This Week's Brief
Closing 2025 With Conflict, Gender & Power Plays
Letter from the Editor,
‘Rage bait’ (Oxford), ‘parasocial’ (Cambridge), ‘AI slop’ (Macquarie), or simply ‘slop’ (Merriam-Webster). Words of the year. ALL of them. And all of them telling.
Hatred, radicalisation and violence are no longer distant headlines about distant places.They are finding their way into our homes, streets and cities.
As 2025 draws to a close, the team and I at The Chief Brief want to send a message of hope and solidarity to everyone affected by this scourge of hatred -be it based on religion, race, gender or politics.
Whether it was the indiscriminate violence at a religious celebration on Australia’s Bondi Beach, the mob lynching in the Indian state of Bihar, the shootout at Brown University, a double homicide in Hollywood, or the many more instances happening unacknowledged across the world. Know this: we stand with you.
In a world amplifying rage, may we find ways to amplify care. That is our goal for 2026.
Now onto the news..
📌Ragebait: Workplace 2025 report (Lean In x McKinsey)
📌Channel 4’s New CEO Priya Dogra & The Fight Against Comcast
📌Open AI’s New CRO Denise Dresser Brings Slack Expertise to AI
📌Green Hydrogen’s Betting On Australian Alana Barlow’s Expertise
📌 Americas Politics & Power Plays
🗳️ Honduras “Electoral Coup”
🗳️ Venezuela “Regime Change”
📌Conflict Watch
💣 Ukraine’s NATO Dreams Dashed, Sinks Russian Sub
💣 Belarus Pinky Promises No More Incursions
💣 Thailand-Cambodia Border Tensions Spike
💣 ICC Shuts Down Israel
💣 Syria & Lebanon Charm Offensive on U.S.
💣 Sudan Commits War Crimes on UN
💣 M23 Rebels Seize Another City In DRC
💣 Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade Bullets & Words
RAGEBAIT ALERT: LEAN IN
In this week’s gift to ‘Ragebait’: Sheryl Sandberg’s return as the Queen of ‘Leaning In,’ even as everyone else seems to be leaning out.
Remember when former Meta COO Sandberg tried convincing working women “leaning in” needed to be the golden mantra of ambitious women everywhere? Fast-forward to 2025, and apparently, the Lean In generation is leaning out. Burnout, disappearing DEI budgets and the rollback of hybrid work have made the climb to the corner office feel, well, pointless. Per the Sandberg fronted Women in the Workplace 2025 report (Lean In x McKinsey) - ambition now comes at a cost that many women just aren’t willing to pay.
What’s in the report:
For the first time in the study’s history (11 years), women are less likely than men at every level to say they want to be promoted, reversing the near‑parity in ambition seen in earlier years.
In workplaces where women receive strong manager support and clear opportunities, women’s ambition is just as high as men’s, showing that the ambition gap reflects workplace conditions rather than women’s preferences.
Senior women are reporting record‑high levels of burnout in 2025, making them more likely than senior men to consider downshifting or leaving their jobs.
Companies that have scaled back DEI and women‑focused initiatives since 2020 are seeing slower progress on women’s representation, especially at manager and director level.
Rigid return‑to‑office policies and lack of flexibility are measurably linked to higher attrition risk among women, particularly caregivers, contributing to the overall drop in reported ambition.
How it landed in the mainstream media:
• Back to back interviews with Sandberg were accompanied with a sober toned discussions, “let’s talk corporate gender equality” and Sandberg’s warning that companies risk squandering a decade of progress if gender equity remains a “nice-to-have.” Headlines highlighted the drop in women’s ambition, acknowledged progress had not been made, but shied away from the report’s lack of acknowledgement of the lack of structural change.
• Coverage was neutral on Sandberg herself, framing the study as the most authoritative longitudinal dataset on women in corporate America, rather than questioning the former Meta COO’s own track record on implementing the Lean In philosophy.
How the internet reacted:
• On X, TikTok, and LinkedIn, the report was at first superficially accepted and discussed. But it didn’t take long for the callouts to begin once it was analysed: The overriding sentiment? “Well, of course we’re leaning out!”
The lack of acknowledgement of the ‘care’ aspect of women’s careers seemed to catch even the most ardent of Lean In fans, by surprise.
• Chronic overwork, performative DEI, and childcare stress were citied as the reasons the report was not an accurate explanation of Sandberg’s ‘ambition gap’ claim. The takeaway? Corporate feminism that tells women to fix themselves without structural support was always a burn-out blueprint. No childcare, no pay equity, no flexible hours = no leaning in.
Our take-away?
The Lean In generation is officially leaning out. The why’s remain polarised. While mainstream media can frame it as simply stalled progress; the internet has called it a long-overdue reality check on the limits of “try harder” feminism.
Broadcast Wars, AI Growth & Energy Transitions
UK’s CHANNEL 4's NEW CEO
Why this matters: Channel 4 is under pressure as a potential £1.6bn Comcast takeover of ITV threatens to reshape the UK TV advertising landscape. The move could challenge Channel 4’s market share and long-term independence, with major implications for public service broadcasting and digital ad revenues.
The news:
• Channel 4 has appointed Priya Dogra as its new chief executive. She previously led Sky’s advertising, data and new revenue teams and was formerly Managing Director for Warner Bros Discovery in EMEA and Asia.
• Dogra joined Sky in 2024 in a newly created role and is expected to start at Channel 4 in the new year.
• The appointment comes as Comcast, owner of Sky, explores taking over ITV, potentially upending the UK TV advertising market where Channel 4 currently controls ~26% of traditional and streaming ad spend for UK public service broadcasters.
CEO OF SLACK JOINS OPEN AI
Why this matters: AI is becoming central to how businesses operate, with measurable impacts on productivity and work quality. OpenAI is positioning itself to lead this organisational shift and bringing in leaders who understand its implementation impacts.
The news:
• Denise Dresser has joined OpenAI as Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing global enterprise and customer success strategy.
• She was previously CEO of Slack, guiding its integration with Salesforce and advancing AI adoption across millions of users.
• Prior to that, Dresser spent over a decade at Salesforce, building and leading global sales teams for the company’s largest and most complex customers.
NEW HYDROGEN CEO
Why this matters: A commercially consequential bet in the energy transition with the green hydrogen market projected to reach US$1.4 trillion annually by 2050. Sparc Hydrogen is a joint venture between Sparc Technologies, MIH2 Pty Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Ltd), and the University of Adelaide, which has been developing patented photocatalytic water-splitting reactor technology since 2022.
The news:
• Sparc Technologies has appointed Alana Barlow as the inaugural CEO of Sparc Hydrogen.
• Barlow was previously Queensland Government Deputy Director-General for Hydrogen and Future Fuels, and earlier held commercial and legal roles at Sumitomo Corporation across hydrogen, resources and energy.
🇺🇸 AMERICAS POLITICS & POWER PLAYS
HONDURAS: “ELECTORAL COUP”
Why it matters: Disputed results risk plunging Honduras back into deadly unrest.
Observers from the Americas and Europe say there is no reason to suspect fraud in the recent Honduran election but criticised a sluggish vote count.
US President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate Nasry Asfura maintains a slim lead.
VENEZUELA: “REGIME CHANGE”
Why it matters: Rising risks of destabilisation in a major oil producer, with clear potential for regional spillover.
The US has struck additional Venezuelan boats in the Pacific. At least 80 people have died so far in the U.S. attacks on boats.
Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Machado has arrived in Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize, stating she supports Trump’s “regime change war” against President Maduro. She reportedly sustained a vertebra fracture escaping from the country during a high risk sea crossing.
Separately, a JetBlue flight departing Curaçao narrowly avoided a midair collision with a US Air Force aircraft. The pilot reported the military plane was not using a GPS transponder and passed directly through the flight path.
🌍 Conflict Watch
Why it’s important to us? 676 million women, nearly 17% of the global female population live within 50 km of a deadly conflict.
Here are this week’s updates:
RUSSIA–UKRAINE
Why it matters: U.S. political signals reshape battlefield diplomacy.
Ukraine claims to have struck and sunk a Russian submarine with an underwater drone.
Russia denies the sinking, and has claimed the seizure of a village (Novoplatonivka) in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.
European leaders agree to a ‘multinational force’ in Berlin talks. The UK will provide £600m air defence package to Ukraine. Trump claims peace is ‘closer than ever.’ Russia says it has ‘no understanding of talks’ outcomes, ruling out a ‘Christmas truce’.
The U.S. will provide NATO-style security guarantees for Kyiv, adding such a deal would not be on the table forever.
President Zelensky has given up NATO ambitions in peace deal concessions, but has rejected giving up territory in the Trump land‑for‑peace plan.
EU states have moved ahead with a two‑year economic and military support package, partly backed by frozen Russian assets saying they strongly support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
LITHUANIA-BELARUS
Why it matters: Low-tech threats in Europe’s Eastern flank underscore Russia backed hybrid security risks.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy claims, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has promised to stop weather balloons flying from his country into Lithuania, after 2 days of talks.
CAMBODIA–THAILAND
Why it matters: Decades-old tensions over the border territory threatens regional stability.
Thailand says Cambodia must announce ceasefire first to stop fighting.
A rocket attack from Cambodia killed a 63-year-old Thai villager, in the country’s first civilian death reported since the clashes began two weeks ago.
Thai forces destroyed a bridge used by Cambodia to deliver heavy weapons to the region.
Denmark advises against Thai travel to a 50km zone along the Cambodian border.
SUDAN CIVIL WAR
Why it matters: Civilian collapse is accelerating as diplomacy remains stalled.
A drone strike on a UN facility in Kadugli killed six peacekeepers and injured eight. All were Bangladeshi nationals serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). The UN Secretary-General said the strike could constitute a war crime. The RSF has been blamed but has not claimed responsibility.
The UK has sanctioned RSF commander Brig Gen al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, also known as Abu Lulu, who BBC Verify has linked to the October el-Fasher massacre. Three additional RSF commanders were also sanctioned, including deputy leader Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, already under EU sanctions since November.
DRC-RWANDA
Why it matters: Minerals rich Great Lakes region embroiled in decades of violence.
M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have seized the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing 200,000 people to flee and killing hundreds, according to officials.
ISRAEL–GAZA
Why it matters: Great‑power rivalry in one small territory, shaping global security, radicalisation, energy and trade routes.
ICC rejects Israel’s bid to block Gaza war crimes investigation.
Israel kills senior Hamas official in deadly strike. Trump is unhappy with Israeli execution while Hamas claims Israeli violations are threatening viability of the ceasefire.
The U.S. is hosting a forum in Qatar on an international Gaza force, reportedly excluding Turkey.
1,000 US evangelical pastors have travelled to Israel to train as ‘ambassadors’ for the country.
Hamas has re‑established policing and control in some evacuated areas.
The temporary demarcation line (Yellow line/military boundary) drawn during October’s ceasefire are expanding westward, forcing displacement according to Gaza residents.
ISRAEL–LEBANON
Why it matters: The Israel–Hezbollah ceasefire remains extremely fragile.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, a key figure in the White House’s engagement with Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Western and Arab diplomats, including the US and Saudi ambassadors toured areas along Lebanon’s border with Israel. The Lebanese government says the army aims to clear Hezbollah’s armed presence south of the Litani River by year-end. Hezbollah says it will comply, but retain weapons elsewhere in Lebanon.
ISRAEL–SYRIA
Why it matters: Regional instability is escalating as Israel moves into the buffer zone in southern Syria near the Golan Heights. The zone was seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed, a move not recognised by most of the international community.
Syria estimates Israel has carried out around 600 attacks over the past year.
The attacker who killed three Americans in an ambush on US forces in Syria last week was a member of the Syrian security forces, reportedly facing dismissal over extremist views. Trump has pledged “retribution”.
Meanwhile, exiled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is reportedly living in luxury in Moscow, with the former dictator said to be seeking a return to work as an ophthalmologist.
PAKISTAN–AFGHANISTAN
Why it matters: The Durand Line returns as a major instability trigger. Pakistan claims the Taliban are sheltering the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) to attack inside Pakistan, while the Taliban accuse Pakistan of illegal cross‑border airstrikes and violating Afghan sovereignty.
2 people killed including a police officer guarding a polio vaccination team in northwestern Pakistan
Militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claims the group supports the Pakistan army against the Taliban.
HAITI GANG WAR
Why it matters: The vacuum persists; citizens remain unprotected.
• Kenya dispatched a new contingent of police officers to Haiti to reinforce an overstretched multinational mission that has struggled to contain the country’s powerful armed gangs.
A Request to our subscribers:
Please leave a comment to engage with us! Like and share widely! These are the only ways to keep The Chief Brief free and possible.
Help us beat the algorithm! Spread the word! Women are more than a check box in world affairs!