Latest / Women at Work: Career, Leadership & Modern Work / How the Visibility Debt Holds Women Back at Work
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about something I've been noticing in a lot of career conversations lately — this idea of 'visibility debt.' Luna: Visibility debt — that's a new one for me. What does it mean exactly? Lucas: It's the gap between the visibility you currently have and the visibility you need to get to the next level. And it's not just about being seen — it's about being seen doing the right kind of work. High-stakes projects, stretch assignments, the stuff that actually gets you promoted. Luna: Right, and I've read that women tend to hold back from raising their hand for those projects unless they feel 100% ready. Lucas: Exactly. A 2024 McKinsey report found that women apply for promotions only when they meet 100% of the listed qualifications. Men apply when they meet 60%. That's a self-inflicted visibility debt — and it starts early. Luna: So women are essentially waiting until they're overqualified before they even put themselves forward? Lucas: That's a good way to put it. And the problem compounds. Because while you're waiting to feel ready, your male colleagues are taking those visible projects, getting face time with executives, building that sponsorship network. By the time you feel ready, the opportunity has passed. Luna: There's a Harvard Business Review study that stuck with me — it showed that over a 30-year career, this kind of visibility gap can cost women something like 15% in lifetime earnings. Lucas: Fifteen percent — that's enormous. And it's not just about money. It's about the kind of work you're assigned. Women get pulled into what's called 'office housework' — the low-visibility, high-effort tasks that keep things running but don't lead to promotions. Taking meeting notes, planning the holiday party, onboarding new hires. Luna: We've talked about that in previous episodes. But I want to push back a little — isn't some of this about individual choice? Shouldn't we encourage women to just say yes to the scary projects? Lucas: I think that's part of it, but the research shows that the structure of the workplace itself creates the debt. For example, a Fortune 500 tech company I've been following tried a 'fast-track' program for high-potential employees. They initially asked for volunteers. Only 12% of applicants were women. Luna: Because women self-select out. Lucas: Exactly. So they changed the process. Instead of asking for volunteers, they had senior leaders nominate candidates. Suddenly, women made up 38% of the pipeline. The talent was there — the system was just designed to favour people who would raise their hand. Luna: That's a huge shift. So the solution isn't just telling women to be more confident — it's redesigning the process. Lucas: Right. And there are concrete things companies can do. One is structured sponsorship programs where senior leaders are explicitly tasked with identifying and advocating for women. Another is blind project assignments — where the project leader doesn't know the gender of the person they're assigning. Luna: I've seen that work in some engineering orgs. It cuts down on the assumption that the guy with the louder voice must be the better fit. Lucas: Exactly. And for individual women listening today, there are strategies too. One is to track your own visibility debt — literally keep a list of the projects you've taken on and note how much executive exposure each one gave you. If most of your work is low-visibility, you've got a debt to pay down. Luna: And then what? You just start saying no to the low-visibility stuff? Lucas: Partially. But it's also about reframing. When a low-visibility task comes your way, ask: 'Is this something I can delegate, or can I do it in a way that increases visibility?' For example, instead of taking meeting notes alone, offer to present the summary to the leadership team. That turns a hidden task into a visible one. Luna: That's clever. It's not about avoiding the work — it's about changing the packaging. Lucas: Exactly. And for managers listening, one of the most powerful things you can do is audit your own project assignment patterns. Look at who you're giving the stretch assignments to. If it's mostly men, you've got a visibility debt problem in your own team. Luna: I think a lot of managers don't realize they're doing it. It's not malicious — it's just that the confident person who speaks up in meetings gets the interesting work. Lucas: And that's why structured processes matter. When you leave it to gut feel, bias creeps in. The same Harvard Business Review study I mentioned earlier found that when companies used a formal nomination process for high-potential programs, the gender gap in participation dropped by over 50%. Luna: That's a pretty strong argument for taking the 'gut feel' out of talent decisions. Lucas: It really is. And I think there's a broader point here — visibility debt isn't just a women's issue. It affects anyone who isn't naturally self-promoting. But because women face additional headwinds — like the likeability penalty when they do self-promote — it hits them harder. Luna: Right, we've talked about that. The double bind where if you advocate for yourself, you're seen as aggressive, but if you don't, you're overlooked. Lucas: Exactly. So the system needs to change. And the good news is, it's not that hard. A simple change like requiring that every stretch assignment has at least one woman on the shortlist can make a huge difference. Luna: The Rooney Rule for projects. Lucas: Exactly. And it works. I've seen companies that adopted that rule and within two years, the gender balance on high-visibility projects shifted noticeably. Luna: So what's the one thing you'd want a listener to take away from this episode? Lucas: I think it's this: Visibility debt is real, but it's not inevitable. Whether you're an individual or a leader, you have the power to close the gap. For individuals, start tracking your visibility debt today. For leaders, start auditing your assignment patterns. Small changes can have outsized impact. Luna: And if you're a listener who found this conversation useful — if it helped you think about your own career or your team — that's exactly why we do this show. And the way we keep it ad-free is through listener support. Lucas: Yeah, if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep the conversation going without commercials. Luna: And every bit of support helps us keep digging into topics like this. So thank you if you've ever contributed. Lucas: Alright, so back to the research. One more study I want to mention — from the University of California, a study on 'performance review bias' found that women's reviews contained more references to their personality and less about their actual results. Luna: Which feeds into visibility debt, because if your reviews are full of fluff about being helpful, you're not getting the kind of feedback that helps you land the next big project. Lucas: Exactly. So the lesson is: pay attention not just to what work you take on, but to what the feedback says about you. If it's all about being a team player, you might be invisible to the people who matter. Luna: That's a sharp point. Visibility debt isn't just about the projects you take — it's about how you're perceived. Lucas: Right. And that's a topic for another episode. For now, I think we've given people a lot to think about. Luna: Absolutely. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna.