The maths don’t add up

Taking time out over Christmas brought real clarity. When you do the leadership maths, being a working woman under most existing frameworks simply doesn’t add up.

Leadership systems were built within patriarchal structures designed for men; assuming a consistent baseline of energy, availability, and life-stage stability. Women’s bodies don’t work that way.

For most of our lives, we are cyclical and in flux. We move through regular hormonal rhythms alongside major life stages such as pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause. These changes aren’t flaws; they create adaptability, intuition, and responsiveness. Exactly what leadership demands in a rapidly changing world.

Yet women are still expected to perform as if none of this exists. The cost is largely internal. Women leaders push through exhaustion, stay quiet about their experience, and normalise struggle. Not because they lack capability, but because systems aren’t designed to support the reality of women’s lives.

Add together menstrual cycles, motherhood, caregiving, perimenopause and menopause, and it becomes clear: The problem isn’t women, the maths of working life is wrong. I no longer accept this.

Women’s health and life stages must be recognised as core pillars of leadership strategy, not side conversations or “nice-to-haves.”

This is a key focus for 2026. While we know change takes time, we also know that meaningful progress can happen smoothly with the right insights, tools, and support in place.

If this resonates or makes you see leadership differently, I invite you to get in touch.

We’re ready to support women, teams, and organisations to evolve leadership for the world we’re actually living in. You can book a discovery call to discuss your challenges and create some next steps here.