18 Holes With a Putter
The recent article in Fast Company is disturbing.
The OpenAI fact represents only one company. The overall AI fact represents only one (albeit important and growing) industry. The most disheartening reality is the continued dearth of women reaching top level jobs despite entering the workforce at a near 1-to-1 ratio to men at the start of our careers.
I'm a realist and do honestly believe that there are many reasons women "opt out" during the climb. Many reflect the choices that couples make to support growing families and life changes. I know first-hand how hard it is to balance a busy career with relocations, pregnancies, aging parents. I’ve watched friends and family juggle marital strife, struggling children, and countless other challenges that effect working parents. There are valid reasons for women, who still shoulder the bulk of our society’s domestic responsibilities, to take time off, or even decide that a career outside of home isn’t for them. I respect and support women who make that choice, and I am a firm believer that the most important role we have as parents is to raise great children.
But these numbers don’t reflect that decision alone.
These numbers reflect an environment that makes it easier for women to leave because there isn’t enough reason to stay. As a result, one reality is clear to me: We are far from maximizing the talent pool.
As someone who has been in the business world for over 4 decades, I never imagined that I’d be using so many of the same slides when I speak about “How to succeed as a woman in business” in 2026 that I used when I became an executive in the 1990’s. I’ve tried to do my share as many of my female colleagues have, to elevate great young women by giving them confidence, opening doors, and introducing them to leaders who are equally supportive. Diversity initiatives helped in many cases but also created unintended bitterness and divisiveness when organizations spoke and acted in a way to suggest that bars were being lowered to reach targets. The fact that numbers have stalled, and in some cases regressed, indicate to me that a true commitment to excellence is still missing across the business world.
A woman’s perspective, approach, and style, is needed in the world of business. We are wired differently, pay attention to different things, and consider different perspectives than men. I’ve experienced this as the only woman in the room from starting out selling tires and batteries to gas station dealers to sitting in corporate boardrooms. Our voice causes different conversations, and our presence changes the culture. We might make it so different that it’s uncomfortable, but we all know that discomfort is the quickest way to grow and learn.
I’m tired of talking about the “how to’s”. There was a time that those conversations were needed. I remember the lightbulbs that came on when the first generation of leaders got together and spoke about why women weren’t moving up the ladder. There was a reason they didn’t know…women hadn’t being educated at the same rate as men, and leaders hadn’t considered the biases they had in creating opportunities.
That was almost half a century ago.
It’s about culture and conversations. It’s about inclusion and opportunity. It’s about selection committees, bias, and assumptions. There’s nothing that’s new, folks…it’s the same stuff.
I’m frankly tired telling people the same messages that their grandfathers heard.
This is about wanting the best and creating an environment where more of the best people choose to stay. The companies that get it just get it done. They don’t need targets because they have success that is sustainable. They will win on the leader board, because they will continue to attract and retain the best people. They already have the best voices in the rooms that matter most.
Yes, we’ve made progress. But playing 18 holes with a putter is frustrating.