Episode 25: Ramya - Barriers To Women In Leadership

In Episode 25 of Leadership Conversations: The Untold Secrets of the C-Suite with Nick Jonsson, Nick welcomes Ramya Chandrasekaran, Chief Communications Officer at Qi Group, for a powerful and thought-provoking discussion on the barriers women continue to face in leadership.

In this episode, Ramya shares her insights on the structural, cultural, and psychological challenges that limit women’s advancement into senior leadership roles. Drawing on compelling real-world examples and research-backed perspectives, she highlights how deeply embedded biases—both conscious and unconscious—shape hiring decisions, promotion pathways, and workplace expectations. These barriers often appear subtle, but over time they create significant disadvantages for women seeking leadership positions.

Ramya explores how communication styles, confidence perception, and gender stereotypes influence how women are evaluated at work. She explains how women are frequently held to different standards than men when it comes to authority, assertiveness, and emotional expression. While leadership traits such as decisiveness and confidence are praised in men, the same behaviors can be misinterpreted in women, creating a double bind that makes advancement more difficult.

The conversation also addresses organizational culture and the role it plays in either reinforcing or dismantling inequality. Ramya discusses how lack of representation at senior levels, limited access to sponsorship, and inflexible work structures continue to slow progress. She emphasizes that these are not just individual challenges but systemic issues that require intentional leadership and policy change.

Importantly, this episode does not stop at identifying problems—it offers practical solutions. Ramya outlines actionable strategies organizations can implement to create more inclusive environments where women can thrive. These include designing fair evaluation processes, fostering psychological safety, encouraging diverse leadership pipelines, and creating mentorship and sponsorship opportunities that actively support women’s growth.

Nick and Ramya also discuss the responsibility of leaders—both men and women—in driving change. True inclusion, they agree, requires conscious effort, open dialogue, and a willingness to challenge outdated assumptions about leadership and success. Ramya highlights how inclusive leadership benefits everyone, leading to stronger decision-making, better innovation, and healthier organizational cultures.

This episode is especially valuable for executives, HR leaders, and people managers who want to better understand how inequality manifests in the workplace and what they can do to address it. It is also a meaningful listen for women navigating leadership journeys and seeking validation, perspective, and practical tools.

By combining research, lived experience, and actionable advice, this conversation offers a clear roadmap for breaking down barriers and building workplaces where leadership potential is defined by capability—not gender.

Contact Ramya Chandrasekaran to collaborate with her:

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramyac/

Visit our website to find more podcast  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nickjonsson.com/leadership-conversations-the-untold-secrets-of-the-c-suite⁠⁠⁠