One year on with Jess Lazarczyk

When you joined Shape Talent in 2024, you shared a very clear perspective on the state of gender equity – particularly your concern about the shifting rhetoric and reduction in EDI investment. One year on, has your view changed or evolved?

And, what a year it’s been, eh? Talk about organised resistance to progress. It’s not surprising that we’re still 134 years* away from achieving global gender parity and that the UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2025 flags that gender equality progress has stalled or gone into reverse in many regions.

To say there have been moments where I’ve dropped my head into my hands or wanted to throw my laptop out the window over the last 12 months would be accurate. But, if I look beyond the headlines of the media, I meet with clients every day who are still moving forward, who are honouring the dignity of their employees and doing everything they can to maintain EDI progress and momentum.

Partnering with clients and members of the team here at Shape Talent has been a true source of joy, purpose and inspiration, and has coincided with a bit of personal reality check: the progression of human rights and of equity, diversity and inclusion has always had its headwinds. Sure, right now it might be magnified by social media and access to information (both correct and false), but do I honestly think the American Civil Rights movement or the Suffragettes experienced an easier route? No way. And yet, despite the barriers that existed then, and exist today, progress has prevailed. We must prevail.

*According to the World Economic Forum

You’ve led and supported some powerful gender equity programmes and client partnerships this year. What piece of work or moment has felt most meaningful to you?

I led a couple of Debias Audits this year which are always powerful interventions. We help organisations to identify and address the ways in which their policies, processes and systems might have bias written into them, and we identify the unintentional impact this has had on the attraction, progression and retention of under-represented talent.

It’s always such an honour to have a client trust us to do this. During this work we regularly end up looking at the under-belly of an organisation, and the reporting of our findings can often be emotionally charged. No one likes to see evidence of where their organisation has inadvertently blocked under-represented talent from progression. The courage that my clients have shown in those moments has been deeply humbling.

In your first Q&A, you reflected on the assumptions and ‘shoulds’ that can act as personal barriers. Have there been any barriers you’ve recognised (or dismantled) for yourself this year?

I’d say the biggest barrier I’ve really started to address this year is the Double Bind. I’ve always prided myself on my warmth, on being likable – I’m a raging people pleaser. The challenge with that? It’s really hard to lead authentically while pressuring myself to always be liked. So, this year I have practised getting comfortable with being warm, but not soft. I’m building stronger boundaries, I’m getting more confident in my convictions (even if I know it won’t be well met), and I’m giving myself permission to not always be the most accommodating or affable person in the room!

Have there been any shifts in how organisations talk about or act on gender equity that have particularly stood out to you this year?

I’ve been pleased to see a focus on engaging all genders in the conversation – not isolating gender equity to a “women’s issue”. Let’s face it, it’s not just women and minoritised genders that feel the negative impact of patriarchal norms; many men don’t fit the narrow archetype of  masculinity. More organisations are acknowledging that the outdated gender stereotypes no longer serve our society, and definitely no longer serve the vast majority of their employees. We are working more and more to support organisations from disassociating leadership with traits of masculinity, and helping them to rebuild their organisations around the needs and wants of modern families.

And looking ahead — what are you most excited about in the year to come, either within Shape Talent or more broadly in the gender equity movement?

I’ve noticed a feeling like sediment settling after being shaken up in a jar, over the last few months. As if everything that was thrown up into chaos at the beginning of the year is coming back to land, and that this landing is powered by conviction, pragmatism and a long-term view. I’m excited about continuing to partner with clients who move beyond the performative and take a strategic and sustainable view to EDI progress.