People (men and women) cannot live in 2026 but work as if it’s 1950.
Women’s leadership programs are becoming increasingly popular. Many renowned business schools and leadership coaches teach women how to progress into leadership, how to gain power, the capacity to influence, and status, the recognition of that power.
While personal and career development is certainly valuable, the approach to women’s leadership still feels as if we are 10 years behind and rooted in the “lean in” era, focused on teaching women how to systematically fix themselves, overcome their own limitations, and push forward.
The key difference today, compared to 10 years ago, is that we now have significantly more data and insight showing that the issue is not women: it is the system.
Women’s development programs often focus on fixing perceived gaps. This originates from how gender equality in the workplace is commonly understood: making women equal to men, rather than making men and women equal.
The distinction is important.
Make Women Equal to Men
This approach implies that women should be brought to the level of men. This is why many leadership programs focus on teaching women how to show confidence like men, demonstrate power like men, network like men, negotiate like men, and work like men.
The underlying model of a “successful leader” is still largely based on the definition of a “successful man”- shaped in 1950s when modern corporate structures and career paths were originally created.
This approach not only disadvantages today’s women, but also today’s men.
The workplace model of the 1950s is no longer suited to today’s reality.
Life today is fundamentally different: cities, connectivity, gender roles, economic conditions, affordability, family structures, and lifestyles have all evolved.
People (men and women) cannot live in 2026 but work as if it’s 1950.
Make Men and Women Equal
This approach starts from a different premise: placing both on equal footing by redefining the baseline itself.
It means enabling both women and men to show confidence, power, build networks, negotiate, and work within a broader and more realistic setup - one that reflects how life actually operates today.
It means acknowledging that:
most families require two incomes
commuting can be exhausting and time-consuming
extended family support is often limited
childcare is expensive
fathers want to be present in their children’s lives
modern life brings continuous connectivity and pressure
recovery and sustainability are essential, not optional
People (men and women) should live and work in 2026.
The outdated model persists not because it works, but despite the fact that it no longer does.
However, the forces keeping it in place are weakening - especially with the rise of Gen Z. Women and Gen Z together represent approximately 60–65% of the workforce, and the 1950s model simply does not work for them. This is consistently reflected in data across industries.
What has long been framed as “women’s gaps” is now also visible as “Gen Z gaps.”
Individually, these groups may appear to be outliers. Together, they represent the majority - and clearly reveal where the real misfit lies: in the system itself.
Now Add AI
Artificial intelligence is often presented as the defining force shaping the future of work. Today, it is primarily deployed as an optimization tool: improving efficiency, automating tasks, and reducing costs.
But AI also introduces a more fundamental opportunity: the ability to redesign how work is structured.
For the first time at scale, organizations can:
decouple tasks from rigid roles
enable more flexible and adaptive work models
personalize workflows and career paths
remove constraints embedded in legacy systems
AI can either amplify existing inefficiencies or become a catalyst for redesigning work around people. The difference lies in how it is applied.
From Adaptation to Redesign
The current model is built on continuous adaptation.
Women’s leadership programs reflect this, focusing on helping women adapt to a system that is already outdated for everyone.
But in a context defined by:
accelerating technology
a diversifying workforce
increasing systemic instability
this model is no longer sustainable.
What is needed is not more adaptation, but better design.
This means:
structurally integrating work and life for a diverse workforce
enabling non-linear career paths aligned with modern lifestyles
aligning performance with long-term sustainability and human–AI collaboration
designing systems that evolve with context, rather than relying on constant transformation.
The Way Forward
The future of work is not about fixing people. It’s about designing better systems for everyone.
And that starts with true Human Centricity, placing people at the center: women and men, younger and older generations, recognising their differences, but equal value.
Let reality, not inclusivity or adaptation, guide how we design work.
When systems are built on real human lives, inclusivity is no longer something to be added or managed - it becomes a natural outcome of good design.
The result will be better systems, better outcomes, and a more sustainable future for all.