The Corporate Mirage

Why the Old System No Longer Works

Gatekeeping isn’t strength—it’s fear, dressed up as authority. The loudest voices defending exclusion are often the weakest, clinging to control in a world that’s outgrowing them.

The other day, I went to a co-creation session where I was invited by a group of students working on a project about how to make IT departments—this one in a governmental establishment—more diverse and inclusive. It’s a tough cookie. Diversity isn’t a checkbox or a hiring quota; it’s one of those complex problems where, paradoxically, tackling it head-on can make things worse. I’ve learned throughout my career that you can’t fix a complex problem by attacking it directly. You have to address the conditions that sustain it, the structures that keep it in place.

And yet, there I was, watching teenagers brainstorm ways to reshape IT. Teenagers. Working against an industry that has spent decades building walls to keep them out.

Because, let’s be honest: a lot of IT people are actually the problem.

I’ve seen it firsthand. Again and again, I’ve witnessed so-called “leaders” in IT openly defending the industry from outsiders, from people with different perspectives, different skills, different backgrounds. I’ll never forget the moment at an event when one of them, in a room full of people, yelled:

“If you don’t know how to code, then f**k off—IT is for engineers.” (As if tech should only belong to those who fit their narrow, exclusionary ideal.)

Spoken with the bravado of someone clinging to their last illusion of dominance, mistaking exclusion for power. No true leader speaks that way.

And the worst part? People applauded.

Cowards. People too afraid to challenge the gatekeeping, too comfortable in their little club where “normal” people aren’t allowed in. I’ve seen IT professionals act as if technology is some sacred ground that needs to be protected from intruders—intruders who dare to think differently, who don’t fit the stereotype, who bring new ideas that might shake things up.

So, yes, it’s fun—almost poetic—to see teenagers with no tech background working on ways to break down those walls. While established IT leaders are busy circling the wagons, defending their insular culture, a new generation is already thinking beyond them.

The Corporate System Was Never Built for Change

But this is bigger than IT. The entire corporate system operates the same way: structured to resist change rather than embrace it. For decades, companies have treated diversity and inclusion as if they were optional, a nice-to-have rather than a necessity. They treat it like a PR exercise, hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, running a few workshops, putting out a LinkedIn post about their “commitment to inclusion”—and then moving on, business as usual.

And yet, they wonder why they struggle to innovate.

Diversity isn’t just a moral issue; it’s a survival issue. Companies that refuse to evolve—whether in their workforce, their leadership, or their way of thinking—become stagnant. And stagnation in today’s world is a death sentence.

The same corporations that complain about “not finding enough talent” are often the ones blocking the very people who could bring them fresh perspectives. They want diversity, but only if it doesn’t challenge the way they operate. They want innovation, but only if it doesn’t come from outsiders.

The Illusion of the Corporate Ladder

For years, ambition meant climbing to the top of a company, securing a seat at the table, making it to the C-Suite. But younger generations are seeing through the illusion. It’s not that they don’t want success—it’s that they don’t want it on those terms.

They’ve seen Millennials grind themselves into exhaustion, give everything to their jobs, only to be left with burnout and restructurings. They’ve seen leadership teams that talk about inclusion but refuse to make space for real change. They’ve seen IT departments that claim to be about innovation but shut out anyone who doesn’t fit the mold.

So instead of trying to fix a broken system, they’re walking away from it.

The Rise of Independent Work and the Fall of Corporate Control

There was a time when a full-time job at a respected company was the ultimate goal. Now, it’s starting to feel more like a trap. More people are choosing independence—not because they don’t want to work, but because they want to work on their own terms.

They don’t want to beg for a seat at the table. They want to build their own.

And they can. The internet, remote work, and the shift toward project-based careers have made it easier than ever to create an independent career. People are realising they don’t need to tie themselves to a single employer to thrive. They can work across multiple industries, collaborate with different teams, and shape their careers around their skills and passions—not just the limitations of a job description.

The Managerial Class Is Sleepwalking Into Obsolescence

And yet, corporate leadership still doesn’t get it. They believe the old system is too big to fail, that no matter how much people complain, they’ll always come back for the stability of a pay-check. But they’re missing the bigger shift.

What happens when the best talent stops aspiring to leadership?

What happens when people refuse to accept work cultures that exclude them?

What happens when companies built on rigid hierarchies can’t attract the minds they need to stay relevant?

We’re already seeing it. Employee engagement is dropping. The so-called “war for talent” isn’t about salaries anymore—it’s about people wanting work that actually means something.

The firms that survive will be the ones that adapt. The ones that recognise that work is becoming more fluid, that inclusion isn’t just a slogan, and that diversity isn’t a box to check—it’s the foundation of progress.

The rest? They’ll keep sleepwalking, mistaking their own gatekeeping for security, right up until the moment they realise they’ve locked themselves out of the future.

ADRIANA