Have you heard about the ‘rule of seven’?*
Often cited in marketing strategies, this rule says that people need to hear an advertiser’s message at least seven times before buying a product. (Please don’t make me watch any of those Super Bowl ads seven times!)
I’ve also heard that women need to be asked seven times before making a decision to run for political office.
Some basic internet reading shows that there’s no actual research that backs up this idea.
But I did find an interesting article about the role of encouragement for women as they consider leadership. This study found that men are more likely to be ‘self-starters’ as they become candidates and women are more likely to be be recruited to run.
The report says “Women need encouragement and support, not only to persuade them to run but also to counter act any efforts aimed at dissuading them from running.”
I’ve been thinking about this a lot because the end of my two-year term as BPW President is approaching. I and others will be asking you to consider becoming more actively involved in our organization.
Maybe you've already been asked – or asked yourself— what you have to offer our community.
I’ll never forget then-President Laura Maupin phoning me to invite me to join the board within the first few months of joining BPW. I said no because I didn’t feel I knew the organization well enough.
But it planted a seed.
So that a few months later when the next BPW President Ilja Chapman asked for committee members, I said yes.
And when that committee project was over, I offered to start a new committee for Marketing. The year after that I joined the Board as Secretary, and well, here I am.
Between that first ask and now, I have been encouraged countless times.
It's not just being told I have a contribution to make. Every time I have doubts about my time, my ability and even about how fun or rewarding it's going to be, someone reminds me that my involvement in BPW matters.
And that’s made all the difference to me.
I don’t know where you are on your journey. Only that somehow, it’s brought you to be reading this newsletter right now.
What encouragement do you need to hear? What can you say yes to that supports working women?
Let us know and we'll make it happen. Maybe you're ready for a seat on the Board, or one of these committees, or something else that you think could really benefit BPW members.
And if you don’t know right now, it’s okay too. We’ll ask again!
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