When women are visible, they make space for others
A new report proposes visibility as a form of activism to challenge gender inequality.
Antonia Taylor’s Being Seen explores the hidden cost of invisibility for women in the workplace and makes a compelling argument for professional visibility as a leadership imperative.
The report calls out the cultural contradictions, emotional labour and systemic bias that shape how women show up, or are shut out, at work. It shares the lived realities of self-censorship, backlash and psychological safety gaps, alongside the emotional calculus women perform before speaking on a panel or posting on LinkedIn.
Being Seen cites the Socially Mobile Missing Women, which identified nearly 4,000 mid-career female practitioners who have left the public relations industry in England and Wales. It’s stark evidence of the systemic barriers at play.
Antonia is a passionate advocate for women’s visibility, leadership and equity in the workplace. She writes about these issues on a brilliant Substack. Her message is clear: visibility is about ensuring your value is recognised before someone else defines it for you.
Visibility reframes the confidence narrative
Being Seen directly challenges the argument that women need to “believe in themselves.” That framing individualises a structural and societal issue, implying the solution lies in women adjusting their mindset, rather than organisations changing their culture.
Visibility, by contrast, is an act of agency within a system not built for women. It doesn’t ask them to change. It challenges the environments that punish them for speaking up, standing out, or taking space.
What’s inspiring about this report is its methodology and solution focus. Antonia has sought out the voices of eight senior leaders who’ve cultivated a visibility that works for them.
“The thread that runs through? How they’ve championed women in the workplace and used their platforms to amplify other women’s voices - creating more space for female stories to drive change,” said Antonia.
How to build visibility on your own terms
The report’s strength lies in its practicality. The women share how they’ve navigated the issue:
Integrate visibility into daily work, don’t bolt it on
Share intentionally, not performatively
Use channels that energise you and not the ones that exhaust you
Set boundaries. Visibility isn’t oversharing
Treat it as leadership and not self-promotion
What men can do
Visibility isn’t just a woman’s issue, and neither is the responsibility for fixing it. Men in leadership and peer roles have an important part to play in creating the conditions to support women.
This means actively sponsoring women. It means amplifying women’s contributions in meetings, challenging bias when it appears, and sharing their platforms to normalise diverse voices at every level.
True allyship goes beyond support. It requires men to examine how they show up, when they step aside, and how they help make space for others to be seen.
Visibility as activism
A powerful line in the report comes from Tamu Thomas, a leadership coach, speaker, and author:
“Women being visible is activism. It normalises other women being visible.”
In a world that too often sidelines, sanitises or silences women’s voices, showing up, fully and unapologetically, becomes an act of resistance.
