Embracing Our Insecurities to #AccelerateAction

Reflecting on the theme of IWD 2025, #AccelerateAction, I keep returning to the thought that we hold ourselves back too often. We don’t think we’re good enough to win that competition or pass that exam, or we think we’ll be successful in getting that promotion or landing that new job, so we don’t even try.

Research conducted by Katherine Coffman identified that women lack confidence in their ability to compete in professions that are stereotypically seen as ones that men excel in, such as science, math and technology. Women are also more likely to dismiss praise and underestimate their own abilities.

The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum revealed that, far from accelerating, the momentum to achieve gender parity actually slowed in 2024. At our current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach full parity—roughly five generations!

So, what can we do to #AccelerateAction? My advice for accelerating progress toward gender parity (and equality) is for women to embrace their insecurities. 

Embracing insecurities means acknowledging them without shame, understanding their origins, and learning to move forward despite them. It’s about shifting the mindset from "this makes me weak" to "this makes me human." Instead of letting insecurities hold you back, you use them as a tool for growth, self-awareness, and even connection with others.

Embracing insecurities means facing our fears. It doesn’t mean ignoring or suppressing them, but instead facing them head-on with self-compassion and some vulnerability.

Embracing insecurity is precisely what I did when I founded CFW2. For years I felt insecure about my decision not to have children. I feared being asked if I had children because I worried that I would be judged as selfish or career-obsessed when I said that I didn’t have them. Last year, I decided to be vulnerable and share my experiences and thoughts on being child-free - broadly and specifically in the workplace - by posting them online. I want to change the equation that woman = mother. I want to raise awareness of the child-free perspective and the workplace biases and inequalities those folks experience.  

My confidence in my decision not to have children has grown exponentially because I embraced this insecurity and took action. 

If we’re going to #AccelerateAction, we have to embrace our insecurities, not simply overcome them. Please, have the confidence to share your ideas in your team meetings. To apply for the job for which you don’t meet every single qualification. To request the raise that you have earned. 

We can overcome these barriers and accelerate the obliteration of the gender parity and equality gaps. 

Alysia Christiaen

Creator of CFW² and a child-free woman.