– By Julie Nel
One of the quiet changes in modern leadership is how much influence now lives online. Conversations that once happened in meeting rooms or across industry events increasingly unfold on LinkedIn, in podcasts, and through other digital channels.
Over the years, I’ve worked with individuals whose public profiles continued to grow while the attention surrounding them changed. Most were not worried about posting online. They were worried about everything that followed. The information that accumulated over time. The unexpected contact. The impersonation attempts. The comments that crossed a line. The feeling that someone always seemed to know more than they should.
None of this happens overnight. A digital footprint is not created by one post or one interview. It develops gradually through years of professional activity, often without us noticing just how much information becomes available to anyone looking for it. In the UK alone, LinkedIn now has more than 33 million members, which says something about how thoroughly these platforms have become part of professional life.
Yet as digital influence has grown, so has awareness of what surrounds it. Unlike a physical office or event, the online environment does not really close. Content stays searchable, references resurface, and what begins as fragments of professional activity gradually builds into a digital footprint that keeps moving long after any individual post or appearance.
“For most professionals, that footprint simply reflects the work they do. For women whose roles place them in the public eye, it can attract a very different kind of attention.”
The evidence is becoming difficult to ignore.
Research from the End Violence Against Women Coalition found that women are 27 times more likely than men to experience online harassment, while one in five women in the UK report having experienced it themselves. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence have introduced entirely new forms of abuse. UN Women reports that deepfake pornography now accounts for 98 per cent of all deepfake content online, with women making up 99 per cent of identified victims. Since 2019, this type of content has increased by more than 550 per cent.
Cyberstalking has been growing faster than almost any other form of stalking behaviour, according to University College London research, and it disproportionately affects women with a visible professional profile.
“The 2025 UN Women survey found that more than 40 per cent of women in public-facing roles had self-censored online to avoid abuse, and nearly one in five had pulled back professionally.”
When talented leaders begin to withdraw because visibility no longer feels safe, everyone loses. Organisations lose voices that challenge ideas. Industries lose expertise. Future leaders lose role models.
This is not simply a conversation about online safety. It’s a conversation about confidence.
In my experience, most women in leadership are not looking to become security experts. They don’t want to spend their evenings monitoring search results, questioning unfamiliar messages or wondering how much personal information is publicly available. They simply want the confidence to lead, communicate and build their profile without carrying the burden of managing every risk that surrounds it.
The best protection is often the kind that quietly sits in the background. It doesn’t discourage visibility. It enables it. It allows leaders to remain focused on their work because someone else is paying attention to the things they shouldn’t have to.
That’s the thinking behind HALO.
HALO was created for women whose visibility is part of their professional success. Combining digital intelligence with discreet human expertise, it helps identify emerging risks, monitor digital exposure and provide clear guidance before small issues become larger concerns.
The goal is not to make women less visible.
It is to ensure that visibility remains a source of opportunity rather than anxiety.
As more women step into influential public roles, we should continue encouraging them to share their expertise, lead conversations and build their presence. At the same time, we should recognise that visibility carries responsibilities that individuals should not be expected to manage alone.
Leadership has always required courage.
Today, it also requires confidence that someone is quietly watching your back while you focus on everything ahead.
About HALO
A digital sanctuary for women of influence
HALO is a luxury digital protection and threat monitoring service created for women in high visibility roles. Working quietly behind the scenes, it provides discreet guidance that enables clients to navigate an increasingly connected world while creating space to focus on what matters most.
Combining thoughtful human expertise with intelligent digital insight, HALO eases the burden of managing an online presence, bringing reassurance, clarity, confidence and greater peace of mind to support overall wellbeing without adding complexity.
Behind the service is a trusted team that works with care, discretion and empathy. The aim is simple: to give every client the confidence to lead, grow and embrace new opportunities without carrying the weight of constant vigilance.
Explore More: https://b4secure.co.uk/halo/
