145: Speaking Up Against Gender Dynamics By Giving Women Credit For Their Accomplishments

May 19, 2025

Get ready Fearless Feminine Leaders! Today we are continuing the conversation from a few episodes ago (episode #141) on the topic of gender dynamics in leadership. But we’re using this angle for the conversation today: Speaking Up Against Gender Dynamics By Giving Women Credit For Their Accomplishments.

We've got some stories to share with you that will inspire you, and some that will make you roll your eyes and laugh out loud in snarky ways!

Are you ready for it? Let's go...

*****Links You Need Right Away*****

Learn how to better speak up for the women you lead by becoming an official RAYMA Foundations™ Certified Coach at https://www.raymateam.com/coachcertification. (2025 Cohort 1 CLOSES May 24th so don't wait! Get on the Waitlist for the next Cohort if enrollment is closed.)
Female Leaders: Join us on June 19th in Mandan, ND from 10am-12pm for the Boss Up! Event - Tickets are open now at https://www.raymateam.com/BossUp.
Source link for stories of women that were not recognized for their accomplishments - https://www.ranker.com/list/women-in-history-who-didnt-get-credit-for-their-work/katherine-ripley)

*****

Exciting announcement: The Fearless Feminine Leadership Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 20 Fearless Women Podcasts on the web! We are honored to have been chosen and recognized. Check out all the podcasts on this list at https://podcast.feedspot.com/fearless_women_podcasts/.

*****

Enjoyed this episode? We'd love to feature you! Take a screenshot and share it with us on Instagram. Be sure to tag us - @raymateam - so we can share your AH-HA moments on our IG stories. (Also, be sure to leave a review on iTunes or Spotify.)

*****

MUST HAVE LINKS & RESOURCES:

Hire Us for Team Trainings, Upcoming Conferences, or Private Coaching at https://www.raymateam.com/hireus.
Download free resources at https://www.raymateam.com/freeresources.
Register for an upcoming virtual or in-person workshop! Details can be found at https://www.raymateam.com/upcomingprograms.
Spend the day with us at the next Lead Like A Rockstar Event! Details can be found at https://www.raymateam.com/leadlikearockstar.
Shop our books on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/26Q8KFDAT9XQ8.
Listen to more podcast episodes at https://www.raymateam.com/podcasts/fearless-feminine-leadership.
Follow us on Instagram and send a DM with any questions at https://www.instagram.com/raymateam/.

Episode Transcript

Episode 145 - Speaking Up Against Gender Dynamics By Giving Women Credit For Their Accomplishments

Welcome back to the Fearless Feminine Leadership Podcast. Today we are continuing the conversation from a few episodes ago (episode #141) on the topic of gender dynamics in leadership. But we’re using this angle for the conversation today: Speaking Up Against Gender Dynamics By Giving Women Credit For Their Accomplishments…

Let’s take a look at two women who were not recognized for their accomplishments: (Source link for stories of women that were not recognized for their accomplishments - https://www.ranker.com/list/women-in-history-who-didnt-get-credit-for-their-work/katherine-ripley)

1. Zelda Fitzgerald was married to great American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby. Zelda was a writer herself - such a good writer that her husband actually plagiarized her diary.

F. Scott Fitzgerald lifted entire passages from his wife's diary and put them in his novel, The Beautiful and the Damned. After Zelda read the novel and recognized her own writing, she wrote a review of the novel for the New York Tribune. It said, "Mr. Fitzgerald - I believe that is how he spells his name - seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home."

While hospitalized, Zelda began work on a semi-autobiographical novel called Save Me the Waltz and sent a draft to Max Perkins, her husband's editor. Fitzgerald offered to edit the manuscript, but instead he lifted long passages and used them in his own novel, Tender Is the Night.

Many believe Fitzgerald intentionally stoked the rumors that Zelda was "crazy" in order to cover his blatant theft of her literary work. In his journal, Fitzgerald explicitly stated his plans to drive his wife towards a nervous breakdown in order to have her committed.

2. Rosalind Franklin was a scientist whose data was an essential part of figuring out the structure of the DNA molecule. Jim Watson and Francis Crick won the Nobel Prize for discovering that DNA was shaped like a spiral staircase - but Watson and Crick couldn't have cracked the code without Franklin's work.

Franklin made two major contributions. First, she helped take a photo of DNA (known as Photo 51) that was clearer than any photo of DNA that had been previously taken at that time. Second, she recorded the distances between the redundant components of the DNA molecule - this where the DNA "repeats." Without even asking Franklin whether they could use her data, Watson and Crick got their hands on a report she had written containing the numbers they needed to do the final calculation.

As with many women in male-dominated fields, her "masculine" behavior was considered off-putting by many: "Her manner was brusque and at times confrontational - she aroused quite a lot of hostility among the people she talked to, and she seemed quite insensitive to this.”

There is some question about how ethical it was for Watson and Crick to use Franklin's data. Franklin had not published her measurements for the public to read, but wasn't exactly keeping them under lock and key, either. In any case, when Watson and Crick achieved their final breakthrough, they were awarded with the Nobel Prize.

Tragically, Franklin died of cancer at age 38 before the prize was awarded (and the Nobel is not awarded posthumously). Watson and Crick went on to become household names, while Franklin's important contributions were all but forgotten.

2 More Examples of Gender Dynamics in Leadership that often downplay a woman’s accomplishments…

1. Perceptions of Authority: Women in leadership may have to navigate perceptions that question their authority. They may face scrutiny over their decisions or leadership style in ways that male leaders do not, which can affect their confidence and effectiveness.

2. Promotion and Advancement: Gender biases can impact promotion processes, with women often facing higher scrutiny and needing to demonstrate their qualifications more than male colleagues. This can slow advancement and reinforce barriers to leadership roles.

How can you speak up against these gender dynamics and give a female leader the credit she deserves?
• Don’t undermine her authority. If she makes a decision, follow through with it instead of doing your own thing in the background.
• Become a cheerleader for her and point out the effectiveness that IS there BECAUSE of her leadership and authority.
• Stop downplaying the qualifications or accomplishments of women and highlight their accomplishments!

Our closing thought for today is this: Don’t be like the men who plagiarized their wives work, or stole scientific discoveries from colleagues without giving credit to them. Instead, let’s all aim to be like our friend Kelly’s son: when you notice a woman not getting credit for her accomplishments, speak up and give credit where credit is due.

145: Speaking Up Against Gender Dynamics By Giving Women Credit For Their Accomplishments

MUST HAVE LINKS & RESOURCES:

Stay Connected