In the run-up to International Women’s Day, I sat down with Michelle McDaid, Founder of The Leading Place, to talk about why so many workplace initiatives fall short, and why lasting change has far more to do with systems than individuals.
The ‘problem solved’ myth
One of the barriers facing women in tech today is the belief that gender inequality has largely been dealt with. Whilst progress has been made, the idea that the issue is largely behind us is as limiting as overt bias. When organisations assume equality has been achieved, exclusion, inflexibility, and imbalance become harder to spot, and even harder to challenge.
This mindset also makes it easier to slip back into old habits. Traditional ways of working, many of which were never designed with today’s workforce in mind, can reassert themselves without question.
Flexibility is not a perk
Flexibility is a huge challenge, not just for women, but for anyone whose life does not fit into a narrow model of work. Yet, it is largely depicted as an accommodation, or something primarily for women, and this is where it becomes stigmatised. Performance and trust are not dependent on physical presence. Many people deliver high-quality work in flexible or remote environments. The challenges only arise when it is selectively applied or reversed through blanket mandates. To enable teams to function, flexibility must be designed around how teams actually function.
Autonomy also matters here. People are generally willing to adapt when they understand why change is happening and have a say in how it works. Resistance tends to surface when change is imposed without context, particularly when it runs counter to lived experience.
Resilience, a red herring?
Too often, workplace inequality is posed as a personal challenge to overcome. Women are encouraged to build resilience, confidence, or thicker skin, as though the issue sits within the individual rather than the environment around them. This overlooks the collective impact of working within systems that were not designed with them in mind.
Over time, constantly pushing against structural barriers takes its toll, leading to burnout. When we consider broader economic pressures, the issue becomes compounded. With rising living costs and dual-income households now the norm, many people are juggling work, caregiving, and financial strain. Without structural support for flexibility and family life, these pressures become unsustainable.
Change is a shared responsibility
If real change is to happen, the responsibility cannot sit solely with women. Gender equity efforts are far more effective when men are actively involved, not as a gesture of support, but because the system itself does not serve everyone equally. Rigid expectations around work, success, and availability affect men too, particularly when it comes to caregiving and parental leave. Yet the labour of driving inclusion often falls disproportionately on women. Mentoring, speaking at events, sitting on internal councils, and representing the organisation externally are frequently unpaid, informal, and unrecognised. When this is added to an already demanding core role, the invisible workload can slow progression and accelerate burnout.
Where progress does happen, it is usually because inclusion has been embedded into strategy rather than treated as an add-on. When leaders take ownership, set clear expectations, and allocate resources, inclusion becomes part of how the organisation operates day to day.
The cost of standing still
Women continue to leave the tech sector in large numbers, not because of a lack of ability or ambition, but because the system does not work for them. Over time, many choose to step away and build something different elsewhere. The cost of this is a loss of experience, perspective, and long-term capability for the industry as a whole.
However, where senior leaders are genuinely committed, accountability is clear, and systems are redesigned with intention, progress follows. The Gallup report stated that hope and trust are the top two things that people need from leadership.
Ultimately, this is not about fixing individuals. It is about questioning inherited assumptions, redesigning systems, and recognising that inclusion is not a favour to a few, but a foundation for sustainable performance. When organisations stop asking people to adapt to work, and instead ask how work itself can change, everyone stands to benefit.
You can watch the full conversation here.
This article originally appeared in the February’26 magazine issue of Electronic Specifier Design – see ES’s Magazine Archives for more featured publications.
