093_We found the reason why women are not reaching senior roles (and is it not lack of confidence) with Elizabeth Charlesworth

100 Women in Insurance Summit 26th March 2026

A day and evening event to celebrate 100th podcast episode. Expect plenty of learning, networking and celebrating opportunities.

Get your tickets here.

Thanks to this episode sponsor Avencia Talent Solutions

In this episode, Sandra Lewin speaks with Liz Charlesworth, Managing Partner at Avencia Talent Solutions , about accidental exposure, intentional visibility, and why assumptions are quietly holding female talent back.

Together, they unpack what really happens behind senior hiring conversations, especially long before a job is even advertised.

They explore the concept of “accidental exposure”, which can be challenging in a remote working environments, and how to increase it.

Visibility is intentional. Relationships should be nurtured before you even need them. And your value can be articulated clearly without ego and arrogance.

Sandra and Liz also challenge one of the biggest barriers to progression:

Assumptions.

Assumptions about ambition.

Assumptions about flexibility.

Assumptions about parental responsibilities.

Assumptions about who is “ready.”

And in doing so, they arrive at something simple but powerful:

If organisations stopped assuming and started asking, the pipeline would change.

Flexibility, they argue, does not mean less ambition. It means rethinking how and when work gets done so careers are sustainable.

This is a conversation about risk, visibility, advocacy, and building leadership pipelines intentionally, not accidentally.

Key takeaways:

• Accidental exposure has reduced in remote environments, so visibility must now be intentional.
• Hard work that is not seen is often mistaken for silence.
• Visibility is not ego it is clarity about your value.
• Reactive hiring often defaults to familiar networks, narrowing diversity.
• Flexibility does not equal reduced ambition. It is about sustainability.
• Assumptions are one of the biggest blockers to female progression.
• Transparent policies remove the need for uncomfortable conversations.

About the guest

Connect with Liz Charlesworth (Liz Langford Archer) on LinkedIn.

About the sponsor

Avencia Talent Solutions a strategic talen solutions that evolve with your business . Connect on LinkedIn

About the host

Connect with Sandra Lewin on LinkedIn

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