It Was Never A Dress: The Reality of Women's Leadership Progress

It was never a dress

I recently revisited McKinsey's Women in the Workplace report (excellently summarized in their Q1 2025 Quarterly), and found myself both encouraged and challenged by what I discovered. While the study focuses on corporate US, these same patterns are evident across Europe and Germany - just take a look at e.g. the current update for the Allbright Report.

The Numbers Look Promising... At First

The headline numbers look promising at first glance – women in C-suite positions have jumped from 17% to 29% over the past decade, with VP roles increasing from 27% to 34%. But dig a little deeper, and the story gets more nuanced.

The Persistent Broken Rung

Entry-level hiring still shows a gender gap, with women making up just 48% of new hires. And here's where things get stuck: the infamous "broken rung." For every 100 men promoted to their first management role, only 81 women make the same leap. This first bottleneck creates ripple effects throughout the entire leadership pipeline.

The Full Picture Behind the Statistics

What also caught my attention was that those improved leadership numbers aren't solely the result of more women climbing the corporate ladder. Many traditional male-dominated positions with P&L responsibility have been reduced, while companies expanded support functions like HR and legal – areas where women were more frequently hired. The statistical gains, while real, don't tell the whole story.

What Real Change Requires

Meaningful change requires intentional action. Companies need to examine their hiring practices, fix that critical broken rung, create genuine advancement pathways, and actively invest in women leaders at all levels.

The past decade has shown us what's possible. Now it's time to accelerate that progress.

The past decade has shown us what's possible. Now it's time to accelerate that progress – not just to hit percentage targets, but to truly unleash the tremendous leadership potential of women in our organizations.

And don't forget: It was never a dress!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Marion Heil is the founder and managing director of Board+CEO Advisors. She is based in Vienna.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

With the visual, I am referring to the iconic "It was never a dress" campaign by software company Axosoft. The campaign encouraged seeing women as superheroes who are powerful, audacious and capable of anything, aiming at breaking down assumptions that limit women's potential and shift perceptions about women's role in society. I just admire this campaign and love the power of the visual.