Calculate the Cost of Your Visibility
99% of the businesswomen I talk to, don't want to be the face of their business. But can you actually be successful and invisible as a woman?
Repeat After Me:
My physical appearance has nothing to do with my success. My work and my personal growth can stand on merit alone. I protect my visibility and don’t give it away freely. I don’t use my image as a tool for growth because I know that relying on something which is in constant decay is not good for my mental health or my ability to focus. I can use my intellect to find a solution that has longevity, and in a world where trends and fashions are transient, I anchor my aspirations in the stability of knowledge, resilience, and innovation. By cultivating a mindset that values substance over surface, I navigate the professional landscape with purpose and don’t let others use me for tokenism or eye fodder. This deliberate approach shields me from the fallacy of the founder as brand ambassador. The normal rules don’t apply to female founders. And so I don’t engage unless they pay me for this additional labour.
You can find this essay and 48 more in my book New Methods For Women - the ideal gift for the woman in your life who is going through (or seeking) change. Get your copy here…
Unpaid labour comes in many forms and one of the iterations is in our personal likeness and image which has never before been so accessible to the wider world through social media. While visibility is important for our ability to see role models, it is also another way that women are at a loss as the standards for this visual image of ourselves is unequal and is exploited for gain. The unpaid labour of women is not new news. UN Women states:
