When the word ambitious is applied to women, it rarely lands as a compliment. It’s coded as selfish, threatening, or unlikable—especially when ambition shows up alongside competence and authority.
In this episode of Lead to Soar, Mel Butcher and Michelle Redfern take a hard look at why ambition is still treated as suspect in women, while being actively rewarded in men. The conversation is sparked by the public discussion raised in a recent podcast featuring Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Serena Williams, and is grounded in what Mel and Michelle see every day in their work with women leaders.
Many women hesitate to describe themselves as ambitious—not because they lack drive, but because they’ve learned the reputational cost of owning it. Yet these same women are ambitious for outcomes, for better organisations, for their teams, families, and communities.
This episode pulls the word ambition apart and puts it back together on women’s terms.
In this episode, Mel and Michelle explore:
How ambition becomes gendered language rather than a neutral descriptor
Why ambitious women are still judged differently for the same behaviours as men
The gap between what women want and how they’re permitted to name it
Why disowning ambition doesn’t protect women from backlash anyway
How reclaiming ambition changes leadership identity and career choices
This is not a conversation about “leaning in” or personal branding. It’s about recognising how language shapes permission, power, and self-concept—and deciding whether you want to keep playing by rules that were never neutral.
If ambition has ever felt like a liability rather than a strength, this episode will give you a sharper way to think about it—and name it.
If this episode was useful, there are three simple ways to go further:
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