HackingHappy.co

If I can’t see it, I can’t be it. 🫣

Longing to make a meaningful difference in the world but not feeling expert enough to own your voice publicly? 🧐

Do you struggle to see examples of women like yourself disrupting the status quo to make the world a better place, putting themselves out there as experts in their field? 🤔

One of the key findings of my soon-to-be-published groundbreaking research Hidden Figures: Where are all the female experts? 👀

Was that women feel that there is a lack of diverse female expert role models. This impacts their ability to confidently lean in.

Now this is where it gets interesting. 😏

Whilst working on the promotional campaign to launch my Whitepaper I started searching Google and Canva to grab images of female experts so that I could show what diversity looks like…and hopefully inspire more women to step up and start owning their impact. 🤩

Check out the carousel to see what I found. 🤗

The search terms woman and expert on Canva and Google generate more graphics of men than women. The photos of female experts seem to convey that expert women only work in corporate, are white and like to cross their arms a lot. 🤨

How is it that in the year 2024, we don’t even have great images available of diverse women that portray them as experts? Is it any wonder women struggle to see that they could be an expert? 😳

I’m calling this out and asking Canva and Google to look into how they can provide more diverse search examples of female experts so that more women can see it and be it. 😏

Have you experienced this when searching for images? 🤔

Ps. If you’d like to be one of the first to read my whitepaper join The Weekly Reflective via the link here: https://app.hackinghappy.co/join-our-mailing-list. You’ll also receive a regular dose of evidence-backed support to help you start living your impact and expertise today. 🫶

When was the last time you acted on a hunch? 🤨

Something that lit a fire in your soul 🔥 but scared you to death at the same time because it felt so huge and made you wonder… who am I to think I can…? 🤔

Far too many women I connect with share with me their ideas to make the world a better place through their work and how they haven’t acted on these inner hunches out of fear. 😊

FOPO is what they call it. 🫣

👉 Fear Of Other People's Opinions.

👉 Fear of Criticism.

👉 Fear of being exposed as an imposter.

These feelings were all validated in my soon-to-be-published research…

4 months ago I had a hunch.

A hunch that professional women often have a negative relationship with the word expert and it impacts their ability to become one which impacts our ability to realise gender equality in positions of influence and power. ⚡

Having just finished Advanced Statistics in my Psychology Honours I decided to apply my learning. 📝

Developed a qualitative research plan, recruited 21 women across corporate and entrepreneurship and set up exploring how women's relationship with the word expert impacts their ability to become one. 😌

Acting on that hunch has enabled me to produce my groundbreaking Whitepaper Hidden Figures: Where are all the female experts? Which will be launched in October. 🙌

That hunch now has me collaborating with a number of esteemed media publications and organisations enabling me to scale my impact and create more opportunities for diverse women to confidently own their power as an expert and become role models for the next generation. 👏

Truth be told after 10 years as an Impact Maker I still feel "FOPO", I just refuse to let it stop me from making the world a better place. 😊

If you’d like to stop letting FOPO hold you back join The Weekly Reflective via the link here: https://app.hackinghappy.co/join-our-mailing-list and be one of the first to read my Whitepaper. You’ll also receive a regular dose of evidence-backed support to help you stop making excuses and instead start making an impact. 🫶

Today I turn 49, and when I look in the mirror, I like who I see 🙌.

✨ I see a woman who stopped complaining about her situation and invested 9.5 years experimenting to change it for the better,

✨ I see a woman who has played a long game, who has persisted in adversity to shape a life she loves,

✨ I see an unconventional independent mum who is doing the best she can,

✨ I see a woman who is courageous and consistent in how she shows up,

✨ I see a woman who spends her days doing work she loves with people who make her a better version of herself,

✨ I see a woman who is energised and excited about growing older and continuing to make a meaningful difference through her work and in the lives of others,

✨ I see a woman who unapologetically prioritises her health and happiness,

✨ I see a woman committed to making the world a happier, more inclusive and compassionate place,

✨ I see a woman who is beautifully flawed and in love with who she’s becoming,

✨ I see a woman who unashamedly owns the fact that she is an impact expert and she’s here to help many other women realise the impact they seek to have on the lives of others.

I share this because it’s taken me 49 years to look in the mirror and truly like who I see 💛.

To accept who I am and to know that I am enough. Far too many of us look in the mirror and choose to only see the bits we don’t like. But trust me the good bits are there you just have to allow yourself to see them.

So today my invitation to you is this.

Look in the mirror with love and compassion and choose to see the true beauty that you are ✨.