Gender bias in the workplace is a clear barrier preventing women from being promoted, being paid equitably, and rising into leadership roles. To #BeatTheBias, companies need to move beyond diversity training and consider the systems and processes that perpetuate bias in their workplace. Reimagining performance management, creating a coaching culture, and committing to transparency are three ways leaders can fight bias within their organizations.

Are you owning or renting your strengths?

That might seem like an odd question to ask, but many of us don’t realize our true potential because we have no idea what our strengths are.

And, even if you do know your strengths, you may not always own them.

You don’t want to sound braggy or arrogant when talking about yourself, so you downplay your strengths and diminish your accomplishments.

Instead of taking responsibility for their own insecurity, people may criticize or judge you for your strengths. If that happens, you might think your greatest strengths are actually a weakness or something you should hide.

It’s time to really own your strengths!

You have a unique blueprint of strengths that make you who you are. In fact, according to Gallup, the chances of someone else having the same strengths as you in the same order is 1 in 33 million.

So you are literally one in a million!

When you own your strengths and continue to build them, you can achieve your biggest goals and dreams.

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own business?

Women make up about 36% of business owners around the world, and the number of women-owned businesses have increased by 114% over the last 20 years.

With so many small businesses out there, especially in the coaching, health and wellness, and consulting industries, it’s important to set yourself apart.

Starting a business that’s aligned with your strengths and passions is one way to stand out from the crowd and attract your dream clients.

Using your unique blueprint, you can start a business that works for you, instead of trying to fit yourself into someone else’s mold.

The Covid-19 crisis has wreaked havoc on the lives of working women.

Women, especially mothers and women of color, have been hit hardest by the crisis, and many women have lost jobs or left jobs because of the pandemic.

In fact, female workforce participation has already dropped to 57%—the lowest level since 1988, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

And, according to the 2020 Women in the Workforce Report by McKinsey and LeanIn.org, one in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to Covid-19.

The desire to leave the workforce can be especially sharp if you’re feeling undervalued at work.

It makes the decision to leave that much easier.

Building sustainable confidence doesn’t happen overnight.

You might be saying your affirmations, writing your journal prompts, making a list of your accomplishments, and feeling great.

Then one day, someone calls you “too much” or a presentation doesn’t go as planned or you don’t enroll the new client after a discovery call.

When you don’t have a firm trust in yourself and believe in your capacity for success, one small curve in the path can send you into an impostor spiral.

I get it, because I’ve been there.

In fact, all it took was one feedback session with a former manager where she personally attacked me and my coaching business for me to totally lose all the confidence it took a lifetime to build.

Have you ever been called, “too much?”

How about, “too quiet,” or “too sensitive?”

Those judgements from others about how we should be can erode our confidence.

Especially when they come from people we love and admire.

In Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ new book, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual, she says that when someone calls you “too” something, it’s more of a statement on them than it is on you.

Still, it can be hard to remember that in the moment, or when those words begin to fill you with self-doubt.

By knowing and owning who you are, you can begin to build confidence in yourself that withstands hurtful criticism from others.

Because when you stand strong in who you are, no one can take that away from you.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8th, and it marks a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world.

The 2021 theme is #ChooseToChallenge, and as the official IWD website declares:

“A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change.”

I couldn’t agree more with that statement!

I’ve been challenging workplace norms my entire career. It hasn’t always been easy, and it’s never been comfortable. But change doesn’t happen inside our comfort zones.

And that’s not just change on a global scale or in your workplace or business.

I’m talking about deep internal change.

Gender inequality in the workplace is not only a social issue; it’s an economic one.

A recent McKinsey Global Institute report found that closing the gender pay gap and improving equity for women in the workplace could add $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025.

That’s important because women make up more than half of the world’s working-age population and make the majority of financial decisions in their households.

Women have also been negatively impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, and women of color, who are more likely to be laid off or furloughed during the crisis, have been hit especially hard.

Burnout is on the rise, as working mothers take on virtual schoolwork and the feeling of always being “on” at work and at home.

As a result, the 2020 Women in the Workplace Report found that 1 in 4 women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce.

This has major implications on companies who are struggling to hire qualified candidates, make values-driven decisions around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and navigate uncertainty alongside their clients and customers.

And despite the gains we’ve made globally to close the gender pay gap, a new study suggests that due to the pandemic, women’s wages might not recover until 2040.

Three years ago, I wrote a blog about how to close the gender pay gap.

In that article, I shared that, based on current progress, gender parity was more than 200 years away.

I’m happy to share this year that we’ve made progress! Gender parity is now just 99.5 years away, according to the WEF’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report.

And while I’m thrilled to know that many countries have made huge strides in advancing women in leadership and politics, we still have a long way to go.

I still want to see parity in my lifetime, and that means focusing not only on the advancement of white women, who make 79 cents for every white male dollar, but of Black women, who make 62 cents per dollar, and Latinx women, who make just 55 cents per dollar.

In this two-part series, I’ll share my thoughts on how both women+ as individuals and companies can each do their part to close the gender pay gap.

I’m a voracious reader. One of my Top 5 Strengths is Input – I love collecting information.

And the books I’m drawn to most often are self-help and personal development books. I’ve read countless books on personal finance, spirituality, personal growth, and success. And I’ve realized something.

The personal development field has a lot of people who look the same. When I look at my bookshelves or my Audible library, there are a lot of white, male faces.

And that’s not always the perspective I want to hear.

It’s important to be intentional about who we learn from, whose perspectives we listen to, and whose lessons enrich our lives.

The thing I love most about my coaching business is the connections I've made with incredible women around the world.

Whether I've coached them, mentored them, learned from them, or grew spiritually because of them, I wouldn't be where I am today without them.

They've all contributed to helping me live my purpose, and I couldn't be more grateful for them.

A few of these women have had some incredible success recently, and I'm taking this opportunity to brag about them :)

Because when one woman wins, we all win.

Growing up in India, which is still a largely patriarchal society and having worked in corporate technology in the United States for 13 years, which is still a largely male-dominated industry, I often wondered what made a woman a power to reckon with, you know, a Fierce woman.

I would come across terms like ‘she is so brave’, ’so dominating’, ‘a total ball-breaker’ when describing a female leader or an emerging bad-ass-babe. And while those terms don’t necessarily equate to being loud, aggressive or unfeminine, there seemed to be an implicit agreement in both the eastern and western cultures I encountered, that these attributes were prerequisite for a woman to be a powerhouse.

And to clarify, I absolutely adore that loud, aggressive and/or unfeminine woman, if that is her true authentic nature. You go girl! Here though, I want to speak to that other woman who may be soft-spoken and erroneously considered a pushover by those around her or even by herself!

International Women’s Day is celebrated on Sunday, March 8, 2020. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

This year’s theme is #EachforEqual and recognizes a “collective individualism” that is necessary to advance women’s equality and close gender gaps in business, sports, media, and leadership.

Collective individualism means that we’re all part of the whole. Each of us is part of something bigger than ourselves, and our individual actions, mindsets, and behaviors make a difference. We can each do our part to make the world a better place for women and close those gender gaps.

Gloria Steinem said, "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."

It’s up to each of us to do our part to celebrate the achievements of women, challenge absurd organizational barriers, and advance women’s equality. Together, we rise.

I’m not here to empower you.

Because I know that you already have everything you need to be successful.

You have charm and wit and strength and power beyond what you think you’re capable of. You have the knowledge and resources to learn more, do more, and achieve more. You have skills and life experience that no other woman has, and that gives you your own unique perspective on the world.

You are empowered because you have those qualities; no one can take them away from you. Nor can someone give you permission, authority, or power to show up as your beautiful, authentic self.

No one can give you power, because you are already powerful beyond measure.

I’ve always lived by the quote, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” It’s shaped my life in so many ways – from being the first person in my family to go to college, to negotiating my first salary and being called “entitled,” to leaving my lucrative corporate job to run my coaching business full time.

Doing scary things helped me become more confident, advocate for myself, expand my comfort zone, learn new things, and help other women navigate similar circumstances.

Those scary things weren’t always easy, and they often came with mistakes, uncertainty, change, fear, overwhelm and self-doubt. But they always came with a lesson that helped me grow as a leader.

2017 was not my year.

Sure, I was making more money than I ever had. I was leading a phenomenal team of staff I also called friends. I bought my first ever *brand new* car.

But I was also burned out. Depressed. I didn’t believe in myself. I felt like a total impostor. I was sick all the time. And drinking way too much.

After grad school, I climbed the corporate ladder like my feet were on fire. I held every volunteer role I could. I said yes to EVERYTHING. I had no time left for me.

Something had to change.

I had known since I was little that I would be going to college to get a degree, although the degree of choice changed a little over the years, from marine biology to architecture to engineering. I was fortunate to have parents that told me I could be and do anything that I wanted, and supportive mentors and teachers throughout high school. When I got to college, things changed a little…

This time last year, I could barely get off the couch. I was in a job that destroyed my confidence, I was drinking too much, and I had a long commute that left me exhausted.

I didn’t recognize the person I’d become.

I used to be the woman who organized group events, hosted dinner parties and volunteered for everything. I held leadership roles and tried new things and thought of every day as an adventure.

This time last year, I wished my days away, just trying to get to the weekend or the holiday or the vacation.

I wasn’t enjoying my life, and I wasn’t taking care of myself.

Through months of therapy and personal development, I built a stronger self-awareness: a deeper sense of who I am and what matters to me.

I also left that job and chose to grow my own business. With my own rules. Where I could use my strengths and live my values every day.

And I’ve never been happier.

Girl on girl crime is rampant.  I am consistently asked during my trainings and coaching sessions why women are often the harshest critics of other women.  The multi-layered problem is driven by the idea of scarcity: that there are only a few spots at the top for women, and in order to obtain a coveted place on the podium, you must compete with other women.  The commodifying language often used in male dominated work spaces further contribute to this myth: Which one are you?  The one from Michigan or Northwestern?  As though the leadership team is comparing tomatoes at a farmer’s market when talking about the few women on the team.

My high school career aptitude test said I should be a fish & game warden. After frantically googling what that meant, it was clear that my responses on the “Do you like the outdoors?” section may have skewed the results.

Obviously, a test can’t tell you what your life’s work should be, but I so desperately wanted clear direction that I briefly considered this career path. Alas, a jumpy person alone in the woods does not mix well with firearms. So fish & game warden was out. On to the next idea.

Trial and error would become the theme of the next few years of my life. I changed my major multiple times in college before graduating with degrees in Economics and Marketing. I took a job in sales, got promoted twice, and quit within three years. I tried to “find myself” by traveling around Europe for a few months. You get the idea. I was literally and figuratively all over the map.