there are four main reasons:

Loss of income due to parenthood and part-time work often acts as a career brake

In the meantime, a lot has happened in the area of raising and caring for children: fathers also take parental leave, fathers also take care of their children. Working hours are becoming more flexible, mobile working allows us to do many things from home and not just from the office. But the fact is that it is still the women who have the children. It is women who usually stay at home before and after the birth.

But this is not without consequences. In the April issue of brandeins, it is written in black and white: in Germany, a woman loses 63% of her income in the long term after the birth of her first child. 63%! In Denmark it is only 21%. The income gap, which often begins after returning from parental leave compared to male colleagues and widens over the years due to part-time work and poorer negotiating skills, often leads to women putting their own careers on hold in favour of those of their higher-earning partners.

In Germany, there is still a lack of social understanding and action for real equality

Germany, especially West Germany, is still feeling the consequences of the limited self-determination of women. Until 1977 (!), the civil code of the FRG defined that the husband had to allow his wife to work. That was just 40 years ago. This understanding of roles is still anchored in society and it is also damn difficult to break out of it without having a guilty conscience and not being constantly at the breaking point.

Coherent concepts for all-day schools are still a rarity in many parts of Germany. There is no meeting-free time between 3.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m., as is the case in Scandinavian countries. Part-time careers are a little accepted and therefore widespread model.

Thus, it is still difficult in Germany to reconcile work and family life. 

Women are more about the cause and not so much about themselves

Modesty is still considered an adornment by women. From an evolutionary-biological point of view, women often feel more comfortable in the second row. Women tend to adapt and try to balance rather than demand.

Many women take the approach of excessive work commitment. They would rather invest another two hours in the matter than talk about themselves, their talents and successes.

Competition instead of cooperation

While men are good at the "best body business", women very often compete with each other instead of supporting each other professionally. This has fatal consequences for women's careers. We have to work harder, prove ourselves more and.... don't get the job after all. Why? Because good relationships play a very big role in career development. Men recommend each other, men encourage each other - as long as the other person is not too dangerous.

Women are very good at networking. Unfortunately, they only use it in private or only with people they like. But these are not always the people who can support the development goals accordingly.

Coaching as a catalyst for your own career

How can a Coaching support them in breaking through the glass ceiling? Success makes you sexy! This applies equally to men and women. But while men admit success to themselves, many women still doubt whether they deserve it. Therein lies an essential key.

We work in the Coaching above all on this attitude. It is about your self-worth, your self-confidence, your competences. What am I worth? What can I do? What am I really good at?

Furthermore, we work on your concrete goals, wishes and questions that you bring to the coaching. Such questions can be:

  1. Where do I want to go professionally and privately?
  2. In which environment can I best contribute my strengths and talents?
  3. When is a good time to have a child?
  4. How do I prepare this exit? How do I get back in afterwards?
  5. What opportunities are there to prepare for the next career step despite parental leave?
  6. How do I market myself better and still be authentic?
  7. How can I network in a targeted way without having to invest too much time?
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Your next step to successful self-marketing

All our work is not about helping women to copy men or to surpass them in toughness. On the contrary, the aim of our work is to make women aware of the value of their feminine qualities and to support them to go their own personal way full of self-confidence. If they want to, they should break through the glass ceiling with ease and be a role model and mentor to all those who want to follow.

Your next step: Telephone career coaching

In our Telephone career coaching you can start with Zarah Speck Discuss options and questions about career development. Zarah Speck is an experienced human resources developer and coach. She listens very carefully, grasps the essentials and represents precisely the the right questions to make the invisible visible and to give important things the space they need in coachingthey need.

On request Zarah Speck To you concrete tips on how to revise your CV or to an upcoming job interview.

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