Member-only story
When I started working at one of the top international development institutions, I was only 27. Apart from having all right qualifications, I was also good-looking, dressed to impress, sang semi-professionally and enjoyed life to its fullest. I quickly discovered that the combination was not advantageous at a place I had dreamed of working. The occasional remarks like, ‘Isabella is out dancing, while we do serious work here’, ‘have you met our singer consultant?’, ‘she just enjoys life too much…’ quickly made me really uncomfortable, while the looks that could be summed up by ´what is this pretty girl doing at a serious institution like this? ´ started eroding my confidence. I quickly went from focusing on my work to questioning my own qualifications. I soon realized that I would never be taken seriously here, independent of how hard I worked or tried to prove myself as a qualified professional. I was unhappy trying to be a different version of myself. My dream job had quickly turned into a nightmare, so I decided to leave without fully understanding the reasons.
Today, a decade later and lots of soul-searching past me, I still do independent consulting work for this institution, while I run my own wellness business. It took me a while to process how I had felt and what it all meant to me and ultimately for other women in the professional world. The conclusion was: as…