I didn’t expect to feel as seen as I did at the Thrive virtual event. And after taking some time to digest and make sense of the content, I’m ready to share my insights.
Going in, I thought it would be another professional development session—some solid insights and few takeaways. But instead, it felt like someone had taken all the quiet frustrations and contradictions so many women navigate at work and laid them bare with honesty, data, and—most importantly—hope.
The Unseen Weight We Carry
Michelle King's keynote resonated so much. She laid out what she calls the 17 barriers women face throughout their careers, grouped by the phases we move through: achievement, endurance, and contribution.
It started with the pressure to conform—how early in our careers, we’re met with conditioned expectations and the infamous confidence/competence catch-22. Speak up too much, and you're labeled. Say too little, and you're invisible. The bar moves constantly, and we’re supposed to meet it with a smile.
As we advance, those pressures don’t lift. They just change. I found myself nodding when she talked about the emotional labor women take on mid-career—not just at home, but in the office too. The endless Slack/teams messages of “Can I run this by you?” The unspoken expectation to be the team’s emotional anchor, the sounding board, the fixer. It can be exhausting—and invisible.
And even for women who’ve climbed to senior roles, the hurdles persist. Access to real leadership opportunities, navigating identity conflicts, and being sidelined by inner-circle favoritism. It’s like finally being allowed into the room, but being asked to stay quiet while others speak.
What really stopped me cold were the numbers: 59% of women reported harassment or microaggressions in the past year. That’s up from 52% the year before. And even more heartbreaking—93% of those who experience it believe their employer won’t take action. The same percentage of women fear that speaking up will hurt their careers.
It's not just about feeling unseen. It’s about being told, implicitly or explicitly, that our voices don’t matter.
What Does Accountability Look Like?
One concept that stayed with me was the A-C-M model of feedback. It’s simple, but powerful: we’re accountable not just when we apologize, but when we take real action to make things right—and then let ourselves (and others) move on.
This resonated not just as a framework for giving feedback, but for receiving it, too. How many times have we stumbled in our good intentions, said the wrong thing, or missed the cue—and then either over-apologized or disappeared out of guilt? There’s a better way. One that’s honest, human, and forward-looking.
Tools That Could Actually Help
And yes, there was also a look at tools—AI tools, specifically—for staffing and team productivity. Usually, this part of a conference can feel salesy or fluffy, but not here.
Tools like Tracker, which automates recruiting workflows and eliminates manual data entry, serve a similar purpose in the staffing world—freeing teams from the drag of admin work so they can spend more time connecting with people. If we can automate the administrative slog—emails, scheduling, repetitive coding—maybe we can finally reclaim some energy for strategic, creative, people-first work.
Honestly, that feels like a form of equity, too.
Tell the Story, Don’t Just Show the Stats
One final takeaway that really stuck: data is powerful, but stories move people. Nika White did an outstanding job of captivating a virtual audience.
Research shared during Thrive said that information shared in story form is 22x more memorable than when it's just presented as data. It makes sense. When someone shares a personal moment of exclusion, or a breakthrough conversation, or even a lesson learned the hard way—it lands differently.
The storytelling framework they suggested—clarity, connection, conflict, and change—felt less like a formula and more like a mindset. It reminded me to start with why, to bring people into the moment, and to always point to the possibility of something better.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I walked away from Thrive feeling equal parts fired up and reflective. The barriers are real. The weight is heavy. But there are tools, frameworks, and people who are building something better—and inviting others to do the same. Community matters, and having a professional support system both inside and outside of your organization is key. No one walks their journey alone.
If you're reading this and nodding—even just a little—I hope it reminds you that you’re not imagining it. And you’re not alone. There’s work to do, yes. But there’s also support, language, and momentum. When one woman stands strong in her convictions, it creates space for the next woman to do the same.
We don’t have to settle for just surviving the workplace. We deserve to thrive in it.
THANK YOU ASA for this amazing opportunity, and all the planning that went into such an impactful event!