Major tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have all reported that over a third of their workforce are now made up of female employees. Unfortunately, despite these gains, the proportion of women pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career paths remains low, with only about 6.7% of all women graduating from college earning a STEM degree, despite women having 53% of all degrees earned, according to the National Science Foundation.

In fact, this absence of women in tech is partly caused by cultural norms. These norms discourage women from developing the confidence needed to succeed. This field is fast-paced and male-dominated like tech. Learning how to transition into a tech career often means confronting that reality head-on rather than waiting for it to change.

Nevertheless, more and more women are thriving in major tech companies. This shows that times may be changing. It is possible for more women to build and achieve this requisite confidence in their budding tech careers. That’s especially true as career opportunities in artificial intelligence keep opening up new paths within the industry.

Additionally, the path towards greater self-confidence isn’t going to be the same for everyone. However, some common confidence-building strategies have worked for women with vastly different personalities and values. Let’s look at some ideas that may help you move up the tech career ladder with grace and composure: These same ideas apply whether you’re aiming for a general tech role or specifically want to learn how to build a career in AI.

1. How Can You Recognize Your Abilities?

Moreover, the best way to become truly confident is to recognize and fully own what you are capable of. If you’re not used to thinking this way, it will take some effort to make this viewpoint second nature.

Similarly, but make it a point to remind yourself of your strengths every day. Soon, you will be better equipped to tackle new challenges in the tech field.

2. How Can You Dress for Success?

Furthermore, the tech industry generally embraces fairly casual workplace styles, sometimes veering head on into anti-fashion. This state of affairs can actually give you room to build your confidence through style. It’s one small but real example of how tech company culture and career growth are often more flexible than people expect.

For instance, when you feel and look great in your clothes, you’ll become more positive of your capabilities as well.

As a result, you don’t have to wear a suit to dress for work, either. It can be as simple a decision. You can eschew hoodies and jeans. You can choose equally comfy cardigans or versatile dresses instead. Shop tights to round out your ensemble for a board meeting or for an international conference or mixer with an SEO expert, fintech leader, or other tech professionals in attendance.

3. How Can You Welcome Feedback?

Ultimately, handling critique can be challenging when you are actively trying to build your confidence. Regardless, legitimate feedback should always be acknowledged and used for refining your skills. Building strong tech industry networking strategies for professionals also helps you get more of that useful feedback in the first place.

Likewise, a lot of feedback you will receive in your career will be unfair. However, even these inputs should give you insights into what motivates others. If you want extra support along the way, there are also more AI industry career resources for professionals than ever before.

Indeed, with time, you’ll develop the mental and emotional tools. You can handle any feedback that comes your way. Then, use it for your betterment and that of other aspiring women in tech.

4. Why Should You Commit to Lifelong Learning?

Notably, staying curious and updating your skills can give you an immense advantage over your peers. This is true regardless of these skills’ relation to STEM.

As you stay in your career, you’ll also find something. Your diversity of skills will make you a much more valued addition to any team.

5. How Can You Find Allies Wherever You Can?

Importantly, whenever you enter a new industry, you must do one thing. Surround yourself with supportive industry mentors. They can offer realistic advice.

In fact, the great thing about having mentors by your side is that they can keep you from making mistakes. They made those mistakes first. This speeds up your career growth and boosts your faith in your own abilities.

This doesn’t mean that you should only build relationships with more experienced colleagues. Positive relationships with peers and even professionals outside of tech can be just as important. As a result, a larger network can also help bolster your confidence.

6. Aim to Inspire Confidence in Others.

Make it a habit to practice articulating your ideas clearly and confidently. A lot of the time, clients, colleagues, and higher-ups are less interested in what you actually have to say. They are more attuned to how you say it.

With enough practice, you’ll be inspiring confidence in other people by default. Their trust, in turn, can help you achieve the self-belief that is critical for success in the tech industry.

7. Assert Yourself Professionally.

You must make it a point to speak up. You must share your ideas and advocate for your contributions. Do this without losing sight of your professionalism.

This is the litmus test of true confidence in a male-dominated tech world. Any success in this area will help breed future success. This applies not only for you, but for other women looking to enter this competitive field.

8. Find Meaningful Work.

It’s hard to stay confident if you don’t even believe in the work you’re doing. Fortunately, tech is an incredibly diverse field with businesses of all sizes constantly figuring out new problems to solve.

Once you find a job that aligns with your goals and values, you’ll probably find your passion driving you. It will drive you effortlessly forward.

9. Practice Self-Care.

If you don’t take care of yourself mentally and physically, you may eventually lose your confidence. You worked so hard to build this up.

When you consistently make time for yourself and the people who matter most to you, you will set yourself up to thrive. This applies both personally and professionally, making you even more confident in the process.

Forging Unshatterable Confidence in Your Tech Career.

Confidence is a journey. It can be a difficult one, especially if you were raised in an environment where women expected to always think of others—even to their own detriment.

However, with perseverance, you should be able to make your mark in any field you want. Whether you want to pursue a tech career or any other path historically unavailable to women, developing a healthy appreciation of what you are truly capable of should help you attain whatever fulfillment you envision.