ON THE JOB
For women at work, it's a no-win situation. Express confidence in your abilities, blow your own horn a little, and you'll be condemned as unfeminine. But modesty gets you nowhere, either. Keep quiet about your talents, and come promotion time you'll be passed over in favor of an assertive male.
So what's a woman to do? It may depend on the sex of your boss, says University of Washington psychologist Laurie Rudman. Ph.D. In simulated interviews, she found that male "bosses" will choose a self-assertive female--but only if they believe they'll personally benefit by picking her.
But beware expressing too much self-confidence if you've got a female boss. They tend to prefer less serf-assured women, even if they believe an assertive personality is better suited to the task. Still, it may pay to tout your abilities anyway, if only to counteract the stereotype that women are less capable than men.
