Self-confidence and the role of women in society: learn more and help change the scenario!

To celebrate International Women’s Day, on the 9th, the Horiens team promoted a live with psychologist Laís Vitoria-Regis , an HR professional with extensive international experience, a master’s degree in social and cultural psychology and a specialist in diversity, equity and inclusion.

The theme of the live – Self-Confidence and the role of women in society – brought up reflection on the factors that can undermine women’s confidence in their daily work, generating stress and directly impacting aspects such as career management and quality of life .

Why do many women question their own abilities?

With this question, Luanda de Oliveira Santos, member of Horiens and coordinator of the company’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, opened the event, bringing to the center of the discussion the concept known as the syndrome or imposter phenomenon, a condition that can affect anyone. , but it is very recurrent in minority groups.

Luanda Santos, member of Horiens and coordinator of the company’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee

The imposter phenomenon is nothing more than the difficulty of recognizing successes and accomplishments for fear of being “unmasked” as a fraud. The individual builds an unfounded perception of himself, considering himself incompetent or insufficient.

“In the case of women in the workplace, we often observe behaviors such as being in a constant state of alert, avoiding giving opinions and even sabotaging their own success. The imposter feeling generates an important loss of self-confidence and this, in turn, has negative impacts on women’s lives, from stress to lack of career planning”, explains Laís.

But what triggers this situation, anyway? It is necessary to understand that the imposter feeling does not only result from personal and personality issues, there is a social context involved, with relevant weight. “In our society, the place of success has historically been assigned to men. Today there is still the stereotype that women are less capable than men, which ends up creating a social context that influences the phenomenon of the impostor”, details Laís.

Building Self-Confidence
The first step to changing this scenario is to become aware of it and build self-confidence.

Check out the tips shared during the live to walk in that direction:

• Change your perspective
• Feed your positivity with tangible things
• Dare to be yourself
• Know your context
• embrace imperfection
• Breathe and collect evidence when you feel insecure
• Identify your strengths
• Remember the positive feedback you’ve already received
• celebrate your achievements
• Persist and develop self-knowledge

What have you been doing to promote a more inclusive environment in your daily life?

In order to promote more and more new perspectives, the diversity and inclusion guidelines need everyone’s engagement. Commitment must be general, regardless of gender. “This is how cultural changes happen”, points out Laís. Find out which attitudes make the difference on this journey:

• Avoid acting under the influence of unconscious bias (unconscious biased thoughts)
• Make room for the diversity of people in the discussion of different agendas
• Build truly inclusive environments where people can be themselves
• Promote affirmative action to promote equal opportunities
• Participate in actions aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion
• Be an ally person: be willing to change, listen carefully, seek to know the issues and take actions that promote change

Fernanda Lima, member of Horiens, attending the lecture. Fernanda was one of the winners of the quiz held during the event and will be able to choose between 4 publications that will start the Horiens Book Club: ‘The courage to be imperfect’, ‘I am Malala’, ‘Women who run with the wolves’ and ‘Extraordinary: Women who revolutionized Brazil’.

A date to learn, reflect and move forward

Since 2021, Horiens has had a Diversity and Inclusion Committee made up of members from different areas of the company who, together and through interaction with the teams on a daily basis, bring ideas and collaborate to promote a more sustainable work environment. plural and inclusive.

“At Horiens , our culture encourages Members to make a personal commitment to diversity, welcoming and respecting individual differences”, highlights Fernanda Antonelli, director of People, Marketing and Communication at Horiens . ”It is our role as a company to collaborate in a concrete way to change the scenario, so we open space to discuss issues that impact not only our environment, but society as a whole. With each action we take, we learn and come out stronger and more prepared to adopt new attitudes in our lives”, concludes Fernanda.