Professor Maja

I am a sociologist, author and TEDx speaker. I’m also a confidence-builder and apology-hater. I graduated with a Ph.D. in Sociology in 2014 (focusing on the sociology of women’s health), with no clear career in mind, until I attended an academic conference that completely changed the trajectory of my research, my career and my life. At that conference, I witnessed women at the pinnacle of their career deflecting praise (we call that feminine modesty) and over-apologizing for mundane issues. I immediately became obsessed with apologies. I wrote my first book “Hey Ladies, Stop Apologizing … and other career mistakes women make” in 2015, the 2nd edition came out in 2017 along with the accompanying WORKBOOK. The audiobook came out in 2018 which is a best-of compilation for both the book, the workbook and my TV appearances.

My full-time job is on the public speaking circuit where I give talks and workshops to girls and women about all things related to confidence, communication and mindset. When I’m not giving talks, I’m either teaching Sociology of Health part-time at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario or I’m conducting my own research. To help prepare all students for post-secondary education, I developed a FREE online program (The Student Success Guide) that includes 55+ videos (2 -7 minutes each) about confidence, mindset and school life tips.

I am still obsessed with getting women off the damn apology train and my current research study looks at the connection between confidence and women’s communication style. This is a global study involving women from around the world, and if you’re interested in participating, click the link above to learn more. I believe that confidence is a muscle that strengthens with use, so we need to push ourselves out of comfort zones and act first(!) in order to feel confident later.