Jayne Whyte's Portfolio

The first time I heard the phrase ‘corner office’ was a few years back, in a viral video where Millie Odhiambo was speaking to the Speaker of the House in Kenya on being a good example to other females.

Millie is a lawyer and a Kenyan politician who has been a member of the Kenyan Parliament since 2008.

The phrase “corner office” carries significant cultural weight. This International Women’s Day, I’m focusing my thoughts on this phrase and thinking about what it means for women aspiring to be professionals in their work places.

In the physical sense, the corner office refers to the office placed at the corner of a building, usually larger, with more windows and better views. In business language, it has come to symbolise something bigger: authority, senior leadership, and decision-making power. When someone says they are aiming for the corner office, they usually mean they want influence, responsibility, and a seat at the table where decision-making happens and strategy is shaped.

Historically, the corner office has not been equally available to everyone. Corporate leadership in many countries developed within structures where men dominated executive roles. Women were often expected to support rather than lead, assist rather than direct. These expectations were reinforced not only by workplace policies but also by social norms about how women should behave.

This is where the provocative idea that women sometimes need to be “bad” to reach the corner office comes in. The word “bad” here does not mean unethical or harmful. It means refusing to play by restrictive rules about what a “good woman” is supposed to look like in professional spaces.

Society has long rewarded women for being nice, agreeable, accommodating, and self-sacrificing. Those traits can be valuable in collaboration and leadership. The problem arises when they become rigid expectations that limit ambition. Women who negotiate assertively, challenge ideas openly, or insist on recognition for their work can still be labelled difficult or aggressive in ways that men rarely are.

To climb into leadership roles, many women find they must push against these expectations. That might mean speaking up when it is uncomfortable, declining work that is invisible or undervalued, or refusing to soften their ideas simply to appear agreeable. In other words, they must sometimes behave in ways that contradict the traditional script of being endlessly pleasant and accommodating.

Pushing those boundaries can be deeply rewarding. Leadership roles bring the chance to influence culture, allocate resources, and shape opportunities for others. When women reach those positions, they also change the visible model of who belongs there. Every woman in a corner office quietly expands the imagination of the workplace. It becomes easier for the next generation to picture themselves in similar roles.

Resisting subordination is not only about personal advancement. It is also about challenging systems that have historically limited participation. When women question biased assumptions or advocate for fair recognition, they are doing more than advancing their own careers. They are reshaping the norms of the institution.

There is also a personal dimension. Many people describe a strong sense of satisfaction that comes from refusing to shrink themselves to meet narrow expectations. Choosing ambition, confidence, and independence can feel like reclaiming space that was never meant to be restricted in the first place.

That does not mean the path is easy. Women who challenge norms often encounter criticism, scrutiny, and higher standards of proof. The pushback is real. Yet progress in professional life has rarely come from quiet compliance. It has come from individuals who tested the limits of what was considered acceptable.

The corner office, in this sense, is more than a physical room or a job title. It represents autonomy and the freedom to shape outcomes. For many women, reaching that space requires rejecting the outdated idea that being a “good woman” means staying small, nice, agreeable, and invisible.

Breaking that mould is not bad. It is often the first step toward building workplaces where leadership is defined by competence, vision, and courage rather than by gendered expectations. And when that happens, the view from the corner office becomes more than a personal reward. It becomes evident that the boundaries themselves were never fixed.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Cheers.