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Stereotypes and prejudice keep women from reaching the executive suite.

When author Carol Sankar was a child, she told a teacher she wanted to become a federal judge. The teacher chastised her for harboring such an unrealistic wish. Sankar changed her answer and said she wanted to be a teacher to avoid further scoldings and persecution from her peers.Society normalizes certain career choices – such as nursing, teaching or being a receptionist or assistant – as women-centered, thus perpetuating the stereotype that a woman’s job is to serve others. The shortage of women in other careers reflects the fear women may feel about asking for opportunities outside the service-oriented norm.

This hesitation to speak up also has its roots in social conditioning that tells women to be nice. The “nice girl” is often passive, compliant, servile and outwardly pleasant. This stereotype boxes women an image of quiet servitude based on norms and expectations that ultimately affect women’s socioeconomic well-being and sustain the gender pay gap.If you don’t speak up and advocate your worth, people will perceive you as someone who ...