27/08/2026
I have to tell you I’m so annoyed reading this over even though I originally wrote it
It still pi**es me off.
Why are women having to do all this extra? Why?
Why not just see us for what we are — capable of doing. Capable of leading
Why do we have to engineer it and communicate it and strategize it and blah blah blah blah
Because we want to thrive in an environment that was not built for us.
Regardless.
Despite leadership norms not being fashioned around our norms
Because we want to thrive anyway even if we’re not working on a level playing field
Because we want to optimize what we get out of what we put in
21/08/2026
In the 900 or so surveys I have collected from women focused on moving their careers forward in STEM, Finance and other industries, this is one of the areas, ie building an advocate community, that’s one of the lowest ranked
meaning there’s the least level of comfort with this practice
which makes sense
it’s not something that’s natural and it’s nuanced and you really have to find the win-win.
You have to be thoughtful about where you invest that energy and time to build these authentic relationships
but I think we can learn to love this process because it opens doors where when people really know what you’re capable of they can match what you’re able to offer and what’s needed in upcoming cool experiences
and they trust you enough to put their name behind yours to put you forward
When I think back on my career, I suspect that this sometimes happened for me when I didn’t even know it, but when doors opened at crucial moments for great opportunities, someone in my corner was behind the scenes helping make that happen
So thank you for that 🥳🫶🏼 you know who you are