News from Leaders By Design

Why women struggle to be heard in executive meetings, and what being heard actually requires

Why Women Struggle to Be Heard in Executive Meetings

Executive meetings have an architecture — one built over decades around the communication norms of male-dominated hierarchies. The rules are largely unwritten. But they are real. And they systematically disadvantage the way many senior women naturally communicate. Women who consistently get heard in high-stakes rooms aren’t louder or more aggressive. They’re more strategically positioned.