You’ve done the preparation. You know your subject. You have something valuable to contribute. And yet, when the moment comes to speak up in a meeting, something holds you back. Maybe you talk yourself out of it. Maybe someone else jumps in first. Maybe you start to speak and find yourself talked over before you’ve finished your point.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Research from Brigham Young University and Princeton found that in mixed-gender meetings, men account for 75% of the speaking time. This isn’t because women have less to say. It’s because the dynamics of meetings, and the wider workplace, often make it harder for women’s voices to be heard.
Why speaking up feels harder for women
The challenges women face in making themselves heard aren’t imaginary. According to research, 86% of women say they’ve been socialised to be nice, helpful, and a good student, while only 44% have been taught to be a good leader, and just 34% to express their opinions. This conditioning runs deep, and it shows up in how comfortable we feel asserting ourselves in professional settings.
Research by My Confidence Matters found that 79% of women regularly lack confidence in their careers and speaking up at work, compared with 62% of men. And 32% of British workers say they’re afraid of putting their own ideas forward. For new and aspiring managers, who may already be questioning whether they belong in leadership, these barriers feel even more pronounced.
There’s also the double bind that women navigate constantly. Research consistently shows that when women display assertive, confident behaviour, they can be perceived negatively in ways that men aren’t. This creates an impossible balancing act: speak up and risk being seen as aggressive, or stay quiet and risk being overlooked entirely.
Why your voice matters
Despite these challenges, speaking up isn’t optional if you want to progress. Research published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that employees who voice their ideas and opinions are perceived as more competent and gain higher social status within their organisations. Speaking up signals confidence, proactivity, and engagement, qualities that are essential for leadership.
The impact of staying silent compounds over time. If you consistently hold back, you miss opportunities to demonstrate your expertise, build your reputation, and influence decisions. Your contributions go unrecognised, and others are promoted while you remain invisible. As one leadership expert put it, when you allow yourself to stay silent in meetings, you’re training people to think that it’s normal not to hear from you.
Practical strategies for speaking up
The good news is that speaking up is a skill you can develop. It’s not about changing your personality or pretending to be someone you’re not. It’s about building techniques that help you contribute with confidence.
Prepare strategically
Before any meeting, identify one or two points you want to make. Having something prepared reduces the cognitive load in the moment and makes it easier to jump in. Think about how your point connects to the broader discussion and frame it in terms of the value it adds.
Speak early
The longer you wait, the harder it becomes. Try to make your first contribution within the first ten minutes of a meeting, even if it’s just a clarifying question or a brief agreement with someone else’s point. Once you’ve spoken once, speaking again feels easier.
Use your body
Research on executive presence shows that physical positioning matters. Sitting up straight, planting your feet, and making eye contact all signal confidence to others and to yourself. Before speaking, take a breath and ground yourself physically.
Claim your space
If you’re interrupted, it’s okay to say “I’d like to finish my point” or “Let me just complete that thought.” This isn’t aggressive. It’s professional. You can do it with warmth while still being clear about your right to be heard.
Reframe your thinking
Instead of focusing on whether people will judge your contribution, focus on the value you’re adding. You’re not speaking up for yourself. You’re sharing insight that could help the team make better decisions.
Building executive presence
These strategies help in specific moments, but lasting change comes from developing what’s often called executive presence: the ability to communicate with authority, project confidence, and command attention. This isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build through practice and intentional development.
Executive presence includes how you structure your message, the tone and pace of your voice, your body language, and your ability to read the room and respond appropriately. For women, it also means learning to navigate the double bind with skill, being assertive in ways that feel authentic rather than forced.
This is exactly what structured leadership development can help with. Learnmore’s Women in Leadership: The Management Launchpad programme includes a dedicated workshop called “The Power of Voice” that focuses specifically on executive presence, constructive communication, and assertive speaking. Participants learn practical techniques for commanding attention in meetings and high-stakes conversations, delivered in an environment where they can practice and receive feedback from peers facing similar challenges.
Learning alongside others
One of the most powerful aspects of developing these skills in a group setting is realising you’re not alone. When you hear other capable women describe the same struggles with speaking up, imposter syndrome loses some of its power. You start to see these challenges as systemic rather than personal failings.
- “The main thing I've enjoyed most is building my confidence levels up because before I was an introvert, and this [programme] has pushed me out there and put me on projects where I've gained a lot of experience and skills”
- Women in Leadership Learner
The Women in Leadership: The Management Launchpad programme brings together women at similar career stages, creating a cohort where you can practice, share experiences, and build relationships that continue beyond the programme. This network becomes a source of ongoing support as you apply what you’ve learned in your day-to-day work.
Your voice belongs in the room
The women who reach senior leadership positions aren’t the ones who waited until they felt completely comfortable speaking up. They’re the ones who pushed through discomfort, developed their skills, and learned to trust their own voice.
You have valuable perspectives and ideas. Your team and organisation need to hear them. If speaking up feels difficult right now, that’s not a sign that you don’t belong. It’s a sign that you have something to work on, just like every other leadership skill.
If you are ready to build the communication skills and confidence to make your voice heard, explore Women in Leadership: The Management Launchpad programme and take the first step towards leading with clarity and conviction.
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