Women at Work with Fexingo: Gender, Leadership, and Career Conversations for Women

Lucas and Luna explore the halo effect and how it disproportionately harms women in leadership. Using the example of a female executive whose one negative performance area colored all her reviews, they discuss how cognitive bias leads to unfair assessments. They share research from Harvard Business Review showing that men are more likely to be evaluated on specific achievements, while women face g...

Episode 56 of Women at Work with Fexingo explores the 'idea apology' phenomenon: why women often preface their contributions with hedging language like 'this might be a bad idea' or 'I'm not sure if this works.' Lucas and Luna break down a 2025 study from the Journal of Applied Psychology showing that women use such qualifiers 40% more often than men in brainstorming meetings, and that even when t...

This episode of Women at Work with Fexingo explores the mental load penalty—the invisible, unpaid cognitive labor women disproportionately shoulder in the workplace. Lucas and Luna unpack a 2023 Harvard Business Review study that found women in dual-career couples spend 18 percent more time on household management tasks, and how that pattern shows up in offices: tracking project details, schedulin...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the well-documented pattern of women being interrupted more frequently in workplace conversations—and the career costs that accumulate over time. They cite a 2014 study from Georgetown University showing that men interrupt women 33 percent more often than they interrupt other men. The hosts discuss why interruption isn't just rude but a power move that under...

Episode 53 of Women at Work with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore how subtle, repeated microaggressions — like being interrupted, having your ideas ignored then credited to a man, or being mistaken for a junior employee — create a cognitive and emotional drain that damages women's career momentum. They reference a 2025 study from the University of California Berkeley showing that women in mid-caree...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the likeability penalty — the double bind women face when they are competent but not warm, or warm but not competent. Using a specific 2024 study from Harvard Business School that analyzed performance reviews across 200 companies, they break down how women receive 2.5 times more critical feedback on personality traits than men d...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the sponsorship gap—a career accelerator that women often miss out on. While mentorship offers advice, sponsorship involves senior leaders actively advocating for promotions and opportunities. Lucas shares data from a 2023 McKinsey report showing women are 30% less likely than men to have a sponsor, and the gap widens for women...

In this milestone 50th episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the 'double bind' of competence bias: how women are often judged as either likable or capable, but rarely both — and the thinner margin for error women face compared to men. Drawing on a 2023 McKinsey & LeanIn. Org study that found women leaders are 1.5 times more likely to receive critical feedback on their commu...

Episode 49 of Women at Work with Fexingo digs into the flexibility stigma: the hidden career penalty women face when they negotiate remote or part-time schedules. Lucas cites a 2024 Harvard Business School experiment showing that candidates who asked for flexibility were rated 12% less committed and offered 8% lower starting salaries — even when their productivity was identical. Luna shares how on...

Episode 48 of Women at Work examines why the 'feedback sandwich' — criticism cushioned between two compliments — backfires for women in the workplace. Lucas and Luna break down a 2023 study by the University of Texas showing that women who receive feedback sandwiched by praise are 34 percent less likely to be promoted than men receiving the same structure. They explore the double bind women face:...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dig into the well-documented phenomenon where women only apply for jobs when they meet 100 percent of the qualifications, while men apply when they meet 60 percent. They explore the research from Hewlett Packard that first revealed this gap, discuss why the confidence gap is only part of the story, and offer practical strategies for job...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore why women often receive less actionable feedback than men, a phenomenon called the feedback gap. Drawing on a 2024 study from the Harvard Business Review, they explain how vague praise and personality-focused criticism hold women back from promotions and skill development. The hosts discuss real-world consequences, from stalled...

Episode 45 digs into a quiet but costly pattern: the confidence gap. Lucas and Luna discuss new research from the Kapor Center showing that women decline job offers they are qualified for 40 percent more often than men, typically because they underestimate their own skills. They also examine how this gap shows up in salary negotiations, with women asking for a raise 15 percent less frequently than...

Episode 44 of Women at Work with Fexingo examines the networking double standard—where women are seen as 'schmoozing' while men are 'building relationships.' Lucas and Luna unpack a 2025 Harvard Business School study showing that women who network proactively receive 30% lower performance ratings than men who do the same. They discuss the 'warmth-competence' trade-off, real-world tactics like the...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how affinity bias—the tendency to favour people who remind us of ourselves—quietly shapes hiring and promotion decisions. They break down a 2023 Harvard Business Review study showing that women are 35% less likely to receive a call back when their resume signals a non-traditional background for the role. Lucas shares the story o...

Performance reviews are supposed to be objective, but research shows women consistently receive lower ratings than equally qualified men, even when their actual output is identical. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into a 2023 study of 45,000 professionals that found women's reviews contain 2.5 times more personality criticism than men's, while men's reviews focus on technical skills. They expl...

Episode 41 of Women at Work with Fexingo tackles the 'maternal wall' — the bias that mothers face in the workplace, from being seen as less competent to being passed over for promotions. Lucas and Luna explore a 2025 study from Cornell University showing that mothers are 79% less likely to be recommended for a leadership role compared to equally qualified non-mothers, even when their performance m...

In this episode of Women at Work with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the persistent salary negotiation gap where women often wait to state their ask, letting the employer anchor the offer. They break down the research from Carnegie Mellon and a 2024 Indeed survey showing women who negotiate first earn 5-8% more on average. The hosts discuss practical strategies like using market data as an anchor...

Episode 39 of Women at Work with Fexingo explores the 'Resilience Penalty' — the expectation that women absorb chronic workplace stress without complaint. Lucas and Luna unpack a study from the University of California showing that women who exhibit resilience get assigned 30% more crisis work than men with similar roles, and face subtle backlash when they set boundaries. They trace the pattern th...

Lucas and Luna explore the concept of the 'visibility debt' — the tendency for women to hesitate before volunteering for high-stakes projects. They anchor the discussion in a 2024 McKinsey report showing that women apply for promotions only when they meet 100% of qualifications, while men apply at 60%. Lucas shares a specific case from a Fortune 500 tech firm where a 'fast-track' program doubled w...

Episode 37 of Women at Work with Fexingo explores the delegation gap: the subtle but powerful pattern where women leaders are assigned fewer high-impact projects and more operational work than their male peers. Lucas and Luna unpack a 2025 McKinsey study showing that women in leadership receive 30% fewer stretch assignments, and discuss how this compounds over time to stall careers. They examine w...

Episode 36 of Women at Work with Fexingo explores the 'office housework penalty' — the unpaid, low-visibility tasks like taking notes, planning parties, and onboarding that women disproportionately get assigned, and how that drags down their career progression. Lucas and Luna break down a 2018 Harvard Business Review study showing that women volunteer for these tasks 48% more often than men, and a...

In this episode of Women at Work, Lucas and Luna explore the phenomenon of office housework—the invisible, low-visibility tasks like taking notes, organizing team events, and scheduling that women disproportionately get asked to do. They discuss the career cost of these tasks, why women say yes more often, and what leaders and individuals can do to redistribute the load. Listeners will learn one c...

Episode 34 of Women at Work with Fexingo examines a subtle but chronic drain on women's workplace energy: the banter tax. Lucas and Luna dig into a 2025 study from Georgetown's McDonough School of Business that tracked 1,400 women across six industries and found they spend an average of 9 minutes per meeting deciphering or deflecting informal male-dominated humor — adding up to nearly 40 hours a y...

Lucas and Luna explore the habit of over-apologizing among women in professional settings, backed by research from linguist Deborah Tannen. They discuss how phrases like 'sorry to bother you' or 'I hate to ask' undermine authority, and offer practical swaps like replacing 'sorry' with 'thank you.' The episode highlights a 2018 study from the Journal of Social Psychology showing women say sorry 37%...