Dear Patriarchy: It's Time to Be Worried. I’m Still Here.

I’m Not Done. Not Even Close.

I’m now a woman in my 60s. I could be winding down, switching off, stepping back. But I’m not. I’m fucking accelerating. Why? Because despite a lifetime of data, promises, and performative gestures, women are still getting screwed over at work, and in sport. This week, I reread the McKinsey Women in the Workplace 10-year report and watched the French Open snub women again. I’m furious. But that fury? That’s fuel. And I’ve got a message for every woman ready to turn rage into power: this is your lane, this is your turn, this is your time.

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ABOUT ME

I’m the unapologetically fierce, quite sweary, globally sought-after architect of workplace gender equity. I’m the go-to strategist for organisations ready to stop talking and start doing DEI right. When I’m not dismantling barriers holding women back, I’m working with ambitious women to have careers that soar. I do this through my award-winning book The Leadership Compass, the Lead to Soar Network, and my no-bullshit podcast The Fed Up Club. I don’t do band-aids, box-ticking or anything even vaguely performative. I build women-centred systems that deliver real, measurable impact.

Ten Years On, and I’m Still Coming for You Patriarchy

A decade ago, I left corporate life to smash the patriarchy full-time. Now I’m in my 60s, and instead of slowing down, I’m accelerating. I’m bursting with ideas, energy, and a fire in my belly that burns fiercer than ever.

When I reread the McKinsey Women in the Workplace 10th anniversary report this week, I didn't feel proud or nostalgic. I felt fury. Despite a decade of “progress,” most things for women at work are still stuck, or worse, going backwards.

Truth Bomb: I’ve been the polite woman (yes I have!) I’ve been patient. And guess what? That hasn’t worked. So FTS.

I’m fed up with waiting. (Actually, that happened a while back.) I was fed up of asking nicely a long time ago. And I feel like one of my jobs in life is to remind women that if you have feminist rage in your veins, you’re not alone, and you’re exactly what the world needs right now. I see you, feminist sister!

The Report That Made Me Sigh, Bigtime

When I sat down to write this week’s Truth Bomb Times, I was stuck. My brain and heart were full, but coherence? Not so much. So I ditched the blank page and opened my “to read later” folder in my email.

There it was, the tenth edition of McKinsey & Lean In Women in the Workplace, and it jumped out at me. Perfect, I thought. This’ll be good. After all, I’ve been referencing this report in boardrooms and leadership summits since it first landed.

But here’s what I (re)discovered:

• Women are still dramatically underrepresented in senior leadership roles.

• Women of Colour? Even more so.

• Burnout rates for women? Worse than ten years ago.

• Gender Bias? Still rampant.

• Broken Rung? Still fucking broken.

I didn’t expect a warm hug from this report, but I did expect a sense of forward momentum. Instead, I felt exhausted. And then I felt furious.

Because I’ve spent the last decade helping organisations stop treating gender equity like a PR stunt and actually do the fucking work.

And yet, here we are.

Same shit. Different year.

The French Open Can Also Get in the Bin

Let’s talk sport. Again.

You know I’ve been advocating to level the playing field for women in sport for what feels like an eternity. So when the French Open again scheduled zero women’s matches during the night sessions at centre court, I didn’t even blink. I just felt that all-too-familiar mix of depression and rage.

Two steps forward. Fourteen bloody steps back.

Truth Bomb: institutional sexism is alive and thriving in sport.

Tennis has long been hailed as a beacon of progress. Billie Jean King fought like hell for equality. Serena Williams didn’t just play the game; she owned it. And yet, in 2025, women are still being benched during prime time.

Can you imagine the merde that would hit the fan if men’s matches were sidelined like this?

Yeah, me too. That shit wouldn’t fly.

Women athletes have earned better treatment. It’s 2025 FFS. The French Open tournament is just one more example of how systems still choose men, reward men, and centre men, even when women outperform them. (Despite what Novak Djokovic would have you believe, he can FRO!)

I’m Not Tired. I’m Furious. And That’s Fuel.

I could be retired. I could be swanning around Bali on my bike, sipping something cold and expensive at sunset.

(OK, yes, the biking in Bali and cold drinks are happening.)

But I’m still here. Still writing. Still speaking. Still advocating. Still mentoring. Still teaching. Still kicking down doors that women aren’t even invited to knock on.

Because too many of you, too many of us, are still being silenced, excluded, and exhausted by systems never built for us to succeed.

And if that doesn’t make you furious, well… maybe we need to talk.

But if you do feel the burn? Use it.

• Get fired up.

• Turn rage into strategy.

• Turn frustration into action.

• Speak truth to power.

For My Paid Subscribers

You’re here to lead, and whilst I am always open to the ‘lurk and learn’ kinda followers, I’d love you to get into some serious feminist self-care.

This week, paid subscribers will receive:

A 3-month guest pass to the Lead to Soar Network

This is for ambitious women who are fed up with playing small and are ready to soar.

Your GO DEEPER Companion Guide: Called to Lead, Ready to Rage

A strategic tool to turn your feminist fury into power moves that shift the system, for you and other women. This guide walks you through:

1. Naming what’s pissing you off

2. Mapping where you have power

3. Turning emotion into action

4. Creating a bold leadership move this week

A downloadable chapter from The Leadership Compass

My no-BS guide to becoming the credible, strategic, high-impact leader you’re called to be.

This is where we stop waiting and start winning.

Final Word (Because I Always Have One)

To every woman who’s ever been told to calm down, be patient, wait her turn or stay in her lane, fuck that shit.

This is your lane.

This is your turn.

This is your time.

And if you think I’m going to slow down just because I’ve hit my 60s?

Think again.

I’m not done.

Not even fucking close.

Look out, patriarchy, I’m still coming for you.

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