Are Men Creating an Advantage For Themselves?

The fact that women are under-represented in “hot jobs” – the high-level, high-visibility roles that propel people to the top in their fields – is no secret. Even in industries where women have begun to achieve a greater balance in the office, a discrepancy in pay still exists.

A study in part by Columbia Business School finds one big reason why women remain under-represented in top positions.

Both men and women were asked to recall scores from a test taken 15 months earlier, with a $50 incentive offered for the most accurate recollections. The study found that, on average, men inadvertently inflated their scores by 30.5 percent while women only inflated their scores by only 14.4 percent.

Is this discrepancy in self-reporting why more men are hired and promoted to prominent positions?

Michelle Tillis Lederman, founder of Executive Essentials, a corporate training and coaching company says, “The answer is YES, and it’s so frustrating!”

“It is in our nature to be a little self-deprecating,” she says. “We were taught [self-deprecation] equates to being modest or humble, but in corporate America, that won’t get a woman anywhere.”

If you feel uncomfortable calling attention to your own accomplishments, Lederman suggests shining the spotlight on how you helped someone else excel.

“We have to learn to assert and own our competence rather than apologize for or minimize it,” Lederman says. “If we don’t promote ourselves, we won’t get promoted.”

Bonus PINK Link: Silicon Valley may be one of the worst offenders of fewer women in “hot-jobs.”

Have you ever undersold yourself in an interview?

By Meghan Miranda

Meghan is freelance writer based in Atlanta. She also works full-time in corporate sales. Follow her on Twitter @meghan_says.

“There are two ways of lying. One, not telling the truth and the other, making up statistics.” Josefina Vazquez Mota