The Importance of Representation

Today we release the Champions of Change Coalition “2025 Impact Report”. This is the largest voluntary disclosure of progress towards workplace gender equality in the world, sharing data, actions and insights from our 200+ Members, representing organisations across every major sector. It reflects both year-on-year improvement and the long-term impact of a collective leadership strategy that has been sustained and expanded since 2010. This year’s report confirms that when leadership is visible, action-oriented and accountable, progress follows. Members are strengthening the systems, policies and cultural settings that enable equality to take hold. For example: • 46% of ASX 200-listed Member organisations have achieved gender-balanced executive leadership teams, compared with 31% across the broader ASX 200. • Gender balance in overall representation and Board positions has reached our 40:40:20 target. • 97% of Member organisations are mainstreaming flexible work with policy, tools, technology and leadership support, while 78% are taking action to enable flexible work for frontline and operational workers. • 79% of Members have a strategy and policy in place to improve men’s uptake of parental leave. • Continued leadership on domestic and family violence prevention and response, including employee supports, approaches for responding to employees who may be using violence, and initiatives that deliver positive community impact. It’s also inspiring to see how the Coalition continues to evolve. Around 30% of our Members are now women – a powerful reflection of the gender-equal and inclusive leadership we seek to model and embed across every sector. At the same time, national and Coalition data shows progress is slowing in some areas: • Persistent over-representation of men in leadership and pipeline roles continues, reinforced by outdated models of what it takes to succeed as a CEO. • Built-in barriers continue to channel women and men into different types of jobs, driven by entrenched norms, inflexible work arrangements and work/pay systems that disadvantage people with caring responsibilities. • Progress on gender equality remains slow or stalled in key industries, particularly those facing labour shortages. Societal shifts, fatigue and competing priorities can easily erode hard-won gains. This is a moment that demands courage and conviction to ensure equality and inclusion are built into the design and leadership of every organisation. I am grateful to every Member, Implementation Leader, Convenor and partner who continues to invest their influence, time and resources in this shared effort. Progress in this report belongs to you. Together, we are building stronger organisations, fairer and more inclusive workplaces and shaping a more equal and prosperous society for all. Explore the “2025 Impact Report": https://lnkd.in/gaRrzn-q #ChampionsOfChangeCoalition #ImpactReport #GenderEquality

🌹 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝘅𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 - "𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲" 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 Sixty-one of Germany’s most powerful CEOs just pledged €𝟲𝟯𝟭 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 to “resuscitate” Europe’s largest economy under the banner "Made for Germany". It’s being called the boldest private investment push in decades. But look closely at the photo from the chancellery: 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻. Germany, the engine of Europe, is deciding its future with a room that still looks like its past. 📊 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. When the people at the table share the same networks, the same education, the same domestic setup (most with wives at home, none being the wife at home), blind spots don’t just creep in, they set the agenda. If half the population isn’t present, whose priorities disappear from €631 billion of investments? • Childcare infrastructure? • The female talent drain in STEM? • The hidden economic cost of unpaid care work?    We call it innovation. But a future designed by one demographic will always replicate that demographic’s past. 💔 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀: Women who reach this room have sacrificed in currencies men are never asked to pay. They navigate tightropes, too soft, dismissed; too sharp, punished. They do this without the invisible “wife at home” who clears the path for male careers. They arrive not just late to the table, but already tired. So what now? 👇 Five power moves, for all of us. 1. 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵.    Merit didn’t create this room. Networks, comfort, and sameness did. Name it or nothing changes.     2. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.    Men: stop sponsoring mini‑mes.    Women: stop waiting for permission to be chosen. Build alliances that trade visibility, not favors.     3. 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀.    Women in power: stop sanitizing the cost. Glossy success stories protect the system, not the next generation.     4. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱.    Until men do half the invisible labor at home, women will always carry two jobs into every boardroom.     5. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.    Stop worshipping the 80‑hour war hero archetype. If leadership excludes caregiving, empathy, or difference, it’s not strength;     🌹 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀. But if €631 billion is shaping Germany’s future, survival shouldn’t be the bar. 👊 A garden should be.

You did the work on gender, don’t let your report undo it. You’ve collected gender-disaggregated data. You’ve applied a gender lens in your design. But when it comes time to write the report… something slips. Gender gets one mention in the background section, maybe a bullet under “lessons learned” and that’s it. It doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s what to watch for when writing a report with a gender lens: ✅ 1. Language that includes and doesn’t reinforce bias ↳Use gender-neutral terms where appropriate (“firefighters” vs. “firemen”), ↳Avoid phrasing that subtly assigns roles by gender (e.g., “mothers and breadwinners”). ✅ 2. Balanced representation in your examples and case studies ↳Are your success stories always about male leaders? ↳Are women always framed as vulnerable? ↳Rethink whose voices are amplified and how they’re described. ✅ 3. Headlines and summaries that highlight gender insights ↳Don’t bury your gender findings in a sub-section. ↳Mention them in the executive summary, key findings, and recommendations so they aren’t overlooked by decision-makers. ✅ 4. Break down results by gender (and beyond) ↳If the data allows, show intersectional insights: by age, disability, location, etc. This reinforces that gender analysis isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s essential to understanding who benefited and how. ✅ 5. Consistent tone from start to finish Your intro, methods, findings, and recommendations should all reflect your commitment to equity. Don’t let the gender lens fade once you hit the results section. #GenderReports #Gender 🔥 Follow me for similar content

💃🏽 “𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵.” – 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗶 Until 1993, women were largely excluded from clinical trials. Not by accident, but by design 👀 Women were left out of research because our biology was seen as disruptive. Hormones made the data harder to control, so the answer was to exclude us 🤷🏽♀️ The default became male & the consequences followed. What worked in the lab didn’t always work in the real world & it still doesn’t ❌ That choice didn’t stay in the past 🔙 You can still see it in drugs that fail to accurately recognise women’s symptoms, in the medtech equipment that doesn’t quite fit in a female surgeon's hand, in the research that skips over the questions that matter to half the population 🌎 As we move into an AI-first future, we’re building on data that never really saw women to begin with. The risk isn’t just bias, it’s getting things wrong at scale 📈 If women aren’t included in the data, the systems we rely on won’t just miss us, they’ll misrepresent us. We need women shaping the research, the trials, the tech – not just for fairness, but so it actually works 📊 If we want healthcare that works for women, we need to start with research that sees us clearly, not as complications, but as standard 💭 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 📏 -- ♻ Re-share if this resonated with you. 👩🏽⚕️ Follow Dr Fiona Pathiraja-Møller for more. #womenshealth #AI #science #clinicaltrials

WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SILENT. ROMAN COLISEUM EVENTS ALIVE AND WELL At 57, with white hair and no carefully managed public image, Mary Beard appeared on a BBC panel to discuss immigration and politics. She answered questions, cited evidence, made her arguments—and went home. The next morning, her inbox was filled with rape threats, death threats, and attacks on her appearance, age, and voice. The abuse wasn't about debate. It was about punishing a woman for speaking with authority in public. Most people would have retreated. Beard went looking for the deeper pattern. A Cambridge classicist and one of the world's leading scholars of ancient Rome, she traced the hostility back through centuries of history and literature. In Homer's Odyssey, she found an early example: when Penelope speaks publicly, her son Telemachus orders her back to her room, declaring that speech is the business of men. For Beard, this wasn't ancient history—it was a blueprint. Across Western history, women who spoke with authority were dismissed, mocked, or excluded. In ancient Rome, women's public speech was treated as noise rather than argument. In the medieval period, women claiming authority were branded witches. Even Queen Elizabeth I had to frame herself in masculine terms to be accepted as a ruler. The pattern, Beard argued, is not accidental. For thousands of years, public authority has been defined in ways that exclude women. In Women & Power: A Manifesto (2017), she made a simple but powerful case: the problem is not that women lack the ability to lead. The problem is that traditional models of leadership were built by men and for men. When women don't fit those models, the fault is not theirs—the model was never designed to include them. The answer, Beard said, is not to teach women to imitate existing forms of power, but to rethink what power itself can look like. She continued teaching, writing, and appearing in public exactly as she was: knowledgeable, calm, and unapologetic. The abuse never fully stopped, but another response emerged. Women and girls wrote to tell her that her work helped them understand something important: they weren't failing to fit into the room. The room had been built without them in mind. That isn't a personal flaw. It's a historical design choice. By documenting that history and naming the pattern, Mary Beard gave people a way to see it—and challenge it. Telemachus claimed that speech was the business of men. Three thousand years later, Mary Beard has shown why he was wrong. https://lnkd.in/ewkSPpHS

The fox served the heron on a flat platter. She couldn't eat. Not because she wasn't hungry. Not because she didn't try hard enough. Because the platter wasn't made for her beak. At a recent event, the brilliant Shraddha Jain (aiyyoShraddha) used this fable to explain something that I've been struggling to articulate for quite some time about women growing in the workforce. We debate whether women deserve a seat at the table. We rarely ask whether the table is built for them. Women don't enter the workforce on equal footing. They walk in with one hand already tied — childcare, elder care, home care. These aren't personal choices. They're structural loads. And then life stages hit. With devastating timing. Maternity arrives exactly when a woman is crossing the hardest threshold — from middle management to leadership. The moment she has finally earned the room, her body asks her to step out of it. Menopause arrives when she is on the cusp of moving from leader to executive. Years of experience, sharpest strategic mind, highest stakes — and her body is in flux again. These aren't coincidences. They're biology meeting a system that was never designed around her timeline. Shinjini Kumar, author of 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘺 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯: 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢, put it plainly: you're fine, as long as you're home when the child returns from school. As long as you can take leave when a parent needs care. The moment you can't — the question comes. 𝘒𝘺𝘢 𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘪? And when women push through anyway? We don't give them the field. As Shraddha puts it, we post them for fielding 𝙟𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙖𝙩𝙞 𝙝𝙞 𝙣𝙖𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙞. Administrative roles. Safe corners. Away from where decisions are made. So what's the answer? Not menstrual leave that quietly marks her as unreliable. Not menopausal sabbaticals framed as disability. Not policies that solve the optics while cementing the stigma. Infrastructure. For return. With equal footing. Flexible structures that don't freeze her career while she's away. Re-entry pathways that don't make her start over. Leadership pipelines that account for the fact that her most pivotal biological moments land at her most pivotal professional ones. Inclusion isn't an invitation. It's infrastructure. The reservation bill debate is loud right now. But even louder is the silence around what happens after women get the seat. #WomenInWorkforce #GenderEquity #WomenLeadership #InclusionAtWork #Menopause #Maternity #WorkplacePolicy #IndiaInc

Gender privileges in our society ... ... are more deeply rooted in our society than I was ever aware of. But looking back on the changes that have occurred during my transition has made me realize the enormous differences that are only linked to gender. Before I embraced myself, I enjoyed privileges of which I wasn't even fully aware. Now, as a woman, I clearly see the contrasts and changes in how I am treated and perceived. 🔹 In my "previous life", my voice was heard more often in professional settings. My ideas received attention without needing to defend them. Now, I feel the need to present my input more forcefully, fighting against the subtle but present tendency to overlook female voices. 🔹 The freedom I once had to experiment with my interests and, for example, clothing style without harsh judgment seems like a distant memory. The world now seems quicker to judge, anchored to traditional expectations of femininity that are both limiting and exhausting. 🔹 The difference in how my words now carry weight is perhaps one of the most noticeable changes. Assertiveness that was once seen as leadership is now sometimes misinterpreted as aggression or unnecessary emotion. It has become an interesting dance to be heard without being misunderstood. 🔹 These experiences have not only taught me about the inequalities that still exist but also about the power of resilience and authenticity. Through this journey, I am more myself than ever before. But it's remarkable, almost absurd, how much weight our society places on gender. These deeply rooted norms and expectations, often unspoken but omnipresent, form the basis of so many aspects of our daily lives. From the clothes we "are allowed" to wear to the careers we "should" pursue, from how we express our emotions to the way we communicate - it all seems prescribed by an invisible guide based on our gender at birth. This raises the question: why do we let such arbitrary divisions play such an influential role in how we lead our lives and judge each other? It's high time we reconsider these conventions, aiming to create a more inclusive and flexible society where everyone has the freedom to be themselves, free from restrictive labels. This change begins with awareness and conversations like this, which are the first steps towards a world that values the richness of human diversity. 🔹 Although I have only recently personally dealt with these gender-related challenges and loss of privileges, it's important to acknowledge that many women have been dealing with them for as long as they can remember. My experiences shed light on a reality that has been everyday for them, a struggle they've been fighting from the moment they became aware of societal expectations surrounding 'being a woman'. #GenderEquality #TransRights #Authenticity #SocialChange #DiversityAndInclusion

She didn’t just launch a startup. She declared war on silence. When Kanu Batra started over in the UK, it wasn’t for comfort, clout, or capital. It was survival. Years of working across India, Paris, the US, and Bangkok had taught her how to adapt but nothing prepared her for the identity shift that came with immigration. The invisibility. The disconnection. The cost of being the only woman of colour in the room. So, she built something she wished existed: A global coaching company that gives underrepresented voices the space, power, and tools to lead loudly. In this episode of Immigrants Building Companies, we explore: → Her journey from Agra to London via five global cities → Why coaching became her act of rebellion → The painful lessons about burnout, bias, and belonging → How she helps women of colour unlearn silence And the questions every leader should be asking themselves and so much more.

Why do parents in India want to know the gender of the child during pregnancy? During my 28 years of founding and leading a diagnostics company, one of the challenges I faced was following the PCPNDT Act. This is an act that prevents gender identification during pregnancy by the radiologist or the gynaecologist. But who asks for this? The parents! The PCPNDT Act is so irrational that it attempts to curb the medical fraternity, but nothing is done to the society that actually seeks and acts on this information. Even in today’s world, why do families in India prefer boys over girls? Despite the “apparent progress” being shown in our society, women continue to be discriminated against. Gender inequality in India remains a pressing issue. ◼️Education: → Despite improvements, female literacy rates lag behind male literacy rates. → Female literacy stands at 70%, while male literacy is 84.7%. → Rural areas face significant challenges, with traditional norms often limiting girls' education. ◼️Employment: → Female participation in the workforce is alarmingly low at around 21%. → Barriers include societal expectations, lack of childcare facilities, and discrimination in hiring and promotions. ◼️Health and Nutrition: → Gender inequality in healthcare leads to sex-selective abortions and neglect of girl children. → Women face disparities in accessing healthcare, especially reproductive health services. → Women often suffer from malnutrition due to unequal food distribution within families. ◼️Political Representation: → Women are underrepresented in political positions at both national and local levels. → Despite initiatives like reserved seats in local governments, the overall representation in national parliament and state legislatures remains low. ◼️Violence and Safety: → Violence against women - domestic violence, sexual harassment, and honour killings - is a severe issue. → Weakly enforced legal protections and societal attitudes normalise such violence. ◼️Social Norms and Cultural Practices: → Deep-rooted patriarchal norms influence gender roles and expectations. → Dowry, child marriage, and restrictions on women's mobility limit opportunities for personal and professional growth. 🔶How can we address these issues head-on?  → Encourage girls' education, especially in rural areas. → Promote policies that support women in the workforce. → Ensure equal access to healthcare for women. → Increase women's representation in politics. → Strengthen enforcement of laws protecting women from violence. → Challenge and change patriarchal norms and cultural practices. This Women's Equality Day, I urge everyone to -  - look beyond gender and seek only capabilities.  - give women an equal opportunity.  - give “half our population” equal rights. An outstretched hand can push people down or lift them up. The choice is yours! ✅What do you think we can do to uplift women?

In our world today, almost everything is designed with men as the default. From the buildings we live in to the policies that govern us, the male perspective is too often the only one considered. This pervasive bias extends even to critical areas like medicine and safety, where the consequences can be life-threatening for women. Take, for instance, the development of drugs. Even when creating treatments specifically for women's health issues, researchers frequently test these drugs on male subjects—both animals and humans. This approach fails to account for the physiological differences between men and women, leading to medications that may be less effective, or even harmful, for women. The repercussions of this oversight are not just about discomfort or inconvenience; they can have serious, even deadly, consequences. But it doesn't stop there. Consider the car you drive. Most crash test dummies used in safety testing are modeled after the "average" male body. As a result, women are 47% more likely to suffer serious injury in a car crash than men. The seats, seatbelts, and airbags are designed to protect a male body, leaving women at a disproportionate risk of harm. This is a systemic issue that permeates nearly every aspect of our lives. The world we live in has been engineered with one gender in mind, leaving the other to navigate a landscape that often doesn't account for their needs. It's not just about fairness, it's about safety, health, and ultimately, survival. It's time for a radical shift in how we design our world. We must move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and start considering the diverse needs of all people. This means demanding that medical research includes both men and women, that safety standards account for different body types, and that every aspect of our world, from public spaces to the products we use, reflects the reality that women are not an afterthought. Women's lives, health, and well-being should never be compromised simply because the systems in place fail to consider them. It's time to build a world that is truly inclusive, where everyone’s safety and health are prioritized, not just those of half the population. Creator: @annaakana Shot by @johnleestills Grip @meliseeta Sound @mobleywillwork Edited by @benchinapen La Gouvernance au Féminin - Women in Governance