from Carla Rover (Content Curator, The Advertising Technology Review) women2.org
“Rich, powerful, well-educated people – and their kids – don’t carry these bags. It’s not because no one ever picks on them or questions their legitimacy in whatever role that they may take on. It’s because they have been socialized not to accept the idea that they don’t belong on top. They don’t have a chorus of voices claiming that the mystical “they” have success all sewn up in their pockets. They haven’t been indoctrinated with the idea that difficulty or a struggle on a learning curve is indicative of their not deserving social or economic ascent.
“The idea that you have to prove yourself is one from the days when humans where taught that kings and queens, by some divine right, deserved wealth, unlimited privilege, and boundless opportunity. That idea that you have to earn a shot at greatness is toxic. You simply have to grasp for it. You have to stop holding on the what you have been handed if it is holding you down. The opinions of those who regard you with suspicion or disdain because of your gender? You won’t win them over with your brilliance or willingness to tolerate their ignorance. Stop caring. Stop listening.
“Give the “I’m a woman in a man’s world” bag back to the 1950′s. Yes there is, for some, a glass ceiling. It’s delusional, and perhaps slightly sinister, to tell a generation of talented, ambitious, hard-working women that if they are not reaching gender parity in income and executive hiring then it is probably their fault. The ceiling might not exist for everyone, but it is out there. The ceiling however, is not the issue. If you are hoping to ascend to the executive suite in a building run by people who’ve built an invisible force field to prevent your ascent, the ceiling is not your only problem. Drop the bag of wanting to be liked, or approved.”