"The 30-Day Assertiveness Challenge helped me recognise that there was nothing wrong with me. There were just unwritten rules I needed to learn. Now I have a toolkit of actionable approaches I use every day, and I see my true value and insight."
Questioning my place in a technical world
Despite putting enormous effort into my career, I felt stuck. I kept questioning myself:
"Should I have studied something else instead of engineering?"
"Is there something wrong with me?"
"Why am I not advancing faster?"
I'd get praise like "you're high performance," but that just seemed to translate into higher expectations than anyone else faced — without clear guidance on how to reach the next level.
The most disheartening part? Watching others around me get opportunities while I remained in place. I began to wonder if I should have chosen a different path entirely — maybe medicine or another field with a clearer progression path, a "conveyor belt" where you just pass exams and follow the established route.
I was tired of battling invisible barriers and starting to doubt my choices. After years of trying my hardest, I was ready to conclude that maybe the engineering world was just inherently harder for women, and I should accept slower progress.
The revelation: It wasn't me, it was the unwritten rules
That's when I discovered Christina's 30-Day Assertiveness Challenge. What immediately resonated was the understanding that the problem wasn't me — it was that I didn't know the unwritten rules of the game.
The programme showed me something eye-opening: women all around the world, in all sorts of positions, face similar challenges. It wasn't just me! That was so empowering.
Instead of thinking "there's something wrong with me" or "I'm not doing enough," I could look at evidence and facts that showed the workplace experience is different for women. And most importantly — there were specific things I could do about it.
The Challenge didn't ask me to change who I was. Instead, it gave me practical tools to navigate a system that wasn't designed with women in mind. As Christina shared her research-backed strategies, she distilled complex studies into digestible, actionable techniques tailored for women in STEM.
Learning to speak with power and presence
The 30-Day Assertiveness Challenge was different from other development programmes I'd tried. The exercises and reminders became useful tools I used every single day:
- Reframing Negative Self-Talk: Instead of thinking "there's something wrong with me," I learnt to look at evidence and facts that acknowledged the workplace is different for women — and that I could do something about it.
- Practical Communication Techniques: Simple reminders like "speak a little slower to deliver more impact" made an immediate difference in how my messages landed.
- Strategic Presence: Understanding that "the way I show up really matters" helped me prepare for critical moments where I needed to ensure my voice was heard.
- Identifying Power Dynamics: Learning to spot "the most powerful person in the room" and observe their techniques revealed unwritten rules that nobody had ever pointed out to me before.
What made this truly valuable was the community aspect. Sharing challenges with other women in technical fields created a sense of camaraderie and accountability. The format — small daily commitments rather than overwhelming changes — made it manageable even with my demanding workload.
From self-doubt to recognised authority
Within weeks of starting the Challenge, I noticed differences in how I approached my role and how others responded to me:
- I became more aware of what I could influence, which was incredibly empowering
- I learnt to identify powerful people in the room and observe what made them effective
- I developed a daily toolkit of actionable approaches — from reframing my thinking to showing up at my best in meetings
- I recognised behaviours that weren't helping me and minimised them
This wasn't just about perception — it led to tangible career benefits:
- Meeting contributions that were previously overlooked now get traction
- I speak up more confidently in leadership meetings, and my ideas are implemented
- I'm seen as a more authoritative technical leader, even in male-dominated settings
- I've become more effective at advocating for my team and our projects
My advice to women doubting themselves in technical fields
"This is investing in yourself. If you're struggling to navigate the world of work as a woman, this programme is invaluable. It makes it easier to figure out where to start making changes."
The accountability built into the weekly check-ins kept me engaged, and the mobile format let me invest in myself during small moments instead of scrolling social media. I was amazed by how much I learnt in such small amounts of time.
Christina has handpicked research-backed strategies and made them actionable. You don't have to change who you are — you just need to understand the unwritten rules of professional communication that no one teaches women in technical fields.
