When High Performance Becomes a Liability for Women

Around 76% of high-performing women receive negative feedback compared to only 2% of men—and it may be driving them to quit - Fortune

The article above was published on my birthday last year. 

And honestly, it was a gift. It made me feel less alone. 

The truth of it was demoralizing, but I had been living that exact experience for the past year.

While delivering more impact than ever before — I was also receiving more negative feedback than I’d ever had and, like the article suggests—eventually I quit. 

There’s a lot to unpack there, but I want to spotlight a part of the female experience that’s not highlighted enough:

Often, the better you perform, the less fairly you’re treated.

We assume companies want great work done quickly and effectively. But so many women learn the hard way that it’s not always that simple — especially when they’re the ones delivering the results.

For men, the professional sequence often looks like this:

1️⃣ Deliver strong results

2️⃣ Receive recognition

3️⃣ Advance

For women, it often looks like this:

1️⃣ Deliver strong results

2️⃣ Face scrutiny

3️⃣ Get pushed out

That third step — the quiet exit or forced hand — is especially painful because it happens in the political realm, a place where many women are uncomfortable or at a disadvantage. Male-to-male relationships still hold disproportionate power, leaving women to defend their worth in data-driven terms rather than being trusted for their leadership.

And that space — where you’re constantly defending your value — is quitting territory.

Because high-performing women don’t want to argue for their place. They want to lead, to build, to create.

And when the system punishes them for doing exactly that, it’s not just the women who lose — it’s the organizations, the teams, and the culture that could have thrived under their leadership.