The instructor asked a question. I knew the answer and desperately wanted to participate, but I didn’t speak.

Throughout my life, this story repeated multiple times in multiple classrooms. Young male classmates, on the other hand, would answer anything. I knew in my heart I had well-thought-out responses but could never muster the courage to speak up.

Twelve years since my undergraduate days, I have trained myself to be more visible in professional settings. I have seen the positive outcomes of actively making this change. People have recognized me for the value I bring, and I have garnered immense credibility. At times, I have still been a passive participant and experienced the missed opportunities of not connecting with those with whom I have the potential to build a strong network, collaborate on business prospects, or gain exciting career opportunities.

Research after research shows women are passive participants at high-level meetings, whether it is an important decision-making meeting, a corporate or a nonprofit board meeting or a networking event. This can be due to a number of reasons, ranging from lack of confidence in one’s ideas or not knowing how to participate in such meetings or cultural factors that impede active participation by women.

The situation is worse when men outnumber women in a meeting room. A study conducted at Brigham Young University and Princeton University, published in American Political Science Review in 2012, revealed that women speak 25 percent less than men, consciously or subconsciously, when they are outnumbered.

What’s worse is studies also show that men make it harder for women to participate through a number of ways, such as, by interrupting when a woman is speaking, by taking the ideas, repackaging them, and presenting them as their own, or simply by stating that the ideas put forth by the woman are not good enough.

In a situation like this, women and men in leadership roles have the ability and a responsibility to foster an environment that allows active participation by women.

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook Inc., talks about the need for female leaders to be at the table in her famous TED talk, but she makes an equally important point that women need to speak up and actively engage as part of a four-essay series for The New York Times.

So next time when you are at a meeting, don’t just actively listen but actively participate. Chances are your thoughts are at least as valuable as the opinions of your male counterparts sitting next to you. Even though we may be stepping out of our comfort zones, when we participate, we not only help ourselves but we help other women gain the strength to make themselves visible by speaking up. For me, I step out of my comfort zone every single time, but I also know that I get more comfortable doing it next time.

And the outcomes are worth every effort.