The Book Wheel

Books, Politics, & More

  • Genres
    • Sortable Archive
      • Reviews by Author
      • Reviews by Genre
      • Reviews by Title
    • #30Authors
      • #30Authors Reviews
      • Lineup
    • Fiction
      • Historical Fiction
      • Mystery/Thriller
    • Non-Fiction
      • Biography
      • Economic
      • Memoir
      • Science/Tech/Psychology
      • True Crime
    • Political
    • More Options
      • 1001 List
      • Classics
      • Diverse
  • Book Club Picks
  • Politics
    • Book Reviews
    • Political Discussions
  • Lists
  • Other
    • Blogging
    • Career
    • Discussions
    • Lifestyle
    • Productivity
  • About
    • Accolades
    • Advertising
    • Policies
    • Resources
      • Authors
      • Contributors
    • What is a ‘Book Wheel’?
  • City Council

Women & Confidence: The Confidence Code (Book Review)

September 23, 2015 by Allison Hiltz 13 Comments

Women & Confidence: The Confidence Code (Book Review)The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know by Katty Kay, Claire Shipman
Published by HarperBusiness on April 15, 2015
Genres/Lists: Career, Gender-Based Books, Non-Fiction
Pages: 256
Length: 6 hrs 45 min
Read synopsis on Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links) four-stars


Why is it that so many women lack confidence? Is it cultural? Political? Genetic? This is what the authors set out to answer in The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know. Written by two journalists who spend their days in the male-dominated field of politics, they wanted to know what exactly led women to qualify their successes, hold back from taking risks, and lack (overall) the confidence they knew they should have when men had no qualms in doing all of the above.

In order to learn the why of things, they headed straight for the sources – successful, confident women. The book is punctuated with interviews with and advice from women who seemed to have it together, only to find out that even those at the top have questioned their competence and acknowledge that, while men are assumed competent until proven otherwise, women have to prove it first.

Depressing as this seems, the authors (whether they knew it or not) had the confidence in themselves to find the answers and set out to finish the book, anyway. It turns out that genetics plays a part, but doesn’t explain the differences between genders. Competence also helps, but doesn’t explain confidence (we all know a confident person who lacks the skills). There are also a lot of people who are very competent but not confident. So what’s the deal?  It turns out the answer is quite complicated and there’s no one-size-fits-all model for explaining or getting it. There are, however, tools at your disposal. I’m not going to tell you what those tools are, but if you’ve ever asked yourself any of the following questions, read this book:

  • Why do men negotiate salaries at 40% more than women and ask for a raise 30% more?
  • Why does confidence trump competence?
  • Why do some people with tons of experience lack confidence, and vice versa?
  • Why do women perform more poorly if asked to identify their gender at the beginning of an examination?
Is there a gender difference when it comes to confidence? These ladies look for the answer. #gender Click To Tweet

These are, of course, the questions the authors seek to answer and they find some pretty convincing scientific and data-driven evidence to explain confidence along the way. Refreshingly, they also aren’t afraid to discuss their own lack of confidence and times in their lives when they lost out because of it. They aren’t perfect and are still struggling with the issue, which adds a layer of, dare I say, authenticity that knocks the book up a peg. Not ones to shy away from putting their money where their mouths are, they even go so far as to have a genetic profile made up to see if they could explain their own “inadequacies” and to figure out what predispositions have been foisted upon their children. Of course, knowing something can give you something to blame your “inadequacies” on, so they do a great job of explaining the multiple components that go into confidence in order to avoid doing this (while admitting that they have a hard time with it).

Throughout the book there are, of course, a lot of comparisons to men, but rather than being a book about men vs. women, it’s a book about men compared to women. The authors never give any indication that men just have a better, innate ability to exude confidence, but rather peel back the layers that make it seemingly easier for them and offer insights into how women can learn the skill without mimicking them. After all, women are women and should be women and shouldn’t try to be men because women are awesome.

This is a quick read and I listened to it on audiobook during a recent road trip. The narrator is perky and upbeat, which makes it easy to listen to the whole thing in its entirety. Plus, the flow of the book is such that once a question is answered, another one is raised, so then next chapter (the new question) is easily transitioned into.

Recommended for: Women who lack confidence and men, generally speaking.

Do you struggle with confidence? How do you handle it?

Related Posts

  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
The Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage
Men Explain Things to Me
Men: Stop Explaining Things to Women (Book Review)
Troublemaker by Leah Remini
Survival Wins in Remini’s ‘Troublemaker’
scrappy little nobody by anna kendrick
Kendrick’s ‘Scrappy Little Nobody’ Not Your Typical Celebrity Memoir
Quiet by Susan Cain
Shh! ‘Quiet’ is Just Okay
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Claire Fuller Shines Once Again in ‘Swimming Lessons’
‘Matrimony’ is Marvelous
To Murder A Saint by Nicole Loughan
Nifty Novellas – To Murder A Saint
Why Men Have Nipples and Other Strange Body Facts
Conquering the Classics – Flowers for Algernon

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Career, Fiction Tagged With: Gender-Based

Connect

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Sign up to get new reviews in your inbox:

Upcoming Reviews

Upcoming Reviews

How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life
How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life
by Massimo Pigliucci
The Order of Time
The Order of Time
by Carlo Rovelli

goodreads.com

Trending Now

‘People in the Trees’ by Hanya Yanagihara

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (Book Review)

I Am a Bad Feminist and That’s Okay (Book Review)

‘Commonwealth’ Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype

‘Sometimes the Wolf’ a Gritty, Family-Driven Mystery

Content may not be reposted in full or without permission. This site includes affiliate links.

Copyright © 2019 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in