Neighbor rewards two kids $20 for shoveling snow. Their opposite reactions show what being a woman feels like

A mom (@corporateclarity.career) was shocked to see her son and daughter react differently to the same, seemingly simple situation. Well, it all started when the kids insisted on cleaning their neighbor's driveway after two severe snowstorms. As a token of gratitude, the neighbor handed each a $20 bill. While the boy was ecstatic about money, his 15-year-old sister thought she didn't really deserve that kind of reward.

The mom shared the video on March 12, sparking a debate about women often underestimating their value at work. Her video has been viewed 588K times on Instagram.

Following two consecutive snowstorms, the kids shoveled their neighbor's driveway and, in return, received a $20 bill each. Now, while the 11-year-old boy immediately took the cash, his sister looked visibly uncomfortable. "My son takes the money and says, 'Awesome, thanks,' and he runs away. My daughter, before even accepting it, says to our neighbor, 'I don't think we did enough to deserve $20," their mom recalled.

She was shocked because both her kids responded to the situation differently despite the same upbringing. "Same job, same reward, same effort, same parents, same household, same upbringing, and it blew my mind," the mom added. She also questioned what would happen when her daughter entered the corporate world if she was already doubting her worth at 11.

"Is it any surprise that men and women show up so differently at work, or am I missing something?" she questioned.

It is often observed that women tend to underestimate themselves, even if they're giving their 100% to the job. For example, in a study, Christine L. Exley and Kirby Nielsen found that 80% of women believed they performed poorly compared to only 56% of men, even when there was no difference in performance between genders.

Likewise, research from Stanford (by Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian) reveals that girls begin to doubt their intellectual abilities from as early as age 6. In fact, they are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender are smart. "Also, at age 6, girls begin to avoid activities said to be for children who are 'really, really smart,'" the study noted. 

Meanwhile, reacting to the Instagram reel, @caryn_sterling commented, "And in terms of effort, the task was likely more work for the 11-year-old than the 15-year-old, so she probably actually worked harder than her brother." @teachertoutou wrote, "It’s normal. It’s the difference between boys/girls and men/women. Statistics show that women often disqualify themselves, whereas men qualify themselves, especially in jobs, regardless of skill set."

Similarly, @blakaraknia suggested, "Check your son for empathy development. A lot of boys don’t get enough practice when they hit puberty, and it shows when they’re adults. It’s not a parenting failure necessarily, but it’s something that has to be taught directly sometimes to stick. A lot of girls grow up and inherently develop it from observing others, but many boys skip it."

You can follow Corporate Career Clarity (@corporateclarity.career) on Instagram for more work-related content.

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