Confidence Gap: Qualified Women Less Likely to Apply for Jobs Than Men

Qualified women are less likely to apply for jobs than similarly qualified men–proving objectively what many in the workplace have experienced anecdotally.

That’s the takeaway from research just published by a professor at Harvard Business School.

“Talented women are more likely to shy away from applying for job opportunities, particularly more advanced, higher-paying positions, because they’re concerned they aren’t qualified enough,” concluded Katherine Coffman, an associate professor at the school.

Men, by contrast, are less worried about whether their skills match actual job requirements, her research showed.

This is particularly true for “advanced positions where men are stereotypically believed to have an advantage.”

The situation is the same in rowing, head coaches who review applications for assistant positions told Rowing News last year.

To attract more female candidates, Coffman recommends that hiring managers—including boards, sports administrators, and head coaches–broaden the hiring pool by following these steps:

— Avoid vague qualifications when writing a job description. Specifying a job requirement of “three or more years of coaching experience” instead of something fuzzy like “several years” will reduce ambiguity and broaden the applicant pool without sacrificing skill or experience. 

— Recruit qualified female applicants actively rather than waiting for them to apply.

Because cultural stereotypes and bias may discourage women from putting themselves forward for high-profile jobs, recruiters and hiring managers have the opportunity and responsibility to find the best person for the job by seeking them out aggressively.

Linda Muri, an accomplished national and international coach, echoed that sentiment last year in Rowing News when she implored: “Cast a wider net. Do some of these interviews. And make change happen, don’t just sit there.”  

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