1. Celebrate each others’ strengths
It’s not uncommon to only receive communication from a manager or peer when a task needs completing or criticism is being leveled—as a freelancer, I know this all too well. Instead of just communicating that which is actionable or negative, tell your female peers or team members when praise is deserved as well. Celebrate their strengths and accomplishments. There seems to be a widely held misconception that one should have grown out of the need for praise in adulthood, yet I’d hazard a guess that not a single person has found this to be true. Celebrating strengths not only helps combat imposter syndrome but also assists in retaining good employees—according to Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace report, "lack of recognition" remains one of the most common reasons that people leave an organization. Help your fellow female colleagues get recognized for the things they are particularly skilled at and share their accomplishments far and wide.
2. Connect them to the right people
What’s that old saying about personal relationships? That you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with? I think this is also true of professional relationships—the better-connected professionals are to others who can support and mentor them, the better they become themselves. Empower your female coworkers by introducing them to the people who can help them access the resources and knowledge they need to grow and improve—these are the people who will inspire them to keep going when they are faced with the sadly likely scenario of being undervalued, undermined or overlooked.
3. Back each other up in meetings
As this Atlantic article points out, success is as much about confidence as it is about competence—in fact, it’s often more so. It may seem to some that speaking up in a meeting isn’t a big deal—to assume that all women struggle with this is to assume that all women are differential—but when that meeting is dominated by men, for some women, it can be. If we use Deloitte’s 2017 Women in the Boardroom research as a yardstick, in a board meeting of 100 people, only 15 of these will be women. In a room of 10 that means not even 2 would be. If you’re "lucky enough" to be in a meeting where another woman is present, amplify each other—back each others’ opinions (or, if you don’t agree, at least respect them) and give them the space to speak openly.