Welcome to Season 1, episode 10 of Breaking with Tradition, Catalyst’s podcast that explores trends and ideas that will impact the future of the global workplace. This episode marks the end of our first season and is called The state of play for women in business.

In 2025 so far, conversations about workplace culture are increasingly shaped by debates over leadership styles and gender dynamics. Some argue that corporate culture needs to re-embrace so-called "masculine energy," while others advocate for a more inclusive approach.

But what does this mean for women in the workplace today?

In this season finale, host Victoria Kuketz sits down with Emma Hinchliffe, reporter for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women daily newsletter, to discuss the current landscape for women at work. They'll explore the rise of women in leadership—including the record-breaking number of women Fortune 500 CEOs— and highlight some of the most influential people Emma has profiled in recent months. Plus, they’ll examine promising trends in women’s sports and business, and what these shifts signal for the future of the workplace.

Join us for an insightful conversation on the challenges, victories, and next steps for women in the workforce.

The views expressed by our guest are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Catalyst. 

Host and guests 

 

Victoria Kuketz, Director, Corporate Engagement, Canada, Catalyst 

LinkedIn profile 

 

Emma Hinchliffe, Senior Writer, Fortune and Co-chair, Fortune Most Powerful Women 

Emma Hinchliffe is a senior writer at Fortune, where she covers women in business and gender issues across business, politics, and culture. Emma is the author of Most Powerful Women Daily (formerly the Broadsheet), Fortune’s daily newsletter for and about the women leading the business world. She is a co-chair of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, where she’s interviewed everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs and US politicians to Hollywood stars, and previously co-chaired Fortune’s MPW Next Gen Summit and the Fortune/US Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. Her work, which includes magazine features with subjects ranging from Meta and CVS Health to Canva and the WNBA, has been honored by the Silurians Press Club. Before joining Fortune, she worked as a reporter for Mashable and the Houston Chronicle. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

LinkedIn profile 

In this episode 

• 1:48 | Tell us about yourself! Emma talks about her work at Fortune and its longtime commitment to featuring women in business. 
• 3:10 | The comeback of “masculine energy?” 2025 started off with a surprising cultural shift—Emma and Victoria break it down. 
• 6:42 | Women leaders hit record high. Is the recent uptick in women leading Fortune 500 companies a trend or anomaly? 
• 9:10 | A positive trend for 2025: women’s sports. This fast-growing, high-impact audience is a big opportunity for brands. 
• 12:29 | The leading women in business. Emma breaks down some of her favorite profiles on influential women, including Savannah James and Emma Bates. 
• 17:17 | How does Fortune break with tradition? Emma talks about the impactful history of the Most Powerful Women community. 

Favorite moments

• 4:09 | Emma: When I think about “masculine energy,” it’s a pretty narrow definition of masculinity—This idea of aggression and bringing aggression into the workplace. I think we’ve seen a lot of positive depictions of masculinity over the past several years, whether it’s supportive spouses supporting their partners in their career, supportive fathers, or just men supporting women around them who they have no familial relationship to at all. 
• 9:15 | Emma: Well, sports has been a really interesting place over the past few years, because as a lot of folks have pointed out, while the legal landscape has changed, the research around what consumers want has not... It's an audience where you get a bang for your buck. The price tags on these spots and team sponsorships are still much, much lower than in men's sports, but they have really significant outcomes for businesses depending on what their business goals are. It is an area that is fast-growing and has a lot of potential for businesses. 
• 10:24 | Victoria: Women's sports is a space where women can recognize the opportunity to step up, support one another, and invest their dollars, intention, time, and attention into these initiatives. 
• 11:10 | Emma: When you're looking at the influencer landscape and influencer marketing, female athletes are the most effective category of influencer, bar none. They move product like no one else... And that's something about the respect that people have for female athletes. They know that they're up against challenges. And so, people really trust what these female athletes have to say, which is a huge opportunity for brands. 
• 14:36 | Victoria: In our modern day, we often define ourselves by what we do between 9 and 5, when in reality, our identities are so much more. And despite our progress, we still tend to undervalue the role that women who create successful homes play in our corporate spheres as well.