{"id":15030,"date":"2026-05-24T10:09:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inova.to\/when-women-carry-more-than-meets-the-eye-the-pressure-to-perform-and-responsibility-in-todays-world\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T10:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:09:47","slug":"when-women-carry-more-than-meets-the-eye-the-pressure-to-perform-and-responsibility-in-todays-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inova.to\/en\/when-women-carry-more-than-meets-the-eye-the-pressure-to-perform-and-responsibility-in-todays-world\/","title":{"rendered":"When Women Carry More Than Meets the Eye: The Pressure to Perform and Responsibility in Today’s World"},"content":{"rendered":"

The position of women in business and society is undergoing dynamic development, yet persistent stereotypes and expectations continuously create pressure. Today, women are highly educated, ambitious, and ready to lead. However, alongside managing teams or companies, they often bear a disproportionately large responsibility for running the family. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This phenomenon, known as “mental load,” involves continuous organizational, emotional, and logistical work in the private sphere. Although it remains invisible to the business environment, it significantly impacts women’s professional performance. <\/p>\n

The connection between career advancement and personal life is clearly illustrated by data from a former survey, as reported by <\/span>the New York Post<\/span><\/a>. The results indicate that cognitive load, meaning the constant planning, organizing of family life, logistics around children or doctors, primarily rests on the shoulders of women in Slovakia.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Managing a household in parallel with a full-time job leads to exhaustion. As a result, women often lack sufficient energy to invest in networking, strategic innovations, or career advancement. <\/p>\n

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Pressure to Perform and Barriers to Career Advancement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Practical experience shows that despite declared equal opportunities, women in business face specific challenges already in the communication and defense of their decisions. The historical setup of management positions still subconsciously shapes the expectations of those around them.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“Based on our own experiences, as well as the experiences of our members, sympathizers, and conversations with women in various positions, we can confirm that women, regardless of whether they operate at lower or higher management levels, often feel significant pressure to perform and a need to constantly prove their abilities,” <\/span><\/i>states <\/span>Ivana Kond\u00e1\u0161ov\u00e1<\/b>, director of the Association of Businesswomen and Managers<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ivana also adds that they encounter challenges in the area of respect, for example, when delegating tasks or leading a team.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In professional communication, more often than men, they experience situations where their proposals are rejected, underestimated, or they are interrupted. Their contributions are sometimes perceived as less valuable compared to identical proposals from male colleagues,” <\/span><\/i> she clarifies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Young women lack experience, older women are “out”? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kond\u00e1\u0161ov\u00e1 further highlights the results of their association’s extensive questionnaire, completed by 835 respondents, thereby refuting the myth of an absence of barriers. According to her, most women have personal experience with obstacles that slowed their career growth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Among the most common barriers in the workplace are the expectation that women will primarily go on maternity leave, traditional gender role divisions, and the negative perception of women in high positions.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

However, a significant factor is also lower self-confidence and insufficient support from their surroundings. The survey also revealed an interesting impact of age on the perception of competencies, which the association’s director concludes with the words:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Younger women tend to be perceived as less competent for managerial and executive positions, while older women, despite their experience and results, face lower attractiveness in the labor market.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As a solution, based on the survey, Kond\u00e1\u0161ov\u00e1 suggests greater work flexibility, availability of preschool facilities, stronger support from partners, highlighting female role models, and open cooperation between men and women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Male Domain vs. Fair Environment <\/strong><\/h2>\n

In sectors traditionally perceived as male domains, women’s success depends primarily on the internal culture of companies. As Martina Jankolov\u00e1 explains, in practice, we can identify two types of companies. <\/span>Martina Jankolov\u00e1<\/b>, in practice, we can identify two types of companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first are those where technological sectors remain a closed male domain. The second are companies that have integrated diversity and inclusion directly into their corporate culture. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Jankolov\u00e1, these progressive organizations are characterized by five clear pillars:<\/strong><\/p>\n