There are no excuses left for gender washing in NZ – Amanda Sterling

The pipeline has cracks we’re still not focused on fixing. Women are graduating from universities in greater numbers than men, yet opting out of corporate pathways well before they reach leadership. Bias, harassment, the motherhood penalty, being told she needs to speak up while having her voice ignored. I could go on. The bottom line is that the systems women are stepping into were never designed with women’s realities in mind.

As a consequence, what we’re seeing now is a generation of women reassessing what success actually looks like. These are women who were told they could “have it all”, only to realise that, in practice, that means doing it all. Then, when they look ahead at leadership and see the personal cost it demands, many are choosing to step back rather than step up.

This isn’t a failure of ambition, it’s a rational response to a system that asks too much and gives too little.

“Gender-washing” refers to organisations appearing progressive on gender equality without making meaningful structural change. Photo / Getty Images

Today’s workforce looks very different, yet the system hasn’t kept pace. Workplaces still reward long hours, constant availability, and a version of commitment that assumes someone else is taking care of life outside of work. It’s a model built for a different era, one where the ideal worker had no caregiving responsibilities, or had a partner at home to take care of them.

Moving on from this matters. Not just for women, but for business and society as a whole.

Women already drive the majority of household purchasing decisions and represent one of the fastest-growing segments of wealth creation. Yet many of the decisions that shape products, services, and strategy are still being made without the lived experience of women at the table.

Added to that, we cannot expect to solve complex economic, technological and social challenges with a narrow range of perspectives. Diversity in leadership is not a “nice to have”, it is a necessity for better decision-making and long-term performance.

The good news is we now have clearer insight into what actually works.

My latest nationwide research of more than 400 Kiwi women in leadership sought to identify the conditions that most enable women to succeed. Four factors stood out as having the most significant positive impact on women’s careers: supportive managers (48%), partner support (36%), flexible work (36%) and formal leadership development (32%).

None of these are radical ideas. In fact, they are largely within the control of organisations to implement or improve. Yet the gap between knowing and doing remains significant.

Too often, organisations prioritise what looks good over what works. It’s easier to launch a new initiative or publish a diversity report than it is to embed accountability, redesign roles or challenge deeply ingrained workplace norms.

But intent is no longer enough, we now have the data, and we understand the conditions that make a difference. We can no longer claim ignorance when the outcomes fall short.

The question for New Zealand corporates is simple: are you willing to move beyond optics and commit to meaningful change?

Gender equality is not measured by what’s written in a policy or displayed on a website. It’s measured by the everyday experiences of the people working within those systems.

And right now, for too many women, those experiences still don’t stack up.

There are no excuses left for gender-washing, only a clear choice: continue performing progress, or start delivering it.

Dr Amanda Sterling is a researcher and leadership consultant.

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