By WCorp Editorial Team

#WomenInLeadership | #EquityInAction | #CultureOfRecognition

Progress Is Real and the Pace Must Speed Up

Women’s representation in C-Suite roles continues to climb slowly, reflecting steady, incremental progress. Ambition is strong: women are more determined than ever to reach leadership positions ([Women in the Workplace, McKinsey & LeanIn.Org 2024]).(McKinsey & Company) Yet, the reality remains that women still lag behind in Chief Executive roles, highlighting persistent barriers at the top (KPMG, Mind the Gap, 2022).(KPMG Assets)

What’s holding things back? It’s trust.

Trust and Fairness: The Missing Links to Leadership

Women consistently report less trust in the fairness of leadership and promotion processes within their organisations — a perception shaped by everyday realities such as unconscious bias, microaggressions and pay disparities (Great Place To Work, Women at Work report).(Great Place to Work) This scepticism is also compounded by the lack of visible female leaders at the top.

When trust erodes, so does ambition. For many women, reaching the highest levels feels less like a realistic goal and more like an elusive dream.(Great Place to Work)

Recognition: The Invisible Workload

Recognition plays a pivotal role in career advancement, but women face a double bind.

Research shows women are less likely to receive credit for their work, even when presenting the exact same ideas as men (University of Delaware research).(udel.edu) They are also more likely to take on “non-promotable” work tasks like meeting notes, organising internal initiatives, and emotional labour that, while essential, often go unrecognised.

In fact, women take on an average of 200 more hours per year of these non-promotable tasks than their male colleagues, draining time and energy away from high-impact, career-advancing work.(Harvard Business Review)

Reluctance to self-promote can deepen the recognition gap. Building a culture of peer-to-peer recognition can help address this imbalance by ensuring contributions are valued regardless of whether individuals broadcast their achievements (see The No Club for practical guidance).(thenoclub.com)

Flexibility: A Key to Retention and Advancement

Flexible work meets a vital need for many women juggling career and caregiving responsibilities.

• 40% of women not currently in the labour market say access to flexible work would allow them to take on paid work. (Fawcett Society, Equal Pay Day 2023).(fawcettsociety.org.uk)
• Lack of flexibility is one of the top reasons women have left their employers in the past year, according to Deloitte’s Women @ Work 2023 global survey.(Deloitte United Kingdom)
• 77% say they are more likely to apply for jobs that advertise flexible working options. (Fawcett Society, Equal Pay Day 2023).(fawcettsociety.org.uk)

Offering genuine flexibility is a strategic move: it supports retention, raises engagement and opens the door for more women to pursue leadership roles without compromising other responsibilities.(Deloitte United Kingdom, fawcettsociety.org.uk)

What Leaders Can Do Now

• Build transparent, fair promotion processes that actively counteract bias (see KPMG and Great Place To Work recommendations).(KPMG Assets, Great Place to Work)
• Create recognition programmes that highlight contributions broadly and fairly (peer recognition systems are proven to help).(Great Place to Work)
• Shift organisational culture to value promotable work over invisible labour (see The No Club and HBR on non-promotable tasks).(thenoclub.com, Harvard Business Review)
• Make flexible working a baseline expectation, not a perk.(fawcettsociety.org.uk, Deloitte United Kingdom)
• Amplify female leadership visibility to build trust and inspire ambition.(Great Place to Work)

The Bottom Line

Achieving gender equity at the top is essential for both fairness and business success. Companies that foster trust, fairness and recognition empower women while driving innovation, engagement and long-term growth.

Leadership ambition thrives when women feel seen, trusted and supported — closing the gap means transforming both numbers and culture.