Being Seen is my response to this: a report into women, leadership and visibility at work – and why solving the female visibility challenge, at scale, is urgent. 

At the crux of the report is the visibility paradox: invisible women get overlooked, visible women face a backlash. It’s a dynamic I’ve seen many female founders have to work through. In Being Seen, I spoke to eight female leaders who had navigated this on their own terms to redefine professional visibility in a way that supports their careers and impact.

The cost of visibility

We’ve entered an era of open misogyny; women’s rights and DEI strategies are being scaled back in real time. Combinations such as algorithmic bias, user reporting dynamics, and social media platforms privileging traditionally male-coded behaviour and language all combine to create a challenging landscape for women to be seen in.

The outcome? There’s a real risk that comes with visibility. When unpacking the cost of visibility, the following emerged as key:

Fear of judgment – an innate fear of judgment is a critical barrier to women’s visibility – from saying the wrong thing, being called out, or being accused of being too much – the list goes on. It shouldn’t be about forced confidence or “fake it till you make it.’ Choosing to become more visible is a way to shape the narrative yourself.

Emotional and intellectual capital is involved too. The leaders I spoke to had experienced the requirement to “step it up” and that feeling of having to give more as a woman – which in turn can become exhausting and unsustainable over time.

Be seen or be safe – because visibility can also bring backlash the message has become: visibility is okay if you don’t challenge the status quo. This means that many women retreat, play smaller than feels comfortable or become hyper-cautious. Being seen demands psychological safety for all women.

I was surprised to learn that some contributors’ successful profiles had affected their personal lives too, in some cases professional visibility triggering friends and peers negatively. Again, the messaging is clear: you can be successful but not too successful. The net result being we dim our own lights.

The pathway to visibility

Despite the challenges, Being Seen shows us that it is possible to have a positive relationship with visibility. Speaking to female leaders and founders,  rather than treating it as a “part of the job” or an energy-sucking component that simply “comes with the territory”, they’ve chosen to cultivate an approach that has effectively become an extension of who they are – and what they do.

Visibility is how they show up in the world, to their work, to the people they’re leading.

Embed visibility into your leadership – integrate visibility into your daily life, not as an add-on. A quick follow up email to showcase work, actively feeding internal comms with teams’ successes, social media platforms and posts to help others. How can you take five minutes to turn your meeting insight into a LinkedIn post? Or share an article or personal highlight of the week? It’s a mindset shift.

Remember the cost of not being seen – consider the opportunity cost of not being visible in our careers. For many women, the cost can be more than career progression. As a creative entrepreneur, I can personally attest to how shrinking my visibility – and ultimately creativity – impacts emotional health and wellbeing. There’s a huge benefit to being fully expressed.

Start small but start

Behaviour change doesn’t come from thinking – it comes from taking small actions. And while you don’t need to launch a YouTube channel or podcast, could you commit to one LinkedIn post a week? Visibility is a little like exposure therapy and it’s something you can expand your capacity for with practice, compassion and commitment.

Find your place of power

Show up where you feel most confident. That could be public speaking, it could be going live on Instagram. It could be writing a newsletter, As contributor, Caroline Goyder advises, “Don’t chase butterflies, plant a garden.”

What’s a way you can communicate about your startup, share your knowledge and expertise, in a way that nourishes you? This makes it more sustainable, prevents longer term burn-out and also helps you grow and to connect.

Consistency, not constancy

Remember too, you don’t have to be chronically online to build an impactful professional profile. Find a cadence that feels realistic and manageable to you and commit from that starting point. 

A part of the visibility dynamic I see so many people overlook is the benefit of supporting others in your community – being visible as a champion and advocate of those in your community is powerful – especially as female founders, ensuring you’re lifting other women’s voices with your own.

Finally, when it comes to visibility, it’s important to stress that women don’t need fixing, nor is this a “women’s problem.” It’s collective and we need a collaborative solution.

Every woman reading this will have their own story of being told not to be seen. My hope is that Being Seen shows that there is a pathway forwards – where, as individuals and organisations, we build a culture of women's visibility: where women’s voices, stories and experiences are safe, supported, and celebrated.

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