About Difficult Women
Yes, we’re difficult.
At least, that’s what the system tells us. Usually right after we asked why, pushed back, or chose excellence over compliance.
Our charter · Why we exist
We were sold a story. It didn’t pay out.
We were promised that hard work and a seat at the table would pay off. They didn’t. So we’re building our own table.
Difficult Women is a peer group for high-performing senior women building careers beyond traditional corporate roles. We meet so that no one has to figure this out alone.
Many of us spent years being second-guessed, sidelined, or quietly gaslit in corporate settings. Here, we compare notes, get honest perspective from women who have been there, and help each other build what comes next.
Who we are
The misfit toys of corporate America.
We’re senior women, VP level or equivalent scope, from different industries and functions. Some of us have left corporate, some are leaving, and some are still looking for a company that deserves us. Plenty of us became entrepreneurs because we couldn’t find one.
Where we’re headed:
- Fractional work
- Consulting
- Our own businesses
- A role that actually fits
Our three pillars
What happens in the room
Hover or tap a card to flip it.
What we do
Two ways we meet
Separate meetings, or two halves of the same one.
Bring a situation
A member brings a professional question or challenge to the room and gets perspective from peers.
A difficult corporate dynamic, a decision about her business, or a course or framework she wants to pressure-test.
Topic sessions
A focused discussion on one practical topic, led by a member or guest, sometimes as a panel.
When to hire a lawyer for client contracts, where to find fractional work, how to diversify your income streams.
Across both, we learn from peers, grow our skills, get better at navigating difficult workplace dynamics (including the male–female ones), and build our networks.
What we are not
We come here to build, not just to vent.
This isn’t a monthly complaint session. Naming what happened to us is how we stop feeling alone, so commiseration has its place. But every conversation moves toward something: an insight, a next step, an introduction, or a plan.
How we run
The details
Simple on purpose, so every session ends with something useful.
Cadence
A one-hour session about once a month. Every other month is on the table too.
One topic
One topic per session, facilitated by a member who knows it well.
Questions first
The facilitator sends two or three questions ahead, so everyone arrives ready.
Format
Guided discussion, breakouts or panels when the topic calls for it, then optional networking time.
Where
Live on Zoom, with Slack for the conversation between sessions.
Confidential
What members share about their situations stays in the room.
This group isn’t for everyone
If you’ve been called difficult for doing your job well, you’re one of us.
If you’re ready to build your own table, come build it with us. If you’re still hoping the old one will make room, this probably isn’t your group yet.
Growing the group
For now, membership is by invitation from existing members. We look for high-performing senior women building non-traditional careers, and we expect the definition of “senior” to widen over time.
Join us