From Women’s Lib to Women’s Depletion

How modern success for women became unsustainable—and what comes next

There is a quiet, uncomfortable truth that more and more women are beginning to feel—but few are saying out loud.

We have more opportunity, more independence and more visible “success” than any generation before us…

And yet, so many women feel exhausted, disconnected, and like they are holding their lives together by sheer force.

Not because we are doing anything wrong.

But because the model of success we have inherited was never designed for us to truly thrive within it.

It’s worth pausing to reflect on how we got here.

Because the reality many women are living today—highly capable, outwardly successful, yet internally depleted—did not happen by accident.

It is the result of decades of progress layered on top of a model that was never fundamentally redesigned.

Women’s Liberation → Access

The 1960s and 70s marked the beginning of the second-wave feminist movement.

The focus was clear:

• Equal pay

• Access to careers

• Anti-discrimination

And it worked.

Women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers, stepping into professions and roles that were previously closed to them.

The Power Suit Era → Assimilation

By the late 70s and 80s, women were climbing the corporate ladder.

But there was an unspoken condition:

To succeed, women had to adapt to the existing model.

A model built on:

• long hours

• constant output

• emotional suppression

• masculine-coded leadership traits

The “Have It All” Era → Expansion Without Redesign

In the 90s and early 2000s, the narrative evolved again.

Women were now expected to:

• build careers

• raise families

• maintain relationships

• and do it all seamlessly

And this is where something critical was missed.

Women were given access to the system…
But the system itself was never redesigned.

So what we have now is a generation of women who are:

Extraordinarily capable
Highly accomplished
Outwardly successful

But internally…

Operating in a constant state of depletion.

We’ve become incredibly good at surviving.

But not thriving.

I see it every day.

Women who know their work inside out—but hesitate to speak.
Women whose nervous systems are so overloaded that their capacity is questioned.
Women who override rest, not because they want to—but because they fear being seen as not committed enough.

And when things don’t change, women assume the problem is them.

So we introduce surface-level solutions:

• quotas

• initiatives

• symbolic recognition

But these don’t address the root cause.

The real issue is this:

The model of success we are operating within prioritises:

• output over energy

• endurance over alignment

• performance over presence

And it is no longer sustainable.

But there is a shift happening.

More and more women are recognising that something needs to change—not incrementally, but fundamentally.

What is required is not more effort.

It’s a return.

A return to:

• our own rhythms

• our own needs and desires

• our intuition

• an understanding of our energy and how to work with it

• boundaries

• and a more sustainable way of living and leading

We are at a turning point.

And what comes next will require something different.

A different way of thinking.
A different way of leading.
A different relationship to energy, capacity and self.

This is what I call the Feminine Intelligence Era.

Not something to admire from a distance.

But something to live.

To embody.

To integrate in a real and practical way.

This is the work I do with women and organisations ready for a different way of operating.