"Self-promotion is an essential tool for career advancement [and] networking" (The Harvard Gazette).

In other words, visibility begets visibility because people (rightly or wrongly) believe that those who've been featured in/on respected media platforms are more credible; have greater expertise and authority. Here's the catch, though:

Women are less likely to reap these benefits because, according to research, women feel less at ease with promoting themselves than men- which in turn means that they're less likely to do it. What this really translates to is less access to:

PR opportunities
Clients who will trust and want to work with you
Brands and influencers wanting to collaborate with you

Moral of the story?

3 ways refusing to be visible is holding you back

It's Mother's Day in the UK today.

If you follow me on social media, you'll see that this has caused me to reflect on some of the ways that I am the person that I am today because of my mum.

One of the things that comes to mind as I sit down to write this, though, is a saying that she used to say a lot to me when I was younger:

"It's not me that you're doing, you're doing yourself"

A Nigerian Pidgin (or broken) English way of saying, "You think that in acting out you're hurting me but you're actually only hurting/harming yourself"

Not only does this saying give you a glimpse into the kind of child I was <clears throat> it sheds some light onto the many ways in which, although you might think you're protecting yourself by refusing to be visible, you're actually doing more harm that good.

For example: