Ahead of our latest episode on The Blueprint for Building Great Teams with Jenny Jarvis, COO of Energy Saving Trust and author of Lead with Confidence, we asked a simple question:
A woman and a man step into the same leadership role. What’s actually different?
The results were more divided than we expected.
- Nothing, it’s 2026 – 35%
- She’s judged faster – 11%
- She’s judged differently – 16%
- Both of the above – 38%
At first glance, the results seem obvious. Nearly two thirds of respondents believe there is still some difference in how women experience leadership positions.
What surprised us most was the number of people who chose “Nothing, it’s 2026”. Of the 19 people who chose that option, 16 were men and 3 were women.
It’s a small sample, so we’re not suggesting it represents the wider workforce. But it does raise an interesting question. Are men and women experiencing today’s workplaces differently, or are they simply seeing them through different lenses?
That question sits at the heart of our conversation with Jenny Jarvis.
“For me, the challenge isn’t capability, it’s how confidence and expectations shape what others see in leadership. We’ve made real progress – but until leadership feels the same from every seat, the conversation isn’t finished.”
Rather than arguing that women aren’t capable of leading, Jenny’s point is that perception still shapes leadership experiences. During the episode, she talks about how women can be labelled as either “too soft” or “too aggressive”, and why she believes many face a confidence gap rather than a capability gap.
Whether people agree with that assessment or not, it shifts the conversation in an interesting direction. The debate moves away from whether women can do the job and towards how confidence, perception and expectations influence leadership journeys.
The poll results suggest there is no single answer that reflects everyone’s experience.
What the poll results do highlight is that this conversation remains highly relevant. If 35% of people believe the issue has largely disappeared while 65% believe there is still a difference, then organisations can’t assume everyone sees leadership through the same lens.
The conversation around leadership, confidence and perception is clearly still evolving. The responses suggest progress has been made, but they also show there is no universal agreement on how much has changed or what challenges remain. This is why Jenny says she wrote her book ‘Lead with Confidence’, to keep supporting women to have the aspirations and confidence to advance through leadership pathways, so that they can truly be part of the conversation.
And perhaps that’s exactly why conversations like this matter. Not because everyone agrees, but because they don’t.
If you’d like to hear Jenny’s thoughts in full, you can listen to the latest episode of The Blueprint for Building Great Teams on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
