Women are the Majority of Enrolled Students and Graduates -

Coach Women To Be Effective Leaders

March is National Women's History Month, and we recognize the contributions of women over time, including women in higher education who have broken barriers and paved the way for future generations. We are living in a time of conflicting energies for women in college and in the workplace. On the one hand, women have outpaced men over time in enrolling in college as we as persisting; as noted in this article from Brookings, the National Student Research Clearinghouse Center reports that 59% of enrolled students in 2020 were women, and women are more likely to graduate and attain greater than 50% of degrees at all attainment levels.

Despite these advances, the nagging presence of self-doubt that has plagued women historically still persists today. According to this article in Inside Higher Ed, in fields where there is a perception of valuing raw talent, women tend to experience impostor feelings, correlating with decreased self-efficacy and less feeling of belonging in the workplaces associated with those fields. With more women graduating from college with degrees and skills, this points to a need to welcome them into the workplace and help them build self-efficacy. As study lead author Melis Muradoglu notes, “Rather than placing the responsibility on the individual, the focus should be, ‘What in the field or workplace can be changed so that people don’t question their ability and success?’” How can the college collective and a campus wide culture of coaching achieve this?

Coaches foster self-efficacy in motion for college women. Powerful questions can help students who identify as women address problematic beliefs and dispute them with facts:

• What does your "self-talk" tell you about your ability? What do others believe about your ability? How does that affect your energy and motivation?
• What facts about your actions, your work, and your success might disprove any negative beliefs?
• How can you regularly reinforce positive beliefs about yourself?
• What did you do today that you are proud of?
• In five years, what do you want to be doing and accomplishing in the workplace?

And for coaches who identify as women, you may want to ask yourself questions like these:

• How can you teach the men with whom you work in academia how to best treat you?
• How can you be a powerful role model to every male you coach?
• How can you create support networks for yourself and other women on campus and off?

Join LifeBound to contribute to the advancement of women, and to the brilliance that women bring to learning and the workplace, by becoming a more skilled coach. LifeBound's three-day training in Inclusive Coaching to improve your ability to support student growth mindset and strategic studying! Our next training begins Friday April 14 for 3 Fridays.