MissPerceived

Are Women Really “Less Ambitious”? The Truth Behind the Research

Did women suddenly lose their ambition—or did the 2025 Lean In & McKinsey “Women in the Workplace” report give everyone the wrong story about what’s actually going on? In this episode, Professor Leah takes a blowtorch to the idea of a so‑called “ambition gap,” arguing that the real problem isn’t women’s drive, it’s burnout, mental load, and structural barriers at work and at home. Leah breaks down why women, who now earn more degrees and participate in the workforce at historically high rates, can still look at the next promotion and think “I literally cannot carry one more thing,” while men are socially rewarded for chasing the top job.​You’ll learn:How stats about “wanting a promotion” are being misused to claim women are less ambitious than men—and why that’s a myth.The role of mental load, caregiving expectations, and workplace bias in draining women’s capacity long before ambition ever disappears.Why reframing this as a burnout and structural problem—not a confidence or personality flaw—is key to closing gender gaps in leadership.​If you’ve ever been told you’re “not ambitious enough” while simultaneously doing everything for everyone, this episode is your permission slip to call bullshit—and to start imagining a version of success that doesn’t require you to disappear to achieve it. Keywords: women in the workplace, ambition gap, Lean In report, McKinsey, burnout, mental load, working moms, gender bias, promotions, women’s careers.​Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Your Messy House Making You Sick? Clutter, Cortisol, and the Invisible Mental Load

Is the clutter in your home actually messing with your health—or are you just “too sensitive”? In this episode of Misperceived, Professor Leah Ruppaner breaks down the science on clutter, stress, and the mental load, including a landmark UCLA study showing that women who describe their homes as cluttered and unfinished have elevated cortisol patterns across the day, while men in the same homes don’t show the same spike. Leah unpacks why a messy house hits women harder, how invisible labor and constant “noticing” turn piles of stuff into a 24/7 to‑do list, and why you are not the problem for feeling overwhelmed by dishes, laundry, and half‑done projects.​You’ll learn:How clutter, disorganization, and “unfinished” spaces are linked to women’s cortisol, mood, and long‑term health.Why gendered expectations around housework and presentation of the home make women feel personally judged by the mess, even when everyone lives in it.Practical ways to lower your mental load without turning yourself into the unpaid project manager of everyone else’s stuff—plus how to claim one restorative space that’s just for you.Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Do They Call First? The Hidden Mental Load of Being the “Default Parent”

In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah unpacks what really happens when something goes wrong with your kids and the school, coach, or doctor has to pick up the phone: who do they call first, and why is it almost always mom? Drawing on new research from the Quarterly Journal of Economics and her own mental load interviews, Leah breaks down how schools and other institutions default to mothers as the family “911 call center,” even when parents explicitly ask them to call dad instead. She explains how this constant correspondence quietly reshapes women’s careers, health, and relationships, and offers practical ways dads, schools, and couples can push back on these norms so the burden is shared more fairly at homeFollow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your College Bestie Changed Your Brain (And Your Adult Friendships)

Why do college besties hit different from every other friendship you’ve had since? In this episode of Misperceived, Prof Leah breaks down what makes university friendships so intense and enduring, weaving in research on brain development, “self‑authorship,” and how women use friendships to test ideas, build identity, and stay sane in a hostile world. She explains why that 3 a.m. pizza‑and‑life‑chat friend often becomes your lifelong go‑to for truth, comfort, and tough love—and why those bonds set an almost impossibly high bar for adult friendships that get squeezed into work, school pick‑ups, and spin class. This episode doubles as a love letter to your uni bestie and an invitation to notice (and nurture) the people who have walked with you through your biggest growth spurts, even if they didn’t happen on a beach campus with epic house parties.Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helicopter Parenting, Teen Sex, and the Crushing Mental Load

When does keeping your kids safe turn into quietly wrecking their chances to grow up? In this episode, Prof Leah unpacks teen dating—covenants, text surveillance, and all—and asks what happens when parents’ fear of the future swallows their kids’ present. Drawing on her research on the mental load (and her forthcoming book Drained), she connects helicopter parenting, constant digital surveillance, and perfection pressure to teens’ isolation, anxiety, and lack of room to fail, urging parents to back off, drop the impossible standards, and let kids be gloriously imperfect humans.Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.