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Fast Company
27-06-2025
- General
- Fast Company
5 self-sabotaging career moves women often make—and how to avoid them
We often focus on the visible obstacles stopping women from getting ahead: pay inequality, missed promotions and opportunities, and those boardroom tables with not quite enough seats. Yet there is another, less-visible hindrance to women's career success: our internal habits, harder to name and even harder to shake. The opportunity passed over not because it was out of reach, but because our inner dialogue said it wasn't ours to take. The apology slipped into an email that didn't need one. The shrinking, the over-preparing, and the relentless self-editing. These aren't flaws. They are learned responses to a system that taught women to be capable but cautious, competent but not disruptive, and yes, to have a voice, but not one that was too loud. These unexamined habits are shaping the careers we never meant to build. 1. Confusing competence with visibility The sabotage: Many women believe if they work hard enough, someone will notice. Excellence in silence is rarely rewarded. Doing exceptional work and not drawing attention to it isn't noble. It's often just an efficient way of handing credit to someone else. The insight: Hard work that goes unseen and waiting politely for one's turn builds resentment. Being good at your job isn't the same as being known for it, and in competitive environments, what isn't seen often doesn't count. How to avoid it: Don't wait to be discovered. Learn to self-promote and name what you do, so no one else gets to define it for you. Regularly share wins—both yours and those of others—in team settings. 2. Waiting for certainty The sabotage: This is self-doubt amplified. When it comes to promotions, unless almost every box is ticked, women are reluctant to put themselves forward. One unchecked box and it's a hard stop . . . until next time. The insight: What if there is no next time? When rejecting an opportunity, what might the perception being sent to your boss be? Your boss isn't a mind reader, magically understanding your thoughts moving back and forth. Instead, they take it on surface value, assuming you're not so engaged or interested in being here. And hesitations compound over time: not just in missed opportunities, but in lost wealth, confidence, reputation, and influence. How to avoid it: Adopt a 'progress, not perfection' mindset. Practice tentative boldness and redefine your readiness, taking steps forward and refining as you go. 3. Being modest with achievements The sabotage: Women often downplay workplace achievements, opting for humility over self-advocacy. The reluctance to self-promote is confused with bragging and arrogance. But being comfortable in naming your achievement is necessary for self-worth. The insight: What begins as humility can morph into invisibility. Habitually softening your impact and deflecting praise reinforces a narrative where your work is assumed rather than acknowledged. It can train those around you to expect performance without credit. Visibility isn't vanity. It's professional accountability. How to avoid it: Replace vague self-effacement with concrete contribution. Say, 'Here's what I contributed to that outcome,' rather than, 'I just helped out a bit.' Plus, adopt an internal mantra: 'It's not arrogance if it's accurate.' 4. Seeking career advice from the wrong counsel The sabotage: Turning only to people who mirror your fears instead of challenging your growth. Often these are friends, family, or colleagues. Their intention might be for the best, but they have a bias to protect. The insight: What's the point? Friends and family often want to shield us from discomfort. But their advice can reflect their own fears, rather than your potential. And not every colleague has honorable intentions. Discussions like this can snowball, reinforcing not only why you shouldn't take up the opportunity, but any other advancements, ever. The validation might feel safer, but it doesn't help. It's damaging. How to avoid it: Seek advice from those who will challenge your thinking, not just nod along. Limit conversations that turn into bandwagoning. Seek to have actions as a result of purposeful career discussions, even if they are micro-moves. Take responsibility for your decisions: When coming to a decision, do you say, 'I have decided' or 'My partner and I think' more often? Clarity begins with ownership. 5. Being busy instead of strategic The sabotage: Investing in extra work tasks that don't pay dividends. This is saying yes to everything in the name of being helpful while it slowly erodes your capacity. The insight: Over-functioning is not the same as overachieving. The cost is invisibly paid in missed raises, burnout, and career stagnation. The perception of your busyness might be that you are not in control of your workload. How to avoid it: Be discerning and politely decline what dilutes your focus. Track value over volume and pick strategic tasks that upskill and serve your growth. Practice saying no not with guilt, but with respect for where you're headed.
Irish Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
‘Being a mother can hold you back at work - my peers can stay later, go on work trips'
When it comes to working and having children, it's more difficult for women to climb to the top of their profession. From the gender pay and promotions gap , the childcare and domestic juggle and the women's health gap , many structural and societal barriers are put in the way. We all know some parents who've both made it professionally and seem to have it all figured out. But have they really or are they stressed out of their minds? Numerous research studies and books show that when women have children , they suffer a motherhood penalty at work: fewer promotions and hiring opportunities, lower salaries and a drop in their career trajectory compared to male counterparts and those without children. When men marry however, they start earning more and that's true at every age from 20 to 64, according to US data . Whether women have children or not, making it to the corner office is a huge challenge. In 2025 in Ireland, the two least likely roles for women to hold in senior management are CEO (6.2 per cent) and chairperson (2.5 per cent), according to Grant Thornton's annual Women in Business Report. There's hope though. Some roles such as chief human resources officer (48.8 per cent) and chief financial officer (43.8 per cent) are among those most commonly held by women in senior management in Ireland. READ MORE Sadly, more than one in seven (16.3 per cent) businesses had no women in senior management roles. [ Will part-time work or staying at home with children leave you poorer in old age? Here's what to do now Opens in new window ] This week I spoke to women in the tech and legal sectors, some of the best paid professions in the State, to see how they've tried to make motherhood and professional success more compatible. Women who work and have children are struggling Last week's National Women's Health Survey in the Irish Examiner found that a third of women say they cannot afford to have children or won't until they reach certain financial or career goals. Kids are expensive and it is understandable that women want to increase their financial stability, and their ability to take maternity leave or reduced hours, before making that choice one way or the other. And there's no doubt they are seeing that women who work and have kids are struggling. The many women I spoke to, who tried to continue working at a high level professionally after having two or more children, said career and family success requires strong organisational skills, a supportive partner, full-time flexible childcare and help from family, neighbours and friends along the way. Anecdotally, couples at the top of their professions who 'have it all' – at least from the outside – tend to have full-time minders or nannies who look after their young children and household tasks, including meal preparation. Making this happen takes some serious cash and is out of reach for most parents, and likely impossible for single parents. At an average of €19 an hour in suburban Dublin and 10-hour days, that equates to an average salary of almost €50k before tax. When the kids are older, many families reduce the minder's hours to after school and evenings. Jennie* and her husband work in tech and they have a minder who looks after their primary school age children from lunch to 6.30pm. 'When the kids were younger, we'd drop them to creche at 7.30am and pick up at 6pm. They were the last kids in the creche and it almost broke me. We thought one person probably needed to give up their job or we needed to move out of Dublin,' she says. Covid put the brakes on that decision by allowing them to work from home, easing the pressure a bit. If they'd left Dublin and moved closer to family support, it would have involved a long commute for one while the other would be in the car driving the kids everywhere instead of walking, or doing a short drive, to school. Jennie is the only woman on her senior management team with a family or in a relationship. Everyone else either has a full-time stay at home wife or they are single. 'It's important to work but you need to do it so it doesn't cost you everything. It can hold you back though; my peers can stay later, go on work trips.' Living by a 'spaghetti junction of spreadsheets' Some dual income parents have a web of support involving several people – a childminder every day and a cleaner/cook once or twice a week – with both parents working from home two days a week and extended family or close neighbours filling in the gaps. Anne*, who worked in large legal firms from 1996 to 2016, and her husband decided to have several children and she left the profession to work for herself in a related field with more flexibility. Managing the children and the household takes a 'spaghetti junction of spreadsheets' and messaging apps she said. And the organisational role still falls largely on women. Things have changed in the last 10 years though. 'Conversations around the legal boardroom table have changed. Men are saying no to things now because they're dads (age 35 to 45) and want to be there to support their wife and kids. I'm seeing more dads [in the legal profession] at kids' matches and doing school runs. They're in as much of a sweat now as their wives and partners are.' The long hours work culture means parents are always on, even when they're at home, says Jane* who also left the legal profession for a more flexible job. Her husband recently reached the top of his game in law but it's a real juggle. [ A 9-5 work schedule operates on the assumption someone else is looking after your house and kids all day Opens in new window ] 'You need to get home at 6pm or 7pm for the minder so you have a couple of hours with the kids. Once they're in bed, you log back on at 9pm or 10pm and work for a few more hours. Sometimes you're working weekends. 'Weekends tend to be full of activities with the kids; going to matches and flying around to different activities. There's not enough time with the kids or one another. It's difficult to find time for yourself to (exercise) and to be together as a couple. People are wrecked, running around all the time.' Some employers have really stepped up to help parents by providing working from home options and more flexible hours and the Government's hot dinners and childcare supports are good initiatives, says Anne. She's scathing however when it comes to schools. 'Schools need to be more mindful of the people behind the children, especially when they're organising multiple midday events or ringing because a child forgot something. Some people can't leave work – or they have to take a half day off for each event – and if they're not there, the child will feel they're the only one without a parent attending. The guilt is terrible.' Ireland's professions are still structured around the one earner, one stay at home parent model, despite the higher educational levels of both men and women, and the financial necessity for most families of two incomes. Something has got to give. *Names have been changed Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Corporate Italy Lacks Female CEOs, Stock Exchange Head Warns
Italy lacks women in position of leadership and that's a cultural issue that the business community needs to fix, the head of Milan's stock exchange said. 'Last year we probably reached the lowest level of female CEOs leading listed companies at Milan's Stock Exchange,' said Claudia Parzani, chairman of Euronext NV 's Borsa Italiana SpA, at the Bloomberg New Voices event on Tuesday.
Globe and Mail
06-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn joins advisory board of women-led Athena Capital
One of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history is bringing her focus on female representation to venture capital. Skier Lindsey Vonn has joined the advisory board of New York-based Athena Capital, a venture capital firm focused on growth-stage, technology-focused companies nearing public or private exits. The firm, which is set to announce the appointment on Friday, manages about US$6-billion and is composed entirely of women across its general partnership and advisory council. Ms. Vonn is one of the most successful alpine skiers in history, winning three Olympic medals – including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games – along with 82 World Cup race victories and four overall World Cup titles. She retired in 2019 with the most World Cup wins by any woman at the time. The racing legend adds profile to a sector where women remain underrepresented in both capital allocation and leadership roles. Globally, startups founded solely by women received 2.1 per cent of venture capital funding in 2023, according to a study published last month by the Founders Forum Group. In the U.S., companies with at least one female founder secured 25 per cent of venture funding, but those led exclusively by women captured just 3 per cent. A 2024 report by the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub estimates that women-led startups in Canada received about 4 per cent of venture capital funding in 2023. Athena's general partnership and advisory council comprise more than 45 women with backgrounds in growth-stage investing, company building, and executive leadership. Ms. Vonn, who has held corporate board roles and completed a venture capital internship, will advise Athena on investor outreach and fundraising. Her perspective is aimed at strengthening the firm's push to back ambitious companies and outperform in a space that's still not always inclusive, the company said.
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Rise Of Women-Owned Businesses But Without The Riches
The Rise Of Women-Owned Businesses But Without The Riches Women are starting businesses at an unprecedented rate, from side hustles to full time businesses, and we are seeing a powerful shift. It's an exciting time for women, especially Gen X and Millennial women, who are choosing entrepreneurship over traditional employment. But there is a problem among women business owners. Despite the surge in business ownership, only 1.9 percent of women-owned businesses ever cross $1 million in annual revenue. This is a tragic statistic, and too many brilliant, capable women are suffering because of it. So why is this happening? It's not because women aren't ambitious or strategic. It's because the system isn't built for us to scale. From funding barriers to mindset roadblocks, there are structural issues that keep women playing small in business. And it's time for change. Not solely for the sake of equity, but because the economy needs more women building wealth through business ownership. Nothing bad happens when women have more money. While women are launching businesses in record numbers, several key barriers prevent them from scaling: This is the biggest hurdle women face when trying to grow their businesses. Women receive a tiny fraction of venture capital and struggle to access business loans and angel investments, despite running profitable and innovative businesses. The lack of cash available limits the ability to hire, run marketing campaigns, and build the systems needed for growth. Women are then forced to bootstrap and that slows down the speed of growth and their potential as a business. Without scalable operations and automation in place, the growth of a business hits a ceiling. Scaling requires building a business that runs without the owner doing it all, however women have been conditioned to do it all. And without the capital to expand their business, women have no choice but to do it all. Business owners have been conditioned to chase revenue believing that it's the ultimate marker of success. But revenue alone does not build wealth. You need a clear understanding of profit margins, cash flow and profit drivers. It's easy to chase bigger revenue numbers while making less profit, and this revenue over profit mindset can lead to financial struggles and burnout. Profit is what fuels sustainable growth and financial freedom. Women have been taught to play small. We are told to be agreeable and modest, and that mindset often follows into business. Many women hold back on their pricing or going after big deals and showing up competitively in the market because it is frowned upon. And to make money is viewed as greedy and unlikeable for women. These beliefs quietly sabotage the financial success of women. If more women are to break past the million-dollar mark, we need to normalize financial ambition among women. Wanting to build wealth should be celebrated, not shamed. And it starts with shifting the narrative that wealth isn't selfish, and ambition isn't arrogance. Women deserve to make money, grow empires, and take up space in the business world unapologetically. Women also need real support. Access to capital must be reformed and more funding should be directed to women. Real change won't happen unless the gatekeepers, who are primarily men, step up. Since men still hold the majority of decision-making power, they must take responsibility for reforming the system. The burden should not fall solely on the women to fix a funding gap that they did not create. The bottom line is that the fact that only 1.9 percent of women owned businesses reach $1 million in revenue should be a wakeup call. As women continue to start and grow businesses, now is the time to provide the resources needed to grow and scale their businesses. Profit isn't a dirty word and there is no shame in financial ambition. We need to stop applauding survival and start investing in women.
