It is often said that this is a good time to be a woman. In some respects that is true. Yet it is too often true only for women who already have a seat at the table, or for those fortunate enough to be invited to one. Many women have the qualifications, the experience and the capacity to lead, but they are never given the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do.
That remains one of the central problems in conversations about women and leadership. Too many judgements are made before responsibility is given. Too many assumptions are formed before competence is tested. Too many capable women are measured against ceilings they did not create and denied openings they did not fail to earn.
Not long ago, I listened to a podcast conversation with my friend Ethel Coffie, whose work in technology and business has long commanded respect. She made a point that stayed with me. Many highly qualified women are not overlooked because they lack ability. They are overlooked because they are never granted the chance to prove themselves. That is a very important distinction.
I know this from experience. When I moved from private legal practice into the public sector, I went through a demanding interview process before I was appointed Board Secretary and Acting Head of Legal and Estates. My then boss believed in me. He entrusted me with responsibility. He created room for initiative, innovation and contribution. That opportunity did not simply recognise potential. It helped build it.
The effect of that trust was profound. It strengthened my confidence, sharpened my speaking ability and expanded my sense of what was possible. It also reminded me that leadership is often formed through opportunity. People grow when they are trusted with responsibility. They become surer of their capacity when someone is prepared to see beyond the stereotype and allow ability to meet the task.
This is why I find some conversations about women’s capability deeply unhelpful. People ask whether women are ready to lead. They question whether women are capable. Yet how can anyone make that judgement fairly if women are denied responsibility from the outset. If the opportunity is never given, the evidence is never allowed to emerge.
There are many women whose lives already challenge the assumptions made about them. They do not need condescension. They need opportunity. They do not need rhetorical praise detached from action. They need responsibility, trust and the chance to prove what they can do.
That is why support for women must go beyond slogans. It must show itself in actual decisions, appointments, mentorship, encouragement and a willingness to create room where room has too often been withheld. To give to women in this way is not to lower the standard. It is to allow the standard to be tested fairly.
We must also be careful about the ease with which women are judged when the structures around them have not been designed to support their rise. It is unfair to blame women for barriers they did not erect. It is equally unfair to question their competence in the absence of the opportunities that would have allowed that competence to be seen.
The right response is not pity. It is seriousness. It is the seriousness to create pathways, to extend trust, to mentor intentionally and to recognise that public life will always be diminished when talent is excluded by habit, stereotype or fear.
If we want stronger institutions, better leadership and a more just public life, then we must become more deliberate about giving women the opportunity to shine.