The Balancing Act
- Vicky Pike
- Feb 5
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 1
Women face a tricky balancing act every single day: expected to lead but penalised for how they do it.
A Textio analysis of 23,000 performance reviews (Oct 2024) found:
📌 76% of high-performing women received negative feedback vs. 2% of high-performing men.
📌 88% of top-performing women were critiqued on their personality—called "abrasive, bossy, emotional." Just 12% of men received the same.
📌 Men were more like to receive feedback focused on skills, achievements, and contributions—not personality.
This reflects deep-seated biases, often unconscious.
Awareness is just the first step, real change happens when we challenge biases, take action, and rewrite the narrative.