Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workforce?

That was the title of a recent episode of The Interesting Times, a New York Times podcast. As a working woman and advocate for working moms, it stopped me in my tracks.

Did the feminist movement that brought women into the workforce actually ruin it?
Did inclusivity, diversity policies and stricter HR practices somehow make work worse?

Host Ross Douthat and conservative writers Helen Andrews and Leah Libresco Sargeant unpacked ideas like feminist wokeism, HR’s shift from risk-taking to risk-avoidance and declining marriage and birth rates.

It’s an interesting listen, but one question lingered for me: Ruined for who?

Because the truth is, in 2025, no one is winning at work.

While feminisation made the workforce more empathetic and accommodating, women are leaving in record numbers: over half a million in the US this year alone. And according to RecruitMyMom Working Women in SA Report 43% of women took a career break.

So maybe the real conversation isn’t men vs women.
It’s this:

• How should workplaces evolve to work for everyone?
  
• How can the virtues (and vices) of both men and women (discussed in The Interesting Times podcast) strengthen rather than divide companies?
  
• And how can we rewrite the old corporate rules to reflect modern life, where CEOs, students, mentors fearing early retirement, parents and caregivers all thrive?  

Did feminisation change the workforce? Definitely.
Will it keep changing? I certainly hope so.