Welcome to a special International Women’s Day 2026 episode of Promoted, where Felicity Furey and Renee Wootton Tomlin unpack this year’s theme: Balancing the Scales.

But what does “balancing” really mean?

In this honest and thought-provoking conversation, Felicity and Renee turn their attention to the hidden middle — the career stage where many talented women quietly disappear from leadership pathways. It’s not entry level. It’s not the executive suite. It’s the messy, demanding, high-potential middle where capability is high, expectations are rising, and life outside work often intensifies.

Why do so many women leave at this point?

Is it confidence? Capability? Or something deeper within the systems we’ve designed?

Drawing on their own experiences in engineering and leadership, Felicity and Renee explore the structural pressures women face during this stage — invisible load, inflexible career pathways, biased performance expectations, and cultures that reward constant availability over sustainable contribution.

This episode doesn’t focus on “fixing women.” Instead, it asks the harder question: How do we redesign workplaces so everyone can thrive?

You’ll hear practical, research-backed strategies for leaders and organisations to:

1. Rethink progression and promotion pathways
2. Design roles that support performance and life
3. Measure outcomes instead of presenteeism
4. Create cultures of belonging that extend beyond policy

If we want to truly balance the scales, we must move beyond symbolic gestures and intentionally design systems where talented women — and all leaders — can stay, grow and lead.

This episode is a powerful reminder that equity isn’t about lowering the bar.

It’s about building better structures.

Tune in for a candid, solutions-focused conversation on what it really takes to create workplaces where people don’t just survive — they succeed.