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46 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com The Playing Field ere is quite a lot women and men can learn from our differences, which is why it is vital to strive for equality in all facets of life. Recognizing the positive impact of sports, Title IX legislation was passed in 1972, making it illegal for U. S. public schools to spend more on boys' athletics than girls. As a result, the number of girls playing sports drastically increased. It has been found that girls who play team sports are more likely to graduate from college, get a job and work in male-dominated industries. While the number of high school girls playing sports has increased 1,000 percent from 1972 to 2011, the girls are still, unfortunately, six times more likely to drop out of their team sports as boys according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A drop in confidence during the tumultuous pubescent years may be a common reason for this decline. Academics and psychologists confirm that while girls maintain high self-esteem in elementary school, by adolescence it begins to plummet. is lack of confidence may make them less able to handle losing in sports, contributing to the drop in sports participation, which is ironically one of the best ways to gain self-esteem. Boys, by comparison, appear to embrace competition. On the field, they learn to savor success and brush off a loss. e confidence they gain from a win and the adoration of classmates bleeds over into their academics, emboldening them to raise their hand in class, even before they have formulated an answer. Physiologists also believe this "playground mentality" toughens boys, allowing insults to roll off them. ey become less affected by others' remarks or perceptions of their abilities, which is a useful tool when they head out into the cold, harsh world of adulthood. By contrast, girls don't take kindly to insults. While mean girls troll the hallways and social media, the negative comments they spew do not slide so easily off the backs of young girls. Quite the contrary—adolescence is a fragile time for them. Girls often double down on their academics during the critical phase of development. Seeking the approval of teachers and parents, they pour themselves into their studies. Eventually, they leave school proud of their academic achievements, crammed full of facts and theories. When they transition from the classroom to the business world, their impeccable manners and grammatical prowess are not as valuable. Innovation, self-promotion, courage and a healthy dose of political savvy are keys to winning in business. Success is measured by a different yardstick out of academia. Business rewards those who swing for the wall, think on their feet and recover from setbacks. Some young women find the choppy waters of corporate politics difficult to navigate, which only undermines an already-fragile perception of self worth. Many successful women admit to suffering from "impostor syndrome," feeling as if they ended up in their position by accident without having earned the right to be there. e term first appeared in 1978 in an article written by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Ime, who observed that many high-achieving women tend to believe they were not intelligent enough and are over-evaluated by others. Women who have recently expressed experiencing the syndrome are Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and actress Emma Watson. Double Standards Speaking of evaluations, it cannot go without mention than women are measured by a different standard than men. Even when women summon the courage and confidence to raise their hand, buck the system and risk alienation by taking an opposing view, their efforts are not seen in the same light as men. Let's face it: women who are strong, no-nonsense leaders are rarely held in the same regard as their male colleagues. While a man is revered and respected for his strength, women are often labeled as "bossy," or "bitchy." Linda Hudson, the president and CEO of BAE Systems, has been a rare female leader in the global defense industry for decades. In e Confidence Code, she acknowledges that, "When a man walks into a room, they're assumed to be competent until they prove otherwise." Yet, for women the assumption is reversed. is is no surprise to women who have long perceived that they must excel beyond their male colleagues just to earn a seat at the table. Sadly, even when they finally earn that coveted position, the price tag on their hard-won seat is less than their male colleagues—an average of 21 percent less according to 2014 studies of full-time working females. e United States was ground zero for the women's suffrage movement, beginning with the first gathering devoted to women's rights held July 19, 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. e most recent Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum ranks the United States at the bottom of some of the most significant measures of equality. e U. S. ranks number 1 for educational attainment, but a dismal sixtieth for woman's political empowerment and sixty-seventh in gender pay equality—a stunning reality. Although barriers are still abundant, some of the gaps in leadership are undeniably of our own making. Often, women prefer to be liked more than they need to be respected. Business negotiations can be difficult for women who value their likability more than the deal. To make the challenge even more complicated, it is acknowledged that women are valued for their likability factor. A woman's capacity to get along is a crucial ingredient to success in business, as Sheryl Sandberg noted her book Lean In. ey are relegated to a tightrope-balancing act between nice and tough: the razor thin line between bossy bitch and beloved leader. Conquering the Summit ere is no denying that women have succeeded in impressive numbers in the past few decades. We have filled the middle ranks of business in a commendably short period of time. Over half of all bachelors' degrees are earned by women today, while a fairly equal number of entry- and mid-level positions in companies are filled by females. And yet, the highest positions in academia, government and business remain remarkably male. Top-ranking executives of the female persuasion are still somewhat of an anomaly across the globe. Continued on page 49

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