What is it like to be the only woman in the room? – Gotham Gal

I have been the only woman in the room more than a several times. In the past few months it has happened more than a handful of times. I am greeted with open arms but I wonder if I have changed the room at all. As I have gotten older I find it to be less of a challenge to be heard but more of a responsibility to be the leader in the room. Essentially to show that I know my shit.There is something intimidating to most women sitting in a room full of men who supposedly know about everything. The reality is that they don’t. They might be more comfortable in those meetings because they are confident in those rooms. What I have discovered over the years is just became they appear to be confident doesn’t mean that they know what’s going on.I always sat at the table like everyone else but in the past I probably listened more than I spoke. I learned a long time ago not to start my sentence in those meetings with “I think” but to jump in with my comments instead. Be articulate, be bold and show pure confidence and no fear. You are in the meeting because you deserve to be there not because they asked a token woman. If you can shift your thoughts to that it makes all the difference in the world.

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