How to lead as a woman living with a chronic condition 

The job of a CEO requires a lot of public speaking – on zoom calls, at podiums, in board meetings. Pretty much every day you’re delivering some kind of address or talking points.

My role as CEO is no different; the only difference is that my speech or presentation might get interrupted by the “beep-beep-beep” of my contiguous glucose monitor (CGM) alerting me that my blood sugar has spiked or dipped.

I live with type 2 diabetes, and I am the President and CEO of Diabetes Canada. Over the past 10 years I’ve been on a balancing, high-wire act: how to be transparent, open and at times vulnerable about my chronic condition while also leading a national health-charity as a female CEO.

It has not been easy. 

I don’t have to explain to readers the impossibly high standards women executives are held to – even in 2026. The pressure to “have it all” and to be infallible remains pervasive in C-suites throughout Canada. 

A vulnerability or difference can be immediately weaponized against your authority, thrown in your face as to why you are not up to the job. And when it comes to vulnerability, sharing that you live with a chronic condition is about as vulnerable as it gets. 

But as Ghandi’s oft-invoked quote goes: ‘You must be the change you want to see in the world.’ And so, for the last six years or so, I’ve been on a mission to be as transparent as possible when it comes to my diabetes diagnosis. 

But some days I’m tired of talking about it. Some days I’d rather just be a CEO who happens to have diabetes, not a CEO whose diabetes is part of her public identity.

Some days, I don’t feel like explaining what my CGM is. Some days I don’t feel like debunking yet another all-too common myth about diabetes, especially those that lead to stigma and judgment about how I must have brought this condition on myself. That it’s somehow my fault. Some days I don’t feel like sharing my personal health condition and journey to a news anchor on live TV.

But I share it because I know how powerful it is to hear from someone who understands. Four million people in Canada have been diagnosed with diabetes, which means many women leaders and executives are likely living with it too – yet may be afraid to disclose it, even to their closest colleagues. They may be hiding their CGMs, insulin pumps or silently white knuckling it through their highs/lows. 

Managing a 24/7 relentless condition like diabetes is hard enough, but to do it silently is nearly impossible. 

Before I decided to talk openly about my diagnosis, I was one of those women. Adamant that no one find out, that it would compromise me as a senior-level executive. That it would diminish or undermine my authority.  That I wouldn’t, even couldn’t, be “up to the task.”

But over the last decade, and throughout my time at Diabetes Canada, I have learned that being vulnerable, open and authentic are not liabilities but strengths. They help build trust (something that is so sorely lacking in our current world) and create connection. 

It sends out a signal. I know that when a person somewhere in Canada reads that the CEO of 

Diabetes Canada is living with this condition – and she’s not hiding it, not ashamed of it, not managing it in silence, norms begin to shift. 

I’m not advocating for every woman executive to disclose their entire health profile – it’s a very personal choice and it might not be right for everyone. But I do encourage women to at least challenge the perception that to be a strong, effective female leader you must project perfection or full control. 

In recent years we’ve seen this veneer start to crack, with more women sharing their experiences with menopause and perimenopause. This has opened so many critical avenues of conversation and research. This is the power of de-stigmatizing a health issue. I encourage them to support other women in their lives that live with chronic conditions – to encourage them to believe in themselves and seek out that promotion or new career path. 

Diabetes has forced me to become more resilient, more agile and ultimately a better leader (and not just because I am the head of a diabetes charity).

So, I will keep speaking up and speaking out (even on the tough days) because you never know if a future female leader, who happens to live with a chronic condition, could be listening.