Feminist movements throughout history have propelled many women into living out their dreams, whether that be in successful careers, fulfilling home lives, or any other area. (Disclaimer: This article contains spons0red content, meaning we may receive compensation from the products or services mentioned.)
Unfortunately, there is still work to be done all over the world when it comes to giving women equal opportunities for success — particularly in the workplace.
The gender pay gap is a significant factor when highlighting the experiences of women in professional settings; in the US, women working full time are paid 16 per cent less than men.
Women are also disproportionately affected by workplace harassment and discrimination, ranging from sexual harassment to microaggressions — for example, when women have their judgement questioned, receive comments on their appearance or emotional state. In fact, women in the workplace are twice as likely to be mistaken for someone more junior than them, and 2.5 times more likely to have someone comment on their appearance. Women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities, report even higher rates of experiencing microaggressions in the workplace.
In addition to this, women are still far less likely to receive promotions than men. In 2023, for every 100 men that were promoted from an entry level to manager position, only 87 women were promoted. When it comes to c-suite level positions, only 28 per cent were held by women.
These are only a few of the challenges women face when it comes to achieving their goals. It can feel incredibly overwhelming when the data is put in front of you, but if you have big dreams, don’t let this information dissuade you. This article will give you some strategies and practical tips to help you get well on your way to ticking those goals off your bucket list.
The Importance of Goal Setting
Goal setting is crucial for both personal and professional success. Goals help you focus and move towards exactly what you want to do. They do this by giving you a way to measure your progress, helping you overcome procrastination, giving you opportunities to reward yourself, and motivating you to keep going.
For example, if you’re a nurse who has set yourself the goal of taking your skills to the next level, you might enroll in one of the available BSN to MSN programs online. Similarly, if you’re a busy student who wants to work more outside of study, setting a savings goal for yourself might help you to motivate yourself, stop procrastinating and pick up the hours to get you over the line.
Identifying Your Dreams and Aspirations
It can be hard to know where to start when setting goals for yourself. The main thing to focus on is what you really want — what are your dreams and aspirations? Some people identify theirs at a very young age, others don’t figure it out until much later. If you fit more into the latter, try asking yourself the below questions:
- If money wasn’t a factor, what would you spend your time doing?
- What did you love doing as a child?
- Is there anything you really dislike doing?
- What are your talents?
- Who do you enjoy being around the most?
- What do you value the most in life?
- Who and what inspires you?
- What comes to mind when you think of your ideal future?
These questions might not give you one clear answer, but if there’s a common factor, or something that particularly resonates, it might be worth considering more.
Setting SMART Goals
Setting SMART goals is a really helpful technique when it comes to planning for your future. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Having really strict parameters for your goals makes them more achievable, as nothing can get lost in the vagueness or gray area — you know exactly what you need to do, how to do it, and when to do it by.
For example, an artist could set themselves the vague goal of building their portfolio. This is a great idea in theory, but with no practical steps and no specific end goal or time, it’s going to be much easier for the artist to put off doing the work.
If, however, the artist wanted to turn this into a SMART goal, they might say: “I’m going to add four new small scale sketches to my portfolio every month in the first half of this year.” The goal is specific (small scale sketches), measurable (four per month), achievable (the artist has the time), relevant (will help them build their portfolio as an artist), and time-bound (each month for six months).
The SMART goal will increase the artist’s chance of completing their goal as they have defined every part of it. The artist knows what work to produce, how to produce it, and when to produce it, making it far easier to get the job done.
Breaking Down Goals into Manageable Steps
Now that you’ve got your SMART goal, break it down into smaller, actionable steps. These should be individual tasks that are very manageable — this will mean they’re less intimidating to get started on, and you’ll get that sense of accomplishment even sooner when you start working through them, which will only motivate you more.
If you’re not sure where to start, look at your end goal, and think of whatever the first thing you need to get done is. If we’re looking at our artist example from earlier, their first step likely isn’t ‘do a sketch’, it’s more likely something along the lines of ‘do a stocktake of supplies’ or ‘brainstorm ideas’. It might feel like you’re starting too small, or that the steps are too obvious, but treating every part of the process like its own mini goal is a fantastic way to make progress.
Once you have your first step, you can figure out what comes next. Write down each and every step so that you can track your progress easily, and get started on your journey to success.
Overcoming Obstacles and Staying Motivated
We all experience setbacks of different kinds throughout our lives, and unfortunately the road to success is no exception to this.
Unfortunately, the obstacles mentioned at the beginning of this article can continue to present themselves as women move through their lives. While these were workplace-focused, they can all, in some way, apply to all parts of womens’ lives. For example, women aren’t always taken as seriously as men when voicing an opinion or standing up for themselves. Similarly, they are more likely to experience discrimination in some form in their day-to-day lives.
These things can make it really difficult to progress towards a goal when it feels like things are out of your hands, or a setback makes you feel like you’ve lost progress.
Try to surround yourself with a strong support network for when challenges arise — whether they’re gender-related or not. Having people to support you, build you up, and catch you when you fall can make all the difference when it comes to motivation.
Similarly, try to stay flexible so that when things come up, you can pivot if you need to. Progress that is different to what you imagined is better than no progress at all — keep this in mind when plans have to change.
As you move towards your dreams, make sure to look after yourself by celebrating the small wins, engaging in plenty of self care, and taking breaks when you need to.
The ultimate goal is that one day women won’t have to fight for their dreams any more than men do — they will have to put in the same amount of planning and work to get to the same places. Until then, remember to be kind to yourself, implement the tactics that work for you, set big goals, and believe in yourself.