Put your hand up

On Monday, I asked the women and girls who follow me this question

When I asked you about your memories of trying to hide your cleverness, this is what you told me...⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

👉"My 6-year-old daughter's teachers say she doesn't put her hand up but knows the answer if called upon"⠀⠀

👉"When I was 10 I was called a swot a few times, then I put my hand down for good"⠀

👉"I've spent most of my adult life not answering questions I know the answer to"

👉"When I was 9 my teacher called me a Smart Alec for putting my hand up too much"

👉"When I was 4 my teacher called me bossy for putting my hand up too much"

👉"When I was 6 I was told to stop putting my hand up so often"

👉"When I was wee my class went on a trip to the Zoo, they asked us a question I knew the answer to but I didn't put my hand up"⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

The data backs it up too. We know that women ask disproportionately fewer questions than men at conference talks, even when women make up a majority of the audience. When you ask or answer a question, you turn from an anonymous listener sitting in the shadows to a speaker in the spotlight. It's hard. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

But here's the thing, most of us are scared of ourselves. We're scared of what will happen when everyone knows that we do in fact know the answer. We're scared of what will happen when we are "too" opinionated or "too" clever or "too" much.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

That’s the biggest win the patriarchy has made through undermining women for generations - we don't put our hand up. We are wary of other women who do. We live in a system that encourages this. We swallow our opinions. We fake ignorance. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

Let's start putting our hands up so often that we actually start to enjoy it. Imagine what that would feel like?

And hey, let's see if we can start something here. Take a photo of yourself with your hand up and I'll share it #PUTYOURHANDUP⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

Put your fucking hand up 🙋🏻