HUSTLE AND GLOW · WORKPLACE CULTURE

Politics already shapes pay, promotions and power at work, so why are women still being told not to discuss it?

I was taught two things early in my career.

Don't discuss religion at work.

And whatever you do, don't discuss politics.

The advice came from senior colleagues, employers, and eventually business networking groups. I remember being told the same thing when I joined BNI. Keep politics and religion out of the room.

Religion? I understand the sensitivity.

But politics?

That one never made sense to me.

If I'm considering going into business with someone, wouldn't I want to understand their values? If I'm spending eight hours a day working alongside people, wouldn't I want to know what kind of world they believe in creating?

And if a company is making decisions that affect my livelihood, shouldn't I be allowed to question the thinking behind them?

Apparently, that makes people uncomfortable.

Well, buckle up.

Politics Is Already in the Office. We Just Pretend It Isn't.

Let's establish something before somebody starts clutching their corporate handbook.

I'm not suggesting that your Monday morning meeting should turn into a campaign rally.

Nobody needs to be cornered at the coffee machine at 8:45 a.m. while a colleague delivers an unsolicited lecture about their preferred political party.

And nobody should feel pressured to disclose their political beliefs to their employer.

But there's a significant difference between respecting boundaries and pretending politics doesn't affect our working lives.

Because it does.

Our salaries are political.

Maternity leave is political.

Childcare is political.

Flexible working arrangements are political.

Who gets promoted, who gets heard, who gets interrupted, and who gets described as difficult are all connected to power.

And power, my friends, is political.

So perhaps the real question isn't whether politics belongs in the office.

Perhaps it's why women have been taught to pretend it isn't already there.

"I'm Not Really a Feminist."

Oh, this one.

I've heard it from younger women, older women, and women who have spent their entire professional lives benefiting from rights that previous generations fought to secure.

"I'm not really a feminist."

And I always want to ask the same question.

Which part?

Equal pay?

Equal opportunity?

Equal legal rights?

Equal access to leadership?

Which part of that arrangement are we rejecting?

Somewhere along the way, feminism became a word that people react to before examining what it means.

It became easier to attack the label than to confront the inequality.

And yes, feminists disagree with one another. Put five feminists in a room and you could leave with eleven opinions.

That's fine.

Women are not one political bloc with matching handbags.

But the basic principle that women should enjoy equal rights and opportunities shouldn't be particularly revolutionary in 2026.

Yet somehow, here we are.

The Convenient Culture of Not Discussing Salaries

I spent years working in corporate America, and one message was particularly familiar.

We don't discuss salaries.

You don't ask.

You don't compare.

You certainly don't make anybody uncomfortable by bringing up money.

What an extraordinarily convenient arrangement.

Especially for the people who might be earning considerably more than you.

Think about the logic.

If nobody talks, nobody knows.

If nobody knows, nobody questions.

And if nobody questions, the arrangement can continue exactly as it is.

How lovely for everyone benefiting from that silence.

Salary transparency isn't about creating workplace drama. It's about having access to information.

And information matters.

If you're a senior employee discovering that someone with substantially less experience earns more than you, that's worth examining.

There might be legitimate explanations, including different responsibilities, market conditions, or specialist skills.

But you should be able to ask the question.

You cannot question an inequality you are never allowed to see.

And while we're here, can we retire the idea that simply discussing money is somehow unprofessional?

Pay is one of the fundamental terms of employment.

Why should understanding it be considered inappropriate?

Who Gets Called Ambitious, and Who Gets Called Difficult?

Here's another workplace conversation I find fascinating.

A man challenges a decision.

He's confident.

A woman challenges the same decision.

She's difficult.

A man communicates his ambitions.

He's going places.

A woman communicates hers.

She's a little too ambitious.

Sound familiar?

Of course, not every disagreement or difficult workplace relationship is an example of sexism. Context matters.

But the language we use to describe leadership deserves closer examination.

Who gets praised for being assertive?

Who gets criticized for being demanding?

Who is expected to soften their message?

And who gets to speak plainly without being told to reconsider their tone?

These are not abstract political questions.

They're everyday workplace experiences.

The office is one of the places where women demonstrate intelligence, judgment, expertise, boundaries, and leadership.

It's also where those qualities can be challenged.

And when that happens, I think we have a responsibility to ask why.

Your Company's Values Are Not the Words on Its Website

I love a beautifully written company values statement.

Equality. Integrity. Inclusion. Respect.

Wonderful words.

But I'm much more interested in what happens when those values become inconvenient.

What happens when a woman negotiates her salary?

What happens when she becomes pregnant?

What happens when she challenges a senior manager?

What happens when she turns fifty?

What happens when she says no?

And what happens when she becomes too expensive, too outspoken, or simply unwilling to participate in the same outdated arrangements?

That's when company values become visible.

Not during the annual leadership breakfast.

Not when somebody posts an inspirational quote on LinkedIn.

And certainly not because the organization has added an equality statement to its About page.

Your company's values are demonstrated by what leadership rewards, what it ignores, what it protects, and what it punishes.

That's the conversation we should be having.

Maybe It's Time to Question the Room

I've worked independently since 2009.

Over those years, I've joined professional organizations, networking groups, and business communities because I genuinely enjoy being around other people who are building something.

I've wanted the camaraderie.

The collaboration.

The feeling of belonging to a room full of people who understand business.

But I've also found myself repeatedly questioning whether some of these environments have evolved alongside the women participating in them.

There is something rather absurd about waking up at 5:30 a.m., dragging yourself into a seven o'clock networking meeting, and then wondering why you're exhausted before your actual working day has begun.

And if you're doing all of that while feeling uncomfortable, unheard, or disconnected from the culture of the room, what exactly are you getting in return?

Now, I'm not suggesting every uncomfortable meeting is a sign you should leave.

Sometimes growth is uncomfortable.

Sometimes challenging conversations are necessary.

But there is a difference between a room that challenges you to grow and one that repeatedly asks you to make yourself smaller.

I don't want to spend the next decade participating in outdated professional rituals simply because somebody decided that's how business should be done.

We've changed how we communicate.

We've changed how we build companies.

We've changed how we use technology.

Surely we can reconsider how we create professional communities, too.

What If You Built Something Different?

One of the reasons entrepreneurship continues to interest me is the opportunity to create something that reflects your own values.

Not just a business that earns money.

A business that treats people well.

One that values expertise.

One that understands that flexibility isn't necessarily a weakness.

One that doesn't confuse loyalty with silence.

Of course, entrepreneurship isn't the answer for everyone.

Not everybody wants to run a business, and not everybody should have to.

There are extraordinary women working in healthcare, education, law, technology, retail, and countless other professions who genuinely love what they do.

They deserve healthy workplaces, too.

Equality shouldn't require women to leave employment to find it.

But whether we're employees, executives, founders, or freelancers, we can question the structures we've inherited.

And we can decide which ones deserve to continue.

We Don't Need Another Breakfast About Women in Leadership

I enjoy a good breakfast as much as the next woman.

But honestly, how many more events do we need about women in leadership before we start addressing the conditions that make leadership difficult for women?

We can talk about empowerment all morning.

But what happens when we go back to the office?

Are salaries fair?

Are promotion decisions transparent?

Are parents supported?

Are women being heard?

Are the rules applied consistently?

And what happens when someone raises a concern?

Those are the questions that interest me.

Because solidarity isn't simply congratulating another woman on her promotion.

It's also asking whether the woman who didn't receive the promotion was treated fairly.

It's sharing information.

It's challenging sexist assumptions.

It's creating opportunities.

And sometimes it's having a conversation that makes everyone at the table a little uncomfortable.

Politics Doesn't Have to Mean Party Politics

When I talk about politics at work, I'm not asking everybody to choose between Democrat and Republican, Labour and National, or whichever political parties happen to be competing for power.

I'm talking about something more fundamental.

Who makes the rules?

Who gets access to opportunities?

Who receives resources?

Who benefits?

And who is expected to stay quiet?

Those questions exist in every organization, regardless of which political party someone supports.

As someone who holds citizenship in both the United States and New Zealand, I see the differences between the two countries. I also see how employment policies, family support, healthcare, and economic opportunities shape women's choices in both places.

The details differ.

But women still have good reasons to participate in conversations about the decisions affecting their lives.

And the workplace is not somehow exempt from those decisions.

We should be able to discuss workplace policies, fairness, and rights without treating every question as a declaration of political warfare.

Respectful disagreement is possible.

So is maintaining professional boundaries.

What shouldn't be required is silence.

The Conversation Is Ours to Have

In an earlier article, The Motherhood Penalty and Women's Economic Power , I explored the work of Reshma Saujani and the economic consequences women can experience when they become mothers.

That conversation is one example of why these issues matter.

Workplace inequality doesn't disappear because we stop discussing it.

Neither do the consequences of inadequate childcare, limited parental leave, or barriers to leadership.

And activism doesn't always mean carrying a placard down the street.

Sometimes it's supporting an organization doing meaningful work.

Sometimes it's sharing information.

Sometimes it's writing an article.

Sometimes it's helping another woman negotiate her salary.

And sometimes it's simply refusing to accept that a reasonable question is somehow inappropriate.

So, does politics belong in the office?

I think we've been asking the wrong question.

Politics has always influenced the workplace.

What matters is how we talk about it, how we respect one another, and whether we're prepared to examine the systems affecting the people inside it.

You don't need to turn every conversation into an argument.

You don't need everybody to agree with you.

And you certainly don't need permission to care about your own working conditions.

Ask the question. Say the number. State the boundary. Use your voice.

And let somebody be uncomfortable.

They'll live.

This article expands on my November 4 episode of the Hustle and Glow podcast, “Women in Politics: Does It Belong in the Office?”

I'd love to know your perspective. Have you ever been told to keep politics out of the workplace? And where do you draw the line between professional boundaries and conversations about fairness?