Gender Balance: What If the Problem Isn't Out There, But In Here?
When we talk about gender balance in the workplace, we usually mean the numbers: how many women versus men are in leadership, on teams, at the table. The conversation often centers on conflicts, stereotypes, power imbalances, injustice, and sexism.
All of that matters. But I want to offer a different perspective.
What if gender balance was also a state of being? What if we had more control over it than we think?
For me, this issue can be tackled from within, at an individual level. What resonates for me is how we can access both masculine and feminine energies within ourselves as human beings to step into our power, communicate effectively, and collaborate more authentically.
Let me explain what I mean and why it changed everything for me.
@alexpadurariu
An Unexpected Lesson from Acupuncture
A few years ago, I was struggling with anxiety. I tried acupuncture, which led me to discover Traditional Chinese Medicine, a healing approach that originated in China thousands of years ago.
It stems from Taoist philosophy, which believes that all of the body's organs mutually support each other. To be healthy, our organs and their functions must be in balance. This balance is attained by harmonising yin and yang which are two opposing but complementary energies thought to affect all life.
According to this theory, vital energy (called "qi" or "chi") flows throughout the body via certain pathways. Disease and other emotional, mental, and physical health problems develop when the flow of qi is blocked, weak, or excessive. Restoring this flow is considered essential to achieving wellness.
This got me thinking: Could wellness be the ability to adjust one's state of being to find balance?
And could this same principle apply to how we show up in our professional and personal lives?
Yin and Yang: Not About Gender, About Energy
In this framework, "yin" refers to feminine energy and "yang" refers to masculine energy. A balance of both leads to harmony within.
Sounds simple. It's incredibly difficult to achieve because most of us naturally lean more toward one side than the other.
While this brings us benefits in many situations, it can be a disservice when we're in a situation that requires the opposite energy – one we're not so comfortable accessing.
Here's what this looks like in practice:
Feminine Energy (Yin): If you're looking to run more mindful one-on-ones and develop deeper connections, you need to be emotionally available, slow down, listen with compassion, and create a safe space. To create this type of connection, you need to access your feminine energy – regardless of your gender.
Masculine Energy (Yang): If you're looking to take a seat at the table, convince someone in a leadership meeting, or step into your power and grow in influence, you need to be more assertive and direct. This requires accessing your masculine energy – again, regardless of your gender.
My Own Struggle with Balance
When I was in tech sales, I learned to lean heavily on my masculine energy. I worked in a male-dominated environment, so I adapted. I became more direct, assertive, competitive, results-driven.
It had benefits at work. But it created major drawbacks in my relationships outside of work. I wasn't good at adjusting to a more balanced state in other situations. I brought that same driving, doing, achieving energy everywhere – and it exhausted both me and the people around me.
Then I went through a phase of swinging too far the other way, giving all my power away, being overly accommodating and losing my voice entirely and my way in my feminine energy.
The key is finding balance. And that can be hard to do when we have had to rely on one another as a coping mechanism all our life!
Understanding the Spectrum
In my eyes, feminine and masculine energy doesn't mean being female or male. Regardless of gender, we all have both energies within us.
Think of them as polarities along a continuum of behavioural traits:
Feminine/Yin traits: Being, receiving, intuitive, emotional, collaborative, nurturing, flowing, reflective
Yang/Masculine traits: Doing, giving, logical, rational, competitive, protective, structured, action-oriented
We all tend to lead more with one than the other. There's no right or wrong. The only thing to avoid is being in a continuous fixed and extreme state at either end, as this can lead to dysfunctional patterns.
What Being in Your Power Actually Means
Being in your power isn't about always being strong, assertive, and in control (that's unbalanced masculine). It's also not about always being soft, accommodating, and receptive (that's unbalanced feminine).
Being in your power is having the flexibility to access both energies and adjust to what the situation requires.
It's knowing when to push forward and when to pause. When to speak and when to listen. When to give and when to receive. When to act and when to simply be.
This is what wellness actually looks like – the ability to adjust your state of being to match what's needed.
A Different Way to Think About Gender at Work
Instead of looking at men and women in the workplace as a duality – one versus the other – what if we considered men and women as equals who may simply be more comfortable with one type of energy than another?
Both have the ability to adjust. We're just not always used to it.
This mindset brings more parity between genders because it invites curiosity instead of judgment. It becomes both parties' responsibility to adjust to find a place that feels comfortable for authentic communication and collaboration.
The more comfortable we become adjusting along the spectrum, the better equipped we are to reduce gaps in communication, collaboration, and understanding different perspectives.
Your Self-Insights for This Week
As you move through the coming days, notice:
Where do you naturally tend to be on this spectrum? Are you more comfortable in your masculine or feminine energy?
What situations require you to access your less comfortable energy? How does that feel?
When have you been most in your power? What energies were you accessing?
What would shift if you gave yourself permission to adjust more fluidly between these energies?
This isn't about changing who you are. It's about expanding your range so you can show up fully in all situations.
If you believe change is possible, and are curious for more information to support your self-discovery journey, follow me on Youtube, LinkedIn and visit The Self-Science Lab for more info.
Join my Reset and Rise weekly workshops or book a discovery call to see if 1:1 coaching might support your transition.
Lauren Cartigny, an ICF certified professional coach
Lauren specializes in individual, leadership, team, and organizational coaching, and is the founder of The Self-Science Lab Ltd, a community of conscious professionals on a self-discovery journey to transform the quality of their work and home lives.