Assuming men and women are equally capable is the surest road to equity and inclusion

Striving to eliminate bias will open up more possibilities and pathways for capable women to march forward, writes Krishna Priya Nambudiri.

We could offer her the job, but she’ll likely be off on maternity leave before we know it, so perhaps it would be better for us to consider other options? She could certainly do the job, but given she had a baby recently, would she want to take on the extra responsibility a more senior role entails? There’s a plum position up for grabs in the global office, but surely, she wouldn’t want to relocate her partner and children to take it up?

But, but, but – it’s 2025, thirty years since the signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for gender equality – a resolution adopted at the end of the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women, which pledged to promote a series of principles regarding male and female equality. We’ve made good progress since then in many respects – for example, the gender pay gap continues to narrow in Australia and elsewhere in the world – but in others, not so much.

Hence, I still come across leaders and recruitment professionals asking these sorts of questions, in their heads and out loud, when they’re deliberating about which individuals should be plucked from the pool of candidates for opportunities and promotions.

Battling unconscious biases

It’s a shame because I’ve seen how career limiting those questions can be for capable, high-achieving women who, in some instances, may not even be aware that they’ve been passed over, perhaps even without the chance to present their credentials or plead their case.

That’s not been my personal experience, I’m grateful to say. On the contrary, when I commenced my professional career in the late 1990s, I had the good fortune to work with managers and colleagues who treated me not as a woman but as an equal.

Thanks to their belief in my ability and potential, I was offered the opportunity to relocate to Singapore for an assignment – with my young family in tow.

Not once was I asked whether my role as a wife and mother would preclude me from making such a move. Rather, my colleagues took the attitude that I was a professional who could rise to the challenge and that the decision on whether I wanted to do so should be mine to make.

Back then, I didn’t fully appreciate how fortunate I was to have begun my working life with an organisation whose leaders and colleagues were so supportive and “gender blind”, but in the intervening years, I’ve learnt that my experience was far from the norm.

Many women of my vintage faced tougher journeys than mine, and although attitudes have evolved and improved significantly in the past couple of decades, some of the subsequent generations continue to battle unconscious and sub-conscious biases at work.

Removing the roadblocks for others

Since gaining a seat at the leadership table, I’ve been passionate about changing the narrative. Over the years, that’s meant calling out biases when I observe them, building powerful communities of male allies and taking part in initiatives and activities that build women’s confidence and showcase their capabilities.

At Avalara, for example, where I’ve been employed as a senior director of people and culture since 2022, I’ve helped create a holistic program for women in leadership, one which teaches them to communicate more effectively, encourages them to build their personal brand and generates opportunities for them to work on key projects across the enterprise.

I’m also an enthusiastic supporter of our employee resource groups. That’s because I know what an important function they can play, for women to come together as a community, to share their experiences and surface uncomfortable topics and conversations in a safe, collegiate environment.

Finally, at an individual level, I’ve always encouraged women to be brave and speak up. Frequently, that means pushing themselves beyond their comfort zones in order to present their perspectives and make the case for the decisions they believe in and the changes they want to see come to pass.

It’s heartening to see so many other women in leadership roles doing the same. International Women’s Day is a timely reminder that we need to keep at it, working to systematically remove the roadblocks that make it harder than it should be for other women to follow in our footsteps and march forward on whatever career paths they choose to follow.

Krishna Priya Nambudiri is the senior director of HR at Avalara.