When Choice Isn't Really Choice: What Organisations Don't Tell Women About Career Decisions

"You only have two choices - yes or no."

I used to believe this. But after years of strategic advisory work, I've realised how this oversimplifies the complex architecture of organisational decision-making - for women, women of colour and especially Black women.

The Illusion

Picture a compensation discussion. You believe you have options: accept the offer, negotiate for more, or decline and walk away. But often, the outcome is predetermined. Your "choice" is simply how you'll engage with an already-made decision. For women, these predetermined outcomes often carry career-defining consequences.

The Hidden Framework

What looks like choice is often a carefully designed system where both "yes" and "no" lead to predetermined outcomes. For women, particularly women of colour and Black women, these pathways become more constrained as we progress.

Consider the classic scenarios: the "development opportunity" that takes you off your intended path, or the DEI initiative you're "perfect to lead" regardless of your expertise. Perhaps it's that sideways move promising "great exposure" while limiting your growth, or the flexible arrangement that comes with hidden penalties.

The Pattern

This isn't random. The architecture of choice reveals itself in who gets asked versus told, who can decline without consequences, and who's labelled "difficult" for the same decisions others are celebrated for. Look at senior leadership demographics, VC funding patterns, and board representation - they tell a consistent story about who gets a real choice.

It's why so many women, particularly Black women, either leave corporate roles or maintain side hustles. When choice is predominantly an illusion, agency demands alternative paths.

The Strategic Reality

Understanding this architecture doesn't mean accepting it. While we might not always have choice, we do have agency. This means recognising predetermined outcomes, building strategic support networks, and understanding the landscape before responding. Most importantly, it means creating our own pathways where existing ones constrain us.

The Way Forward

For women navigating these systems, the key lies in questioning the urgency of decisions and identifying the real outcomes behind each option. It's about building support networks that understand these dynamics and using agency strategically where choice is limited.

This isn't about accepting limitations - it's about understanding the architecture so we can navigate it more effectively while working to transform it.

Because the most powerful force for change? Women who understand these systems and use their agency to create new paths.

#genderequity

#systemicchange

#catalyst

Leanne Mair is the Founder and CEO of Benefactum Consulting, a consultancy focussed on accelerating gender equity in the workplace through strategic advisory and system transformation and the Founder of The Sororum, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting first-generation female professionals moving into the workplace.

Named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Gender Equity 2023, Leanne hosts 'Architecture of Change', a weekly show deconstructing systems and designing solutions for equity.

Get a copy of her groundbreaking book here: Closing the Gap: How to Include Black Women in Any Gender Equity Strategy