ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What if everything you've been told about success is true...just not equally true?
For generations, women have been given a roadmap to success. Work hard. Earn the degree. Build your expertise. Develop executive presence. Negotiate. Become exceptional.
And millions of women have done exactly that.
So why do so many still feel like the finish line keeps moving?
In this episode of the Advancing Women Podcast, Dr. Kimberly DeSimone explores a question that has been at the center of her research, teaching, and leadership work for years: What if the problem isn't that women aren't following the roadmap? What if they're following it exactly?
Using the metaphor of the classic street game Three-Card Monte (sometimes called Find the Queen), this episode examines why doing everything "right" doesn't always produce the same outcomes for everyone.
Drawing on decades of research in organizational psychology, leadership, gender studies, and behavioral science, Kimberly explores how bias often shifts rather than disappears, as women become more qualified, more accomplished, and closer to positions of power.
Rather than asking women to become even more exceptional, this episode asks a different question: What if the system keeps changing the rules?
This Episode Explores:
- Why the traditional success roadmap doesn't always produce equal outcomes
- Why credentials alone aren't enough
- Adam Grant's discussion of the research on intelligence and likability
- Meritocracy: aspiration versus reality, and the "Prove-It-Again" bias
- The motherhood penalty, fatherhood premium, and the “second shift”
- Casuistic bias and how evaluation criteria quietly change depending on who possesses the qualifications
- Why exceptional women are often evaluated differently than exceptional men
- Why recognizing patterns is the first step toward changing systems
Mentioned in This Episode:
- Walking on Broken Glass by Shannon Nutter & Julia Carrion
- Joan C. Williams' research on "Prove-It-Again" bias
- The Second Shift by Arlie Hochschild
Continue the Conversation! Have you ever felt like the goalposts moved just as you reached them? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Why not add a comment on the Advancing Women Podcast Instagram page?
· Instagram: @AdvancingWomenPodcast
· Facebook: Advancing Women Podcast
Connect with me on LinkedIn
· LinkedIn: Dr. Kimberly DeSimone
Please share this episode with someone who needs to hear it and join the conversation. Every conversation helps us move one step closer to changing the game!
