What is Womens self-esteem? Definition: A woman's experience of being capable of meeting life's challenges and the feeling of being worthy of happiness. Women who have healthy or authentic self-esteem trust their own being to be constructive, responsible, and trustworthy. It is an inner state that can be nurtured and cultivated. A Womans Self-esteem is the level that you respect and value yourself as a lovable, worthwhile woman. Where Does Self-Esteem Come From? Our self-esteem develops and evolves throughout our lives as we build an image of ourselves through our experiences with different people and activities. Experiences during our childhood play a particularly large role in the shaping of our basic self-esteem. When we were growing up, our successes (and failures) and how we were treated by the members of our immediate family, by our teachers, coaches, religious authorities, and by our peers, all contributed to the creation of our basic self-esteem.