Impact of Unseen Tasks on Women's Career Progress

I was the only woman in the room so through some unspoken rule — I was supposed to plan the farewell party? A University of California survey of 3,000 employees found that women were 29% more likely than white men to report doing more office “housework” than their colleagues. Planning team lunches, and parties, taking notes, cleaning up the table after a meeting, scheduling calls — and other such “thankless” tasks often fall into women’s laps. Each of these is significantly hurting gender equality. Harvard Business Review labels these tasks as 'low-promotability tasks' — that are helpful to the organization but the person performing them isn’t perceived as making an impact. The way work is allocated in organizations needs to change. Not only do we need to re-address the perceived value attached to these tasks, but we also need to ensure that women aren’t the only ones doing office housework. Whenever it happened to me, I didn't have the courage to push back. I still wish I had. It's an unappreciated burden that a lot of women carry but we’re afraid of pushing back because we want to be seen as team players. It's time leaders make sure all work is shared equally, including “Dave’s” goodbye lunch. The trend of non-strategic work being piled up on women's desks needs to stop. We don't need logistical tasks, give us career-making roles and responsibilities. We'll no longer accept being sidelined. #bias #genderequality #womenintech #womenleaders #career #leadership

As International Women’s Day nears, we’ll see the usual corporate gestures—empowerment panels, social media campaigns, and carefully curated success stories. But let’s be honest: these feel-good initiatives rarely change what actually holds women back at work on the daily basis. Instead, I suggest focusing on something concrete, something I’ve seen have the biggest impact in my work with teams: the unspoken dynamics that shape psychological safety. 🚨Because psychological safety is not the same for everyone. Psychological safety is often defined as a shared belief that one can take risks without fear of negative consequences. But let’s unpack that—who actually feels safe enough to take those risks? 🔹 Speaking up costs more for women Confidence isn’t the issue—consequences are. Women learn early that being too direct can backfire. Assertiveness can be read as aggression, while careful phrasing can make them seem uncertain. Over time, this calculation becomes second nature: Is this worth the risk? 🔹 Mistakes are stickier When men fail, it’s seen as part of leadership growth. When women fail, it often reinforces lingering doubts about their competence. This means that women aren’t more risk-averse by nature—they’re just more aware of the cost. 🔹 Inclusion isn’t just about presence Being at the table doesn’t mean having an equal voice. Women often find themselves in a credibility loop—having to repeatedly prove their expertise before their ideas carry weight. Meanwhile, those who fit the traditional leadership mold are often trusted by default. 🔹 Emotional labor is the silent career detour Women in teams do an extraordinary amount of behind-the-scenes work—mediating conflicts, softening feedback, ensuring inclusion. The problem? This work isn’t visible in performance reviews or leadership selection criteria. It’s expected, but not rewarded. What companies can do beyond IWD symbolism: ✅ Stop measuring "confidence"—start measuring credibility gaps If some team members always need to “prove it” while others are trusted instantly, you have a credibility gap, not a confidence issue. Fix how ideas get heard, not how women present them. ✅ Make failure a learning moment for everyone Audit how mistakes are handled in your team. Are men encouraged to take bold moves while women are advised to be more careful? Change the narrative around risk. ✅ Track & reward emotional labor If women are consistently mentoring, resolving conflicts, or ensuring inclusion, this isn’t just “being helpful”—it’s leadership. Make it visible, valued, and part of promotion criteria. 💥 This IWD, let’s skip the celebration and start the correction. If your company is serious about making psychological safety equal for everyone, let’s do the real work. 📅 I’m now booking IWD sessions focused on improving team dynamics and creating workplaces where women don’t just survive, but thrive. Book your spot and let’s turn good intentions into lasting impact.

I'm honored, I really am, thank you. But...my entire work week would be unpaid if I said yes to every invite to mentor, speak, present, or support a startup or VC fund just “for exposure” or equity. There's actually a term for this: the pink volunteer economy. ⏰ It's 2025—and yet women are still disproportionately asked to do work that isn’t paid, promoted, or even acknowledged. Every single week of the year I’m asked by people who are paid... to work for free. Make it make sense. 🙅♀️ From unpaid panels, presentations, and mentoring to invisible tasks like note-taking, free advisory sessions, making introductions, and planning events—it all adds up. And when we say no? We’re told we’re “not team players” or missing out on “visibility” or even better, "future opportunities." 📊 This isn’t just anecdotal—it’s backed by research ⤵️ 44% more likely: Women are asked to do non-promotable tasks more than men (Babcock et al., 2017). These include event organizing, mentoring, and internal admin—critical to the org, but ignored at promotion time (Harvard Business Review). Women are also more likely to say yes, thus keeping the cycle alive. 🎤 Panels & speaking gigs: A 2023 Women in Global Health survey found women experts are routinely unpaid or underpaid vs. male peers. Anecdotally, colleagues across sectors share with me the same story: men get fees, and women get to do “favors.” 🎨 Creative & consulting work: In creative industries, women are 40% more likely to be asked for unpaid strategic input (Creative Equals, 2021). We talk a lot about the gender pay gap and the second shift. But what about the unpaid labor that hides in plain sight in the professional world? I get it. I do want to help as much as possible, especially for friends and those doing "good" in this world. And I am! But the work often... spirals. Non-profits, starving start-ups, and new initiatives don't have budgets. But can we at least get an honorarium? Credit for the deal? 💡 But folks, if the work is really worth asking for, it’s worth budgeting for. Full stop. I know you all know this pain ➡️ Modern Agriculture Foundation (MAF), Sonalie Figueiras - The World's Green Queen, Jenny Stojkovic, Women In The Food Industry, Women in Food and Agriculture, Jenny Tang, Malin Frithiofsson, Michele Champagne, Floor Buitelaar, Julia Vol, Julia Pekerman, Tarika Vijayaraghavan, Ph.D. P.S. - Gary is not his / her real name. P.S.S. - Do you like my male twin? Now I know what I'd look like as a guy (according to AI). Do you think he'd more likely be offered payment above me?

Would you tell your boss that you’re trying to get pregnant? Many women—myself included—don’t. And for good reason. Research shows that simply being of childbearing age can limit career opportunities, even if you’re not planning to have children. There is a subtle yet powerful bias against women of childbearing age—regardless of whether they plan to have children or not. Employers may assume these women will soon become mothers, leading to assumptions about reduced commitment, maternity leave disruptions, or performance concerns. It’s called the “Maybe Baby” effect. Decades ago, when I was a consultant, I experienced this bias firsthand. While recruiting an accountant for a car dealership, the client explicitly instructed me not to put forward any women "who might get pregnant and leave." I was naively shocked (hahaha how idealistic I was 🙄). But I’ve come to learn – and observe firsthand – that this experience is not unique—and despite the progress we've made, such assumptions still quietly influence women’s careers. Research supports these observations:  👉 Employers are more likely to offer temporary or less secure contracts to women of childbearing age.  👉 Women face penalties based on assumptions, not reality, leading to fewer promotions and lower earnings. So, what is the solution? The issue isn’t that people take career breaks to have families—it’s that workplaces are still structured around an outdated model where career success assumes uninterrupted job tenure, often supported by a stay-at-home partner. But this hasn’t reflected reality for decades. It’s time to rethink how we define career progression and integrate the normality of career breaks into how work is structured, valued, and rewarded. ✅ Here are three of the best policies to reduce the Maybe Baby effect: 1️⃣ Comprehensive Parental Leave Policies: Offer equitable, fully paid parental leave to all parents, regardless of gender. For instance, Deloitte equalized its maternity and paternity leave, providing 26 weeks of fully paid leave to both new mothers and fathers, aiming to support women's career progression by addressing the impact of unequal parental leave. 2️⃣ Onsite or Subsidized Childcare: Assist with childcare through onsite facilities or financial support. Addressing high childcare costs can alleviate the pressure on new parents and encourage them to remain in the workforce. 3️⃣ Leadership Development Opportunities: Ensure that women have access to career advancement resources, even during maternity leave, to prevent career stagnation. This includes keeping them informed about promotion opportunities and providing training to support their professional growth. Does your workplace measure up? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Women in the Workplace: The Subtle Gender Bias (Ever caught yourself expecting a female colleague to “take the notes”?) Studies reveal that many offices practice subtle forms of gender bias—even unconsciously. What does it look like? • Asking only women to plan office parties and celebrations • Delegating extra “unimportant” tasks exclusively to female employees • Overlooking women for challenging projects and tasks • Judging women’s communication styles more harshly than men’s Why does this matter? → Women are often skipped for high-visibility projects. → This directly impacts career advancement. → Fewer women make it to leadership positions. Why does this happen? • Cultural conditioning: Women are viewed as nurturers from a young age. • Reinforcement of the bias: Well-meaning colleagues might unknowingly assign tasks based on gender. • Denial: Because these biases are subtle, workplaces may not even acknowledge them. How can we fix this? For Teams: • Provide equal opportunities to prove themselves • Rotate duties—everyone should take turns writing meeting notes, answering calls, etc. For Leaders: • Hold training sessions to recognize and correct biases. • Monitor task distribution; if there’s an imbalance, address it. • If bias is suspected, investigate—ask questions, demand answers. For Organizations: • Address pay gaps for the same role • Encourage open feedback channels so concerns can be heard. While paying women less for the same work is an obvious form of discrimination, these subtler practices can be just as damaging over time. Taking small steps now can create an environment where all employees thrive. What do you think? Have you witnessed or experienced these subtle biases? P.S. Sometimes it’s the little changes in task distribution that leave the biggest impact. #GenderBiasAtWork #BreakTheBias #WomenInLeadership

The Unseen Work of Women: Leadership Bootcamp, shock, it’s Free & Unpaid The first time I chaired a crucial leadership meeting while simultaneously WhatsApping my childminder about a missing coat, I realised something: Motherhood is the ultimate leadership training program—except there’s no salary, no promotions, and definitely no annual leave. As a single mum to three while holding senior leadership roles, I’ve mastered the art of conflict resolution (siblings + remote controls), crisis management (last-minute school projects), and stakeholder engagement (convincing a toddler to wear shoes). These aren’t just ‘mum skills’—they’re executive skills. Yet, in the workplace, the unseen work that so many women do—both at home and in the office—often goes unnoticed. We’re the ones remembering birthdays, mentoring juniors, smoothing tensions in teams, and somehow keeping everything moving while also remembering that Friday is non-uniform day. And here’s the thing: This invisible labour doesn’t just make women great colleagues—it makes them great leaders. But let’s be real—it comes at a cost. Bandwidth, exhaustion, and the constant juggling act of being both ‘always on’ and ‘somehow never available.’ So, if we’re serious about accelerating action this IWD, here’s where leaders can start: ✅ Stop measuring commitment by “who stays latest”—some of us have nursery pickups and kids who think homework is optional. Judge performance by impact, not hours. ✅ Recognise the “office housework.” Women do a lot of the emotional labour—mentoring, organising socials, ‘just quickly’ sorting team issues. Start noticing. Start rewarding. ✅ Make flexibility the norm, not a favor. If the job gets done, does it matter if it happens at 6 AM before the school run or at 9 PM after bedtime? ✅ Call out bias in real time. If a dad leaves early for childcare, he’s a “great parent.” If a mum does, she’s “not committed.” If you hear it, challenge it. This International Women’s Day is about more than words—it’s about action. So, let’s do more than just celebrate women. Let’s create workplaces where they don’t have to run a second, unpaid shift. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare for my next high-pressure negotiation: convincing a teenager that college is not ‘optional’ and no he can’t just rock up when he feels like it. What’s one thing you’ll do to accelerate action? Let’s start the conversation. #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction #UnseenWork #Leadership #WorkingMums #EquityInTheWorkplace

When I say Black, Latina and Indigenous women engineers are exhausted, many think I'm talking about the work or work-life balance. What I'm referring to are the barriers they encounter before they can even do their jobs. Follow me as I elaborate on 3 Barriers That Aren't in the Job Description (But Still Block Their Careers) : 1. Prove-it-again bias – Having to re-earn credibility that others are granted automatically 2. Exclusion from informal networks – Missing out on key opportunities, deals, or mentorship connections 3. Cultural taxation – Being expected to "represent" your group or take on unpaid DEI labor These invisible barriers don't show up in job descriptions, but they can significantly impact career progression. They're often systemic issues that require awareness and intentional action to address. Which of these have you experienced or witnessed in your workplace? #WomenofColorInEngineering #CareerDevelopment #Inclusion #Leadership #WorkplaceEquity

They call it the "broken rung," but it feels more like a broken system. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women get promoted..... For Black women? That number drops to 58. For Latinas? 64. I used to think I wasn't getting promoted because I wasn't ready. Needed more experience. More credentials. More visibility. Then I watched mediocre men get promoted after 18 months while I perfected my performance reviews for 5 years. The broken rung isn't about your first job. It's about your first promotion to manager. And it's where most women's careers get derailed before they even begin. Here's what makes it so insidious: You can't see it happening. There's no email saying "we're passing you over because you're a Black woman." No meeting where they explain why Brad's "potential" matters more than your proven results. Just silence. Another year. Another "not quite yet." But here's what changed my entire approach: I stopped trying to fix what wasn't broken (me) and started understanding what actually was (the system). The Invisible Barriers They Won't Name: The Likability Trap: Men are promoted on potential. Women need to prove themselves. Black women need to prove themselves while being "likable" enough not to threaten anyone. The Office Housework: Who takes notes? Plans parties? Mentors interns? These invisible tasks eat your time but don't count toward promotion. The Moving Goalpost: First it's experience. Then it's executive presence. Then it's "strategic thinking." The target keeps moving because the problem was never your qualifications. But here's what you CAN control: The Self-Audit That Changed Everything: Ask yourself: - Am I doing work that gets measured or work that gets appreciated? - Am I building relationships with decision-makers or just my peers? - Am I documenting my wins or assuming they're being noticed? - Am I negotiating my role or accepting what's given? The brutal truth I discovered: I was stuck because I was playing by rules that were designed to keep me stuck. Working hard on the wrong things. Building excellence in roles that had no path up. Waiting for recognition from people who couldn't see me. The moment I understood the broken rung wasn't my fault, I stopped trying to fix myself and started building my own ladder. Some of us will repair the broken rung. Some of us will build new systems entirely. But none of us have to accept that this is "just how it is." Career Glow-Up Diaries, Episode 2: Understanding the game is the first step to changing it. Where are you actually stuck - the system or your strategy? If this post resonates, share it. Someone needs to stop blaming themselves for a broken system.

Too often, business advice—especially from successful men—doesn't account for the unequal division of labor at home or the fact that women often shoulder the bulk of childcare. I was reminded of this while listening to a podcast interview with Casey Neistat (on Diary of a CEO). His story of grinding it out, taking risks, and persevering is inspiring, but I kept asking myself: Where’s his kid? He talks about sleeping on couches, living in halfway houses, and staying out late, all things that aren’t possible when you're responsible for a two-year-old. The reality is, his child was probably with his mom—doing most of the caregiving and covering the day-to-day. That’s a piece of the success story that’s often left out. When men share their journey, the invisible labor done by the women in their lives often goes unmentioned. It’s a reminder that we can’t take business advice at face value, especially when it doesn’t reflect the realities of caregiving, unpaid labor, and the societal expectations placed on women. If Casey’s child’s mom had done what he did, would she be held up as a success? Or would she be criticized for “putting her career before her kid?” This difference in perception is exactly why advice that doesn't address these imbalances falls flat for women. #workingmom #invisiblelabor #successstories

A lesson I'm learning time and time again. Too often, women are expected to bend their comfort to make things easier and more comfortable for others. In our careers, we see this by: - Having to work late to make sure a particular project or goal gets across the line. - Being tasked with "housekeeping tasks" like planning the teambuilding activity or ensuring the dinner plans for the team are settled. - Having to prove that what we did made some astronomical organizational impact when Brad was able to launch one project and is now VP. - Being expected to wait on a promotion due to "organizational constraints," yet those organizational constraints are nowhere to be found when Brad is up for a promo. - And more Women, particularly underrepresented women, are expected to do twice as much with half the resources and support. This is a tale as old as time. Not only does it burn us out, but it ensures nothing for us. - We're not promised career advancement. - We're not given further career development. - We're not provided with additional resources or support. So all we're doing is burning our light out for the sake of others. To that I say, "no thank you." And it manifests through boundaries, which can sound like: - "Thank you for thinking of me! Right now, I’m at capacity with my current workload. I can prioritize this if we shift or delay some other projects—let me know how you’d like to proceed." - "I want to make sure I’m focusing on the priorities aligned with my role. Could we discuss whether this fits into my responsibilities or if there’s someone else better suited to handle it?" - "Housekeeping tasks are important, but I believe it would benefit the team if we rotate or share them to ensure everyone has equal bandwidth for their primary responsibilities. Could we create a system to manage this together?" 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺. What are other ways you assert your boundaries at work? Drop them in the comments! 🧡 Editor's note: Nothing against Brads! Was just thinking of a more common man's name who I often see being promoted, usually of the European-American variety. _______________________________________ ♻️ Repost to support others Have you subscribed to You Belong Here yet? https://lnkd.in/gqMquD5j