Before diving in, keep these guiding questions in mind to frame your thinking.

Key Questions for Business Leaders:

• Are you fully leveraging the power of diversity—including diversity of thought—to drive innovation and growth?
• Are you cultivating a culture where every voice is not only welcomed, but expected—one where people feel truly safe to speak their minds?

Where Did Women Have More Freedom—Athens or Sparta?

When we think of ancient Greece, Athens often comes to mind first—a city that soared to astonishing heights in philosophy, science, architecture, theatre, and art. Its intellectual legacy endures through the names of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates; the dramatic works of Euripides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes; and the architectural brilliance of Ictinus and Callicrates, who designed the Parthenon.

Sparta was no cultural beacon. It was a militarized society—a collection of villages more than a city—entirely focused on preparing for and waging war. There were no grand monuments, no flourishing schools of philosophy (to be fair, they loved dance and poetry). Spartans distrusted rhetoric and shunned lengthy speeches. In fact, they gave us the word laconic—a tribute to their preference for brief, blunt speech (Spartans called themselves Lacedaemonians, hence the Greek lambda (Λ) on their shields). When the victorious Spartan admiral Lysander sent word that “Athens has fallen,” he was told that “one word would have sufficed: ‘Fallen.’”

Surprisingly, it was far better to be a woman in Sparta than in the culturally celebrated city of Athens. In a society defined by military discipline and austerity, Spartan women enjoyed freedoms that stunned—and sometimes scandalized—other Greeks. They owned property, received physical education, and were encouraged to speak their minds. In one of history’s great paradoxes, a rigid, militarized state produced some of the freest women of the ancient world. In fact, the liberties afforded to Spartan women would still be considered progressive in parts of the world today!

Contrast this with Athens. Despite its dazzling contributions to philosophy, art, and politics, Athens was deeply conservative in its treatment of women. Athenian women were largely confined to the home, barred from education, public life, and the democratic process. Their world was domestic and silent.

Sparta recognized a simple truth: strong women were essential to sustaining a strong warrior society. While girls elsewhere in Greece were married off at fourteen, Spartan women could not marry before eighteen—improving both maternal health and the strength of their offspring. They were fed better than most women in the Greek world and trained physically, competing in athletic contests. To the shock of their contemporaries, they often trained semi-nude—boldly rejecting the era’s modesty norms.

As strange as it may sound, war may have played a role in this empowerment. The constant absence of Spartan men—who were frequently away on campaign—meant that women had to manage households and estates. They needed to be capable, independent, and authoritative.

It’s a pattern seen elsewhere in history too. During World War II, women took over vital roles in industry and even flew planes to Air Force bases. That experience shifted cultural norms and laid foundations for broader gender equality.

Spartan women were so influential that their voices—unlike most of their ancient counterparts—still echo through history. They remain among the few female perspectives we have from antiquity. In a world that often silenced women, the Spartan model remains a striking example of early female autonomy. Their sayings were recorded and celebrated. Here’s two:

“With it or on it.”

—A Spartan mother to her son, handing him his shield before battle.
Meaning: come back victorious (with your shield) or dead (carried on it). Never return as a coward.

“Because we are the only ones who give birth to men."
—A Spartan woman to a foreign woman who asked why Spartan women were the only ones who spoke so freely to men.
A striking response that emphasizes Spartan women's pride and elevated status.

The Strength of Inclusion

There’s little doubt that the greater involvement of women contributed to Sparta’s strength. In a society built on warfare, it was the empowerment of women that helped sustain its military power for generations.

A quick side note: In chapter 2, we saw how Sparta was eventually defeated by Thebes. Their elite fighting force? The Sacred Band—an extraordinary unit made up of 150 pairs of male lovers. Their deep personal bonds were believed to strengthen their courage and discipline on the battlefield.

History offers a striking lesson here: whether through empowering women or embracing unconventional team structures, diversity and inclusion have long been sources of unexpected strength.

We’ll close this chapter on a fitting note of beauty: Helen of Troy—the face that launched a thousand ships and the Trojan war—was, after all, a Spartan.

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Feel free to reach out to me at peter.corijn@vucastar.com if you’d like to explore these ideas further. You can also find lots of insights in my book True Leaders Deliver.

Peter Corijn, CEO VUCASTAR Consulting (www.vucastar.com)

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Selected Biography:

Cartledge, Paul, “The Spartans. An Epic History”, Pan Books, 2003

Herodotus, “The Histories”, Penguin Classics, 1996

Morris, Ian, “War? What Is It Good For? The Role of Conflict in Civilisation, From Primates to Robots, Profile Books, 2014

Plutarch, “On Sparta”, Penguin Classics, 1988

Pomeroy, Sarah B., “Goddesses, Whores, Wives & Slaves”, Bodley Head, 2015

Thucydides, “History of the Peloponnesian War”, Penguin Classics, 1972

Xenophon, “A History of My Times”, Penguin Classics, 1979