The Work Behind the Work: Staying Engaged When It All Feels Hard
A reflection on perspective, persistence, and navigating the challenges of gender equality work
It’s a LOT right now.
The noise is constant. The environment we’re operating in feels increasingly complex. Priorities are shifting, conversations are becoming more polarised, and the pace of change continues to accelerate. Within that context, the work of gender equality hasn’t become easier. If anything, it has become more layered, more nuanced, and at times, harder to navigate.
Through our work at The 100% Project, and in conversations with organisations across Australia, this comes up often. For many people working in this space, the challenge isn’t just the work itself, but the context in which it sits - environments where progress is uneven, competing priorities are real, and change doesn’t always show up where we expect it to.
There are moments when it feels exhausting.
What I’ve come to realise, however, is that staying engaged in this work isn’t about finding more energy. It’s about how we interpret the moments when the work feels hardest - and what we choose to come back to when it does.
Psychology tells us that the way we interpret challenges shapes whether we stay engaged or begin to disengage. In particular, we tend to frame setbacks as pervasive, permanent, or personal. When all three interpretations take hold at once, everything can feel heavier and more overwhelming than it actually is.
What has become increasingly clear to me is that when this work feels hardest, it’s not always because the work itself has changed. More often, it’s because our interpretation of it has shifted - shaped not only by our internal mindset, but by the environments we’re working within. When progress is slow or uneven, those environments can reinforce the sense that the challenge is everywhere, enduring, or ours alone to carry.
When that happens, there are a few perspectives I deliberately return to.
Progress is being made
When progress feels slow, it’s easy to start believing that nothing is working - that the challenge is all encompassing and meaningful change isn’t happening. This is where a sense of pervasiveness becomes most visible, expanding a specific frustration into a much broader narrative about the state of everything.
And yet, when I step back and look more carefully, that narrative doesn’t hold.
I see the continued growth of women’s sport, where girls now have visible, professional pathways that simply didn’t exist a generation ago. I see organisations beginning to rethink roles, redesign systems, and challenge assumptions about what leadership looks like in practice. I see women leaders across a wide range of environments being respected for their skills and contributions.
Progress isn’t universal, and it’s rarely fast. But it is happening.
Progress moves in cycles
There are moments when it can feel as though the opportunity for progress has passed - that attention has shifted and the momentum we once felt is gone. In those moments, challenges can start to feel permanent, as though the current state represents a fixed outcome rather than part of an evolving process.
In reality, social change rarely follows a straight line. It tends to move in cycles, where periods of progress are followed by resistance, recalibration, and continued effort.
Recognising this doesn’t minimise the challenge. But it does help us understand that where we are now isn’t where we’ll always be.
Everyone plays a role
“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.” - Anita Roddick
This quote has stayed with me because it reshapes what meaningful contribution looks like.
When something matters deeply, it can begin to feel personal - as though you’re responsible for carrying it forward. Over time, that can create the sense that the work is all on you.
But change rarely happens through one defining moment or one individual effort. It’s the result of consistent, cumulative action - many people contributing in different ways, within their own spheres of influence.
The people I most admire in this space aren’t trying to do everything. They’re doing something - deliberately and persistently.
For me, the shift has been moving away from carrying the work, and towards understanding where I have agency within it. That agency might feel small at times, but persistence has a way of building impact.
It’s okay to say that this is hard
There’s a tendency in conversations about gender equality to stay optimistic, solutions focused, and always moving forward. That matters - but it can also make it harder to be honest about the reality that sometimes, this work is difficult.
Acknowledging that isn’t stepping back from the work. It’s part of what makes progress possible.
When we create space to say, “this is hard,” we also create the conditions for more open and honest conversations. And those conditions - psychological safety - are critical if we want people to challenge norms, take risks, and engage meaningfully in change.
This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s what the evidence consistently shows. The 100% Project’s research highlights that when psychological safety is present, people are far more likely to step into non traditional roles, whether that’s men taking parental leave or women navigating complex leadership positions.
Building psychological safety isn’t simple. It takes time, consistency, and often a willingness to challenge deeply embedded norms.
You see it in everyday moments - who speaks up in meetings, who puts themselves forward for opportunities, who decides it feels safe enough to challenge the status quo. For leaders, this raises an important question: what are the signals in your environment that tell people it’s safe to do that?
This isn’t a zero sum game
At times, the conversation around gender equality can feel like it’s pulling in different directions - particularly as we talk more about the challenges facing men and boys alongside ongoing gender inequity.
And while this isn’t a zero sum game, it can feel like one in practice, especially in organisations navigating competing priorities, limited resources, and shifting expectations.
But framing it that way isn’t just unhelpful - it actively holds progress back.
Gender inequality isn’t simply about individual choices. It’s about the structures and expectations that shape behaviour in the first place: what’s rewarded, what’s normalised, and what feels possible.
The goal has always been to shape those structures so they work better for everyone - where men feel supported to take parental leave without stigma, where women can step into leadership without disproportionate risk, and where workplaces reflect the realities of people’s lives.
Research continues to show that when these conditions improve, the benefits are shared - across individuals, families, and organisations alike.
This isn’t about choosing sides. It’s about building better systems. And it’s about moving away from seeing gender equality as something that has to be constantly fought for or defended, and instead seeing it as ongoing, collective work.
Reframing
The challenge isn’t just the work itself. It’s learning how to stay engaged with it - even when it feels harder than we expected.
Maybe the goal isn’t to make this work feel easy at all - but to build the perspective and conditions that allow us to keep doing it anyway.
Because progress rarely comes from a single breakthrough or a single voice. It comes from consistency. From small, sustained efforts. From people continuing to show up - thoughtfully and persistently - even when the path forward isn’t clear.
If this resonates, start by noticing where these patterns show up: in your own thinking, in team conversations, and in the decisions you make as a leader.
And if you want to go deeper, explore The 100% Project’s latest research and join the conversation about what it takes to build workplaces where everyone can succeed.
References
The 100% Project. (2025). The Invisible Man: Masculine archetypes in the media. The 100% Project.
The 100% Project. (2024). Men and inclusive workplace practices: One size doesn’t fit all. The 100% Project.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. Vintage Books.
Australian Football League. (2026). Women & Girls Action Plan: Participation and leadership growth outcomes. AFL.
Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.
