"You just need to speak up more. Be more confident. Lean in."
How many times have you heard that?
If you’re a purpose-driven woman navigating leadership spaces, I’m guessing more than once.
For years, women have been told that the key to influence is volume, that if we just talked louder, took up more space, or "acted like a leader," we'd be handed a seat at the table.
Here’s the problem: It’s not true.
Because it doesn’t matter how loud you are if the system only rewards ego, noise, and short-term wins.
Women don’t need to perform leadership.
We need to redefine it with substance, not soundbites.
Visibility Without Value Is a Dead End
Through my research and years working with ambitious women, I’ve seen the same pattern:
Women aren’t opting out of leadership because they lack ambition. They’re opting out because the model they’re being asked to fit feels hollow.
Leadership, as it stands, is often:
If you’re leading with compassion, inclusion, and a vision for sustainable change, that model doesn’t just feel misaligned, it feels ick.
But here’s where everything shifts.
Proof Beats Pretence: The Power of Evidence-Backed Leadership
Influence isn’t about shouting louder.
It’s about showing the right people the right kind of proof.
When I published my Hidden Figures research it wasn’t just a whitepaper it was a door opener. It gave me credibility in rooms where opinions weren’t enough. It sparked conversations with organisations, media, and decision-makers who we’re ready to listen to a different perspective.
Why? Because data, insight, and lived experience are hard to ignore when they’re presented as evidence.
This is the foundation of what I teach inside my Impact Makers program, how to turn your work, your story, and your results into undeniable proof of value.
Because women shouldn’t have to mimic outdated leadership styles to be heard.
They should be equipped to lead on their terms, with the evidence to back it up.
What the Research Tells Us (That No One’s Talking About)
In my latest research project, If Not You, Then Who? I reviewed study after study on women in leadership.
The loudest message?
Everyone’s focused on getting womeninto leadership, but no one’s asking women how they would actually define it on their terms.
The evidence shows:
Women face systemic barriers, especially those from marginalised backgrounds.
Leadership is still framed by masculine ideals: authority, dominance, decisiveness.
Women who lead with relational, compassionate styles are often undervalued.
Intersectionality is largely ignored.
And yet, there’s a glaring gap in research exploring what leadership would look like if it reflected women’s values and how they want to truly lead.
That gap? It’s exactly where evidence-backed leadership comes in.
When women use research, insight, and data to define success ontheir terms, they don’t just participate in leadership they reshape it.
From Insight to Influence: How Impact Makers Lead Differently
Inside Impact Makers I work with women who are done waiting for permission.
They’re engineers, consultants, bankers, executives, entrepreneurs all brilliant at what they do. But like many, they’ve felt stuck in systems that don’t value what actually matters.
Here’s what we focus on:
Clarity: Getting clear on the impact they’re here to make.
Evidence: Turning lived experience and outcomes into proof.
Visibility: Sharing that proof in the right rooms, with the right people.
Because when you lead with evidence, you’re not asking to be noticed.
You’re making it impossible to be overlooked.
Leadership Isn’t About Volume. It’s About Value.
If you’re tired of being told to "just be more confident" or "speak up"...
If you know you’re here to create meaningful impact but the old rules of leadership don’t fit your values…
It’s time to stop playing by them.
Lead with substance. Lead with evidence. Lead on your terms.
Want to See What’s Possible When You Stop Asking for Permission?
The doors to Impact Makers are now open.
If you're an ambitious, purpose-driven woman ready to turn your work into influence and influence into real-world change, I invite you to apply.
Because leadership isn’t about fitting in. It’s about standing out, for all the right reasons.
