A decade ago, in the peak 2010s, a woman couldn’t do anything without being labelled a ‘girlboss’. Inspired by the likes of Sophia Amoruso and Sheryl Sandberg, it was all about being self-made, powerful in the workplace and effortlessly chic while doing so. In more recent times, TikTok’s ‘corporate girl’ aesthetic has continued to project these polished images of Birkin-toting businesswomen who balance high-powered jobs with green juices and morning yoga flows.

However, when it comes to our perception of the actual behaviours that underpin these ‘aspirational’ states of being, it seems something isn’t quite matching up. 

According to a 2023 study, almost 90% of women say they are being penalised and undermined because of their achievements at work.

The Tallest Poppy study – named after the syndrome that occurs when people are attacked, resented, criticised or belittled because of their achievements or successes – heard from thousands of working women to determine how their mental health, wellbeing and performance are affected by interactions with their clients, colleagues and leaders surrounding their success and accomplishments.

It not only found that men in leadership positions were more likely to penalise or undermine women due to their success, but that this manifested in a number of different ways. In fact, 77% of respondents said that they had had their achievements downplayed, 72.4% had been left out of meetings and discussions and 66.1% said others had taken credit for their work.

Coupled with lower self-confidence, feelings of isolation and burnout, it’s clear that in addition to the gender pay gap, lack of maternity support and ‘wellbeing washing’, women continue to face barriers in their careers. The study confirmed that 85.6% of women said their stress had increased because of tall poppy syndrome, with 73.8% indicating that it had a negative impact on their mental health. 

So, you can keep the power suits and the rise-and-grind culture; it’s well past time we simply promoted qualified women into positions of power without making them feel shame or guilt about it.

Images: Getty