Hello Reader, A highly competent senior scientist was there. But a junior colleague got promoted. He talked about his work in meetings (loudly and repetitively), she didn't. She isn't less qualified, less talented or less experienced. It's just that she questions every small action of hers. Before speaking up, she questions: 1. Is this worth mentioning? 2. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging. 3. My work should speak for itself. I hear this from women in pharma & biotech every week. And I...

Hello Reader, 38% of women in STEM report patterns of being made to feel invisible, disrespected, or overlooked at work. (McKinsey – Women in the Workplace 2025 report) And yet – "doing a good job" is the number one strategy professionals rely on for career progression. Here is what I’ve seen: Doing good work is necessary. But it is not sufficient. I think we have all seen examples of colleagues who do visibility wrong. Constantly highlighting every little thing, they did that day....

Hello Reader, Corporate professionals think 10 times before rejecting a position, but my client did it without any hesitation. Because she already built her network to support that transition and help throughout the process. “Candice” used to define her life and her career based on her work and her studies. When we started working together: 👉 She was prepared to accept any job offer that was going up the ladder, based on where she was there and then. But her excitement was missing and her...

Hello Reader, You’ve outgrown your current role. But you don’t want to manage a team. You’d probably be great at it. But the admin, the people management, the endless meetings about meetings, that’s not what excites you.What you actually want is to grow horizontally.More responsibilities in areas that light you up.New projects. Different challenges. The kind of work that makes you want to jump in on a Monday morning.And for that, you need to have an honest and courageous conversation with...

Hello Reader, High performance doesn’t protect you from feeling completely stuck at work. “I’m highly motivated and ambitious. But my work just isn’t fun anymore.”A woman I spoke with recently told me this.She had been excelling in her role for years.Delivering results.Getting recognition.Doing all the things.But internally? She felt stuck.She wasn’t growing anymore. She’d already started looking for her next challenge, including starting an MBA.And on top of it all, she was putting pressure...

Hello Reader, I’ve watched too many brilliant women burn out trying to fix toxic bosses. Before you do anything else, protect your energy first. I know that sounds basic. But I’ve seen too many brilliant women burn out trying to “fix” a person or a culture that was never theirs to fix. So here’s what I’d recommend: Step 1: Strengthen yourself. You may not be able to control how the people around you behave. But you can control how you respond, and how much you let it bleed into your evenings...

Hello Reader, I recently spoke with a wonderful woman in pharma. She's a senior leader, and she excels at something many people find really challenging: building and maintaining genuine relationships. She didn't apply for her next role. → Her network brought it to her. She is the kind of person who is always looking to help others. Not in a transactional way, but because she genuinely enjoys connecting people who could benefit from knowing each other. And because of this strength, because she...

Hello Reader, “I disagree, but I never say it out loud.” This is what I heard in a recent conversation. Imagine you're sitting in a leadership meeting, the only woman at the table. A new strategy is being presented, and something about it doesn't sit right with you. You have a different perspective. A valid one. But you've been quiet before, and speaking up now feels like a risk. “What if I sound difficult? What if I’m the only one who thinks this?” I know this feeling well. And I've seen it...

Hello Reader, I used to think the best argument always won — until I saw how decisions really get made. I used to think that as long as I was well prepared and my slides made sense, the decision could only go in favour of what I was presenting. Had I considered how decisions are really made? No. Had I considered who the key stakeholders were? No. What I learned from observing more experienced colleagues was how strategic they were: choosing exactly who to have lunch with at the right time...