（继上一个博客后）我想就另一个问题分享我的一些看法，这个问题对职场高层中的女性数量有所影响，那就是：自信。有许多研究表明，女性自信心不足，而且这会影响她们的事业前景。如果她们认为自己不够资格，就不太可能去申请更高级别的工作；即时在有需要时，她们也不太可能很自信地展现自己的能力。

我不是一个性别研究专家，但从我个人的经验来说，我认为以上理论有一定的道理。作为外交官，我们经常需要与技术专家自信地谈论某些技术问题，尽管我们对这个话题只有很表面的认知。我曾讨论过的一些不寻常的话题包括，例如像大陆架的界限，还有2016年最后一天是否需要增加闰秒的问题。

副总领事在莎士比亚与汤显祖纪念活动上演讲

在职位竞选流程中，以及晋升考核中，英国外交部会甄选能够做到自信沟通这一点的男性和女性。因为某些原因，我曾见过大部分男性在外交工作中能自如地展现自己的自信和能力。而我见过的成功女性则有不同的表现方式：可能更小心翼翼，且相对比较低调地表现信心（当然，这肯定以偏概全了。）

在我早期的职业生涯中，当我在申请外交晋升考核时，我曾想象这些信心十足的男性同胞们不需要怎么准备就能轻松通过，我想知道自己能不能像他们一样。我决定要找出他们的秘诀。于是我花了许多时间与成功的同事们交流，参加工作上的学习小组以学习其他人的经验。

副总领事与中方领导出席活动

我的发现是：

有些人（男女都有）确实比其他人更自信。他们通过练习建立自信——将自己置身于具挑战性的场合（如公众演讲、晋升考试、招聘面试等），无论失败多少次，一直锻炼到自己不再胆怯。个人而言，我是随着年龄的增长才逐渐变得更自信。但有些优秀的年轻人已经相当自信，他们从小就开始不断挑战自我。我在想，是不是因为社会的原因，这一类人更多是男性？

但问题是，想要让自己自信应对这些挑战性的场合，首先就需要有一点信心。因此，假如我们能通过一些技巧，在短时间内树立起信心，我们便能慢慢提高。我个人的“信心历程”很大程度上要归功于网上大量关于提升信心的诀窍的TED演讲。我个人最爱的诀窍之一是：在活动之前，像超级英雄一样抬头挺胸地站立两分钟，因为这会让你建立自信。真的有用！）英国外交部针对信心差距的问题采取了多项措施，例如为寻求晋升的女性员工（和其他少数群体）提供针对性的培训课程和相关指导，我们看到了越来越多的女性担任司长及更高级别的职位。

综上所述，我的结论是：信心并不是与性别直接相关。一些男性有更多的机会应对挑战的经验，可以让他们增长信心，这也许是有社会原因的。而这则导致越来越少的女性去申请并成功竞逐到更高的职位。但我们每个人都有能力去建立自信心，有能力去改变我们的世界。

#勇于改变##做妳自己#

英语原文：

Mind the Confidence Gap!*

I’d like to share some thoughts on another issue which has an impact on the number of women we see at senior levels in the workplace:  confidence.  There’s been a lot of research showing that women have less confidence and that this affects their career prospects.  They are less likely to apply for a higher level job if they feel they are unqualified, and they are less likely to bluff confidently when they need to.

I’m not a gender expert, but speaking from my personal experience, I would say there is some truth to this theory.  As diplomats, we are frequently called upon to talk confidently about technical subjects, with technical experts, even though we have only a very superficial understanding of the subject (some of the more unusual topics I have had to discuss have included for example, the limits of the continental shelf, and the question of whether we should have a “leap second” at the end of 2016).

In the selection process for joining the office, and in its promotion exams, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office seeks men and women who can do this.  For some reason, I have seen an abundance of men in the diplomatic service who are able to give the impression of supreme self belief and competence.  The successful women I have seen have had a different way of expressing themselves: perhaps carefully, and with a more quiet confidence.  (This is huge generalisation, of course).

When I was applying for the diplomatic promotion exams earlier in my career, I imagined these confident men would sail through the process with the minimum of preparation, and I wondered how I could be more like them.  I set out to discover their secret.  I spent a lot of time talking to successful colleagues, and joined learning groups at work to share the experience of others.

What I found was this:

Some people (men and women) are genuinely more confident than others.  They acquire this confidence through practice – putting themselves into challenging situations (like public speaking, promotion exams, job interviews) regardless of how many times they fail, until they no longer feel intimidated by the experience.  Personally, I have acquired this kind of confidence as I’ve got older.  There are some brilliant young people who have been challenging themselves since early childhood and already have this kind of confidence.  I wonder if those people are more likely to be men, for social reasons?

But the problem is, to put ourselves into these challenging situations, a little bit of confidence is needed in the first place!  So if we can try out a few techniques to give us confidence in the short term, we can develop it in the long term.  My own personal confidence journey has been helped hugely by the wealth of TED talks with tips on confidence (My favourite tip is the advice to stand like a superhero for 2 minutes before a big event, because it will make you project more confidence.  It works!).  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has taken steps to address the confidence gap, offering bespoke training and coaching to women (and other minorities) seeking promotion, and we are now seeing more women at Director level and beyond.

So here are my conclusions:  Confidence isn’t directly related to gender.  There might be social reasons why some men are exposed to the kind of challenging experiences which give them more confidence.  This could have resulted in fewer women applying for and succeeding in getting higher level positions.  But we all have the ability to develop that confidence, and we all have the power to change our world.

#BeBoldforChange  #BeYourself

*编者注：Mind the gap是伦敦地铁著名的广播提示，提醒乘客留意列车与站台之间的空隙。这里副总领事巧妙地借用这句话，比喻人与人之间的信心差距。