Every year on Women’s Day, we celebrate the spirit of womanhood. But what if true progress is not about celebrating women separately—but about reaching a point where we do not have to? What if success, support, and leadership were seen for what they truly are—human, not gendered?
Early in my career, I had two very different bosses. One was a man in a Shipping company—tough, fair, and quietly supportive. He never made a big deal about being an ally or empowering women. He simply recognized talent, gave me opportunities, and expected results. There were no special considerations, no assumptions that I needed to be treated differently. And in that simple act of treating me like any other professional, he set the foundation for my confidence. That was 1999.
Then there was the other boss. A woman. A perfectionist. Always angry. She demanded excellence with no room for error, no space for excuses. I often walked into work dreading what the day would bring. But looking back, I realize she pushed me in a way I never would have pushed myself. She forced me to meet standards I had not even set for myself. It was not kindness that shaped me, but the relentless expectation of my best. That was 2001.
And that is when I learned something crucial—support does not always look the way you expect it to. Growth does not come wrapped in encouragement and praise. It also comes from being challenged, from being seen as capable, from being held accountable. It has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with intent. One boss was gentle, the other harsh, but both shaped me. Not as a woman in the workplace, but as a professional who was expected to deliver.
Now, as a Coach and many bosses in between, I often ask women of different seniorities what they wish would change in workplaces. And time and again, the answer is the same—“We need to stop calling things ‘women’s issues.’ We just need to talk—about work, about leadership, about challenges—without making it about gender.” They sound right – isn’t it? The moment we separate conversations—when we talk about women’s leadership, women’s success, women’s rights—we unintentionally reinforce the idea that these topics are different, that they need special attention. Every business, every boardroom, every profession depends on one thing— Brains (left and right) . And a Brain should be respected for its ideas, not the body it comes in.
This is not to say that the bigger problem is solved and I do not wish to not acknowledge it. The pay gap is real. Biases exist. The glass ceiling is still a thing! The path to leadership is still harder for many women. But the real breakthrough will come when we no longer need to have this conversation at all. When a CEO is just a CEO, not a “woman CEO.” When achievements do not come with a gender tag. When decisions are made based on competence, not whether someone’s name sounds male or female. The real win will be when gender stops being a defining factor in professional spaces—not because we have forced the shift, but because it simply does not occur to us anymore. This is the future I hope for- a future that my 20 year old daughter would hope for in her professional space. And that is what we should be working towards—not just on Women’s Day, but every day.