Not Your Mother’s Workplace: Accelerating Action for Women

“I would get involved, but I’m not your mother.”

That’s what a senior leader told me when I raised concerns about the lack of support and mentorship for new team members, especially women. At the time, I was leading innovation at a major consulting firm, and her response hit hard. It was a moment of harsh clarity: I was on my own. No trust. No culture of care—just survival.

A few months later, after pushing myself to the brink, I reached a breaking point—just like many others on my team. It became painfully clear that care and empathy weren’t just undervalued—they were dismissed as “women’s work,” not the responsibility of leadership.

That was over a decade ago, and today, this same story is playing out on a much larger scale. Burnout, disconnection, and broken systems have become the norm. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When workplaces fail to nurture empathy, inclusion, and support, everyone loses—employees, leaders, and the organization as a whole.

This experience is one of the many reasons I do the work I do—to help organizations evolve into places where people can truly thrive, where empathy and care aren’t just nice-to-haves but critical components of success.

Accelerating Action: Turning Intent to Impact

This International Women’s Day, I’m embracing the theme “Accelerate Action” from a panel I spoke on with RSA US on Wednesday. RSA US is a network of social innovators enabling people, places and the planet to flourish. Reflecting on that experience, I’m even more motivated by the work ahead to create cultures where all women can thrive.?

At the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years–nearly five generations–to reach full gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum. We can’t afford to wait that long—and we don’t have to.

The Real Business Case: More Than Representation to Recognition

The challenges women face in the workplace go beyond representation. It’s about creating environments where women can lead authentically—without fear of burnout or backlash. Women often carry the invisible emotional and relational labor within organizations, yet this critical work is rarely valued.?

Outdated leadership models continue to centralize power, limit collaboration, and exclude those with caregiving responsibilities or disabilities. These aren’t just equity issues—they are direct barriers to innovation, productivity, and long-term success.

For every woman promoted to a leadership role, two are choosing to leave their company. Women still spend 1.7 times more hours on caregiving than men, and only 4% of organizations prioritize accessibility, despite the clear benefits of inclusion. These systemic issues create blind spots in decision-making, talent retention, and market adaptability.

Thriving Together: A Clear Path to Cultural Evolution

At Culture Shift Studio (formerly the Empathy Action Lab), we are driving change by partnering with purpose-driven leaders to evolve organizations through compassion and systemic change. Our Thriving Together Method offers a clear and actionable path to move from intent to impact through three key phases:

1. Illuminate: We begin by assessing the current state of the organization through listening sessions, cultural assessments, and leadership diagnostics. This phase uncovers hidden barriers to well-being and inclusion.
2. Incubate: We work closely with leaders and teams to prototype new approaches. This includes facilitating workshops, introducing small but strategic shifts, and building systems that promote trust, psychological safety, and mutual care.
3. Accelerate: Finally, we help organizations embed these changes into everyday practices. We establish accountability systems, measure progress, and guide leaders to model behaviors that sustain a thriving culture.

This process ensures that organizations not only implement change but also fully integrate it into their culture, leading to lasting impact.

A Call to Action: The TIme to Act is Now

To build thriving cultures, leaders must prioritize empathy, implement supportive systems, and commit to continuous growth. The Thriving Together Method is more than just a framework—it’s a blueprint for embedding trust, well-being, collaboration, and growth into the very fabric of workplace cultures.

We have the tools, the insights, and the willpower to create workplaces where everyone—especially women—can lead, grow, and thrive. It’s time to accelerate action, not just celebrate it.

Watch the Full RSA US Session Here

Let’s continue this conversation and take concrete steps to make workplaces places where all of us can thrive—together.