Is it possible to be penalised for being successful? And does it happen more often to women? In this episode, I explore the “success penalty”, when achievements that should open doors end up creating backlash, especially for Caribbean women leaders.
We discuss research on intentional invisibility, real-life experiences of female leaders, and how to navigate these challenges without shrinking yourself.
If you’re a founder, expert, or creative ready to be visible with courage and clarity, this episode is for you.
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Timestamps:
00:00 The Success Penalty: An Unexpected Conversation
01:40 Research Insights on Women's Visibility and Success
04:25 Navigating the Success Penalty in the Caribbean
07:24 Invitation to Share Experiences and Join the Movement
I had a conversation with a client this week that left me asking questions like: Is it possible to be penalised for being successful? And if so, does this happen more often to women than to men? And are successful women shrinking themselves to appear more, quote unquote, acceptable?
If this is so, does that decision to shrink end up hurting their careers, their livelihoods or their businesses even more?
This client of mine is participating in my Rooted and Ready one-on-one coaching program that helps women founders and experts become more visible without the social media overwhelm. Anyway, as she and I went through our session this week, what became very apparent is that this exceptionally diligent and articulate leader is intentionally remaining less visible because she fears that being perceived as too successful will cut off opportunities.
Well, this, of course, sent me down a rabbit hole to see if I could find research to support what she and I started to refer to during the session as a success penalty or a success tax.
There is a 2018 study that I want to reference first. The research was done by Swetha Balakrishnan and others, and it's entitled “Intentional Invisibility, Professional Women and the Navigation of Workplace Constraints.”
They did an in-depth case study at a large nonprofit organisation. And let me read you an excerpt from the abstract.
It says, “We find women across the organisation reporting intentionally remaining behind the scenes in attempts to avoid backlash and maintain a professional status quo. While intentional invisibility allows women to successfully navigate unequal professional and personal landscapes, it simultaneously presents an additional challenge to career advancement.”
The abstract for a 2004 study by Madeleine E. Heilman and others, called “Penalties For Success: Reactions To Women Who Succeed At Male Gender-Typed Tasks” reads,
“Results strongly supported the author's hypotheses indicating that a, when women are acknowledged to have been successful, they are less liked and more personally derogated than equivalently successful men and b, these negative reactions occur only when the success is in an arena that is distinctly male in character and c, being disliked can have career affecting outcomes.”
And I can sense that some of you ladies listening to or watching this episode may be nodding your heads in affirmation because maybe you have felt overlooked for a deserved promotion or a new opportunity or you have felt excluded from conversations where you should have been front and center as a key decision maker or you have been punished for making people look bad because you were too good.
That right there is a success penalty in action.
I firmly believe it is important for Caribbean women to be as successful as possible. That means navigating the success penalty, not by shrinking, but by rooting deeper into who they are and practising showing up courageously.
If you are a Caribbean woman, founder or expert ready to share your voice without apology and without ego, email me at diannesquires at diannesquires.com with a subject, "Tell me about Rooted and Ready" for more information.
