The Confidence Gap — Who Are the Differences Between?

Confidence and skills are completely different things - it often happens that even if we are well prepared for a given position - and even more - we have a lot of experience, our self-confidence neither expresses it nor allows us to implement more ambitious, more adequate to our preparation, plans. This applies to both the professional area and the one related to the realization of our passions. Self-confidence is of course also an important part of how we communicate and are perceived in society, and consequently how we are treated. And although a dream would be a world in which we all treat each other equally and with respect, unfortunately, our external image often becomes the element responsible for our further destinies. Self-confidence consists of body language, the way we gesticulate and verbalize our position, as well as the whole continuity of our actions - whether we are consistent, consistent, how we deal with stressful situations and how we react. It is not about becoming the “perfect version of yourself”, but rather about being aware of yourself. However, what is most significant in the whole term of self-confidence is how we think about ourselves - at the moment when we talk a lot about this more superficial side of self-confidence, the most important part is really in what we know about ourselves and how we relate to it. Because it is this belief about oneself that influences which educational or professional path we choose.

Average students, women and the poorer

In the article The confidence gap affecting who applies to top colleges and careers (The London School of Economic and Political Science, 2025) Camille Terrier presents the results of a study carried out in a team on a large group of French 18-year-olds applying to study in 2021. In the weeks leading up to the application deadline, the researchers collected, through surveys, data on students' confidence, as well as their lists of candidates and their expected chances of admission to the respective majors.

As the results of the study showed, people in the lower half of the GPA distribution (the average of their grades given by students), that is, those with worse academic performance, rated their chances of admission to college significantly higher than those in the upper half of the distribution. This showed that those with better grades showed less confidence and were less likely to predict good recruitment outcomes.

Other differences that were noted were those concerning gender and social groups. In two groups of equally gifted students and students, the female group rated their abilities in recruitment 8.5 points lower than their colleagues. A similar relationship was seen when comparing two different economic groups; people who are worse off in socio-economic terms rated their position 4.7 points lower than wealthier peers.

Another important point is that - as the study showed - the less students scored in the assessment of their own self-confidence, the less often they applied to prestigious universities. To verify this, the researchers used an analysis that consisted of comparing applications of students with the same average grades but different levels of confidence.

One of the examples is given in the article:

For example, 10 percentiles less confidence reduces the likelihood of applying to one of the elite French language curricula (Classes Prépéraatoires aux Grandes Écoles, ou CPGE) by 3.3 percentage points.

Interestingly, the researchers also decided to see if, in this case, an appropriate student awareness action could be implemented so that self-confidence does not negatively affect recruitment. To do this, they were randomly divided into two groups; the test (the one who received information about how their school performance ranked among others) and the control group (the one who did not receive such information). The results were surprisingly positive - found that accurate feedback can reduce the impact of lack of confidence on college choice and reduce gender and social disparities in the admissions process.

Giving feedback has significantly limited the importance of confidence in choosing the most prestigious programs - Its impact has been reduced by 80%. At the same time, it reduced the likelihood of applying to an elite direction o 39% and chances of getting accepted or 72%. This means that students who learned their actual ranking position made their application decisions based on their actual grade point average rather than their own, often distorted, beliefs about its height. Among high-achieving students, the increase in self-confidence significantly reduced both gender differences and social inequalities in college applications and admissions. Providing information about the place in the ranking reduced the gap between women and men in applying to elite majors by 61%, and in terms of admissions - by 73%. However, the biggest surprise was the results in the case of students from the lower social strata: here the differences were completely eliminated.

Insecurity of women, conviction of the rightness of men

Although the visibility of women in the public world is changing, as are their positions in companies, we are still faced with a confidence gap that does not allow it to continue growing. In one of the articles posted on OxfordStudents.pl several statements were presented by female students of Bocconi University in Milan. When asked why they so rarely respond to professors' questions or comments, the answers usually revolved around the need for time to think, when the colleagues in the group had already raised their hand. And although this answer may surprise and seem trivial at first - nothing more wrong - after asking the deepening questions, it turned out that the difference is not in the speed of thinking, but in the approach to the problem. Women were usually guided by caution in the courts and attentiveness in giving opinions. At the same time, this restraint is associated, based on the statements of the subjects, with the conviction that a firm expression of one's opinion will be perceived as too difficult and aggressive for a woman. The interviewees acknowledged that these concerns are not unfounded, as research shows that women exhibiting leadership qualities (often stereotypically masculine) are less liked than men with the same characteristics. If they show anger, they are perceived as less competent and receive a lower salary (in the case of men, the situation is the opposite).

Carrying out the same analysis at the University of Oxford, many researchers also paid attention to the very physical aspect of self-confidence - as they themselves admitted - many men are much more likely to occupy the space of the lecture hall closest to the lecturer, which contributes to their dominance and better “annexation” of the meeting.

summary

Research shows that the confidence gap most often affects women and people from less privileged backgrounds — even when their skills are comparable to others. Students with higher scores are more likely to underestimate their chances, which affects educational and career decisions. Importantly, reliable feedback on the actual position in the ranking significantly reduces these differences, and in some groups completely eliminates them.

Sources:

1. https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2024/03/30/the-confidence-gap-men-in-classroom/
2. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2025/02/17/the-confidence-gap-influencing-who-applies-to-top-colleges-and-careers/