Women in Leadership: Building More Inclusive Organisations

Women in leadership are essential to building organisations that are fairer, more innovative and better equipped to understand the people they serve. Yet progress remains uneven. Women continue to be underrepresented in senior roles, face barriers at key promotion points and often receive less sponsorship, visibility and career support than men.

Creating more inclusive organisations therefore requires more than appointing a few women to leadership positions. It requires organisations to redesign how they recruit, develop, promote, reward and retain talent. It also requires leaders to make inclusion part of everyday decision-making, not a once-a-year initiative.

The state of women in leadership

Women’s participation in the workforce has increased over time, but representation continues to decline as organisational seniority rises. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, women represented 41.2% of the global workforce in 2024 but held only 28.8% of top leadership positions. Between 2015 and 2024, women’s share of top-management roles rose from 25.7% to 28.1%, while representation in mid-level management increased from 31.5% to 33.4%.weforum

These figures reveal a persistent leadership pipeline problem. More women are entering organisations, but many are not progressing into positions where they can influence strategy, budgets, culture and organisational direction.

The problem often begins early in a career. The first promotion into management is a critical step, yet women are frequently less likely than men to receive this opportunity. When fewer women become managers, the pool of candidates for senior leadership becomes smaller several years later.

Women may also be concentrated in functions such as human resources, administration and support services. These roles are valuable, but they are not always viewed as direct routes to chief executive, operational or board-level positions. This creates what the International Labour Organization describes as a “glass wall”: women may reach management, but not necessarily in the strategic functions that lead to the highest levels of authority.ilo

Why inclusive leadership matters

Inclusive leadership is not simply about improving representation. It is about ensuring that people with different experiences can contribute meaningfully, access opportunities fairly and influence important decisions.

A leadership team that includes people from different backgrounds is more likely to identify a wider range of risks, customer needs and opportunities. Diverse perspectives can challenge groupthink and improve the quality of debate. Inclusion is what enables those perspectives to be heard rather than ignored.

Research from the International Labour Organization found that more than 57% of surveyed enterprises believed gender-diversity initiatives improved business outcomes. Among companies that tracked gender diversity in management, almost three-quarters reported profit increases of between 5% and 20%. Respondents also associated gender diversity with stronger talent attraction, creativity, innovation and organisational reputation.ilo

These findings do not mean that appointing women automatically creates better performance. Rather, they demonstrate that gender diversity can be an important organisational asset when supported by fair systems, effective leadership and genuine inclusion.

The barriers women face

Women’s underrepresentation in leadership is not caused by a lack of ability or ambition. It is usually connected to structural, cultural and interpersonal barriers that accumulate throughout a career.

The broken rung

The first step into management is often called the “broken rung”. If women are promoted into management at lower rates than men, the effects compound at every subsequent level.

The Women in the Workplace 2025 report, produced by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org, found that 93 women were promoted to manager for every 100 men. The gap was wider for women of colour, with 74 women of colour promoted for every 100 men.ilo

This is significant because management experience is often treated as a prerequisite for senior leadership. An organisation cannot create a diverse executive pipeline if women are excluded from the first rung of leadership.

Unequal sponsorship

Mentoring provides advice and encouragement. Sponsorship goes further: sponsors actively advocate for an employee, recommend them for opportunities and use their influence to help them progress.

Women often receive less sponsorship than men, particularly at entry level and at important transition points. McKinsey’s 2025 research found that employees with sponsors were promoted at nearly twice the rate of employees without sponsors. However, women were less likely to have sponsors, and women with sponsors still experienced a promotion gap compared with men with sponsors.ilo

Organisations should not assume that talent will be recognised automatically. Informal networks often reproduce existing patterns of privilege. Without intentional sponsorship, high-potential women may receive advice but not the visibility or advocacy needed to advance.

Bias in evaluation and promotion

Leadership potential is not always assessed consistently. Women may be judged more harshly for behaviours that are rewarded in men. For example, assertiveness may be interpreted as confidence in one employee but as aggressiveness in another.

Performance reviews can also focus on style rather than results. Women may be expected to demonstrate warmth, collaboration and competence simultaneously, while men are more often rewarded for decisive or authoritative behaviour.

Bias can appear in:

• Who receives high-visibility assignments.
• How leadership potential is defined.
• Who is described as “ready now”.
• How mistakes are interpreted.
• How parental or caregiving responsibilities affect perceptions of commitment.
• Whether an employee is considered a cultural fit.

Clear, role-specific criteria can reduce the space for subjective judgments.

The unequal burden of care

Many organisations continue to reward constant availability, long hours and uninterrupted career progression. These expectations can disadvantage employees with significant caregiving responsibilities, who are still disproportionately women.

The World Economic Forum reports that women are 55.2% more likely than men to take career breaks and that women’s average breaks are longer 19.6 months compared with 13.9 months for men.weforum

A career break should not permanently damage someone’s leadership prospects. Organisations can support more inclusive career paths through flexible work, structured return-to-work programmes, fair performance assessments and access to meaningful assignments after an absence.

How organisations can build inclusive leadership

1. Measure the leadership pipeline

Organisations cannot address what they do not measure. It is not enough to count women in the workforce or at board level. Companies should examine representation and progression at every stage:

• Recruitment.
• Entry-level roles.
• First management promotion.
• Senior management.
• Executive leadership.
• Succession planning.
• Board appointments.

Data should be analysed by gender and, where legally and ethically appropriate, by additional characteristics such as race, disability, age or socioeconomic background. An overall gender figure can conceal significant differences between groups of women.

Useful questions include:

• Where does women’s representation decline most sharply?
• Which departments promote women most consistently?
• Are women receiving high-value assignments?
• How long does promotion take for different groups?
• Are women leaving at higher rates than men?
• Are promotion and pay outcomes consistent across teams?

Measurement creates accountability and helps leaders move from general statements to targeted action.

2. Make promotion criteria transparent

Employees should understand what success looks like at every level. Promotion decisions should be based on clearly defined capabilities, outcomes and behaviours rather than informal impressions.

A transparent promotion process may include:

• Written criteria for each leadership level.
• Structured promotion applications.
• Diverse promotion panels.
• Evidence-based performance discussions.
• Calibration meetings to identify inconsistent ratings.
• Documented reasons for promotion and non-promotion.
• Regular audits of promotion outcomes.

Transparency does not eliminate bias by itself, but it makes hidden assumptions easier to identify and challenge.

3. Build formal sponsorship programmes

Formal sponsorship can help ensure that talented women gain access to influential leaders and career-building opportunities.

An effective programme should include:

• Senior leaders who are accountable for sponsoring participants.
• Clear expectations for sponsors.
• Regular meetings and progress reviews.
• Access to strategic projects and networks.
• Defined outcomes, such as promotion readiness or expanded responsibilities.
• Measurement of promotion, retention, and pay outcomes.

Sponsorship should not be limited to women who already resemble existing executives. Leaders should actively identify potential across different functions, backgrounds, working arrangements, and career paths.

4. Improve access to strategic assignments

Visibility is an important part of leadership development. Women should have equal access to assignments that involve:

• Revenue responsibility.
• Operational leadership.
• Major clients.
• Crisis management.
• International exposure.
• Technology and transformation.
• Budget ownership.
• Board and executive presentations.

If women are repeatedly assigned only coordination, support or internal-facing work, they may be perceived as less prepared for senior roles, even when they have strong leadership capability.

Managers should track who receives stretch assignments and why. This should be part of regular talent reviews rather than left to informal networking.

5. Equip managers to lead inclusively

Managers shape the daily experience of employees. They influence who receives feedback, flexibility, recognition, development, and opportunities.

Inclusive managers:

• Hold regular career conversations with all team members.
• Ask employees about their goals rather than making assumptions.
• Give specific and actionable feedback.
• Distribute high-profile work fairly.
• Interrupt bias in meetings and evaluations.
• Recognise contributions consistently.
• Support flexible working without penalising career progression.
• Address disrespectful behaviour quickly.

Training can help, but a single workshop is not enough. Managers need practical expectations, coaching, feedback and consequences when they fail to create a fair team environment.

6. Create flexible career pathways

Flexible work should not be treated as a benefit reserved for parents. It can help employees manage health needs, disability, education, family responsibilities, and different working styles.

Inclusive flexibility may include:

• Flexible working hours.
• Hybrid or remote work where practical.
• Predictable scheduling.
• Paid parental and caregiving leave.
• Phased returns after extended leave.
• Part-time or shared leadership arrangements.
• Access to important meetings for employees working different schedules.
• Promotion pathways that do not depend on constant physical visibility.

Flexibility must be designed carefully. If remote employees are excluded from key decisions or development opportunities, flexibility can create a new disadvantage. The aim should be flexibility with equal access to advancement.

7. Support women’s networks and employee groups

Employee resource groups and professional networks can provide community, advice and visibility. They can also help organisations identify barriers that may not appear in engagement surveys.

However, these groups should not become a substitute for leadership accountability. Women’s networks should be:

• Properly funded.
• Supported by senior sponsors.
• Connected to business and people strategies.
• Involved in policy feedback.
• Open to allies while preserving space for women’s experiences.
• Evaluated according to meaningful outcomes.

A network can create connection, but only leaders can change promotion systems, pay structures and organisational culture.

Inclusion must be intersectional

Women are not a single, uniform group. Experiences differ according to race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality, socioeconomic background, nationality, religion and caregiving responsibilities.

For example, an organisation may have a relatively high percentage of women overall while women from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups remain concentrated in junior roles. Treating the overall figure as evidence of equality can hide these disparities.

An intersectional approach asks:

• Which women are progressing?
• Which women are being hired into leadership-track roles?
• Who has access to sponsorship?
• Who is most likely to experience harassment or exclusion?
• Whose accent, communication style or leadership approach is treated as credible?
• Who is missing from succession plans?

The McKinsey and LeanIn.Org research found that women of colour faced a particularly severe gap at the first promotion into management, making intersectional analysis essential to meaningful progress.

The role of men as allies

Building inclusive organisations is not the responsibility of women alone. Men still hold a majority of senior leadership positions in many organisations and therefore have significant influence over systems, culture and access to opportunity.

Effective allyship includes:

• Sponsoring women for important roles and assignments.
• Giving credit publicly and accurately.
• Challenging biased language and assumptions.
• Sharing caregiving responsibilities.
• Supporting flexible work for everyone.
• Listening without requiring women to repeatedly educate colleagues.
• Holding other leaders accountable.
• Using influence to improve policies and practices.

The goal is not to position men as saviours. It is to ensure that people with decision-making power use it to remove barriers and widen access.

From representation to belonging

Representation answers the question: “Who is present?”

Inclusion asks: “Who is heard, supported and able to influence outcomes?”

Belonging asks: “Who feels that they can contribute without having to hide important parts of themselves?”

A woman may hold a senior title but still experience exclusion if she is interrupted, scrutinised more heavily, excluded from informal networks or expected to represent an entire gender. Leaders must therefore examine not only the number of women in senior positions but also their actual authority, influence and experience.

Inclusive organisations make space for different leadership styles. They do not require women to imitate traditional models of authority in order to be taken seriously. They evaluate leaders on impact, integrity, judgment and results rather than on conformity to a narrow stereotype.

A practical action plan

Organisations can begin with a focused 12-month plan:

1. Establish a baseline using representation, promotion, pay, attrition and employee-experience data.
2. Identify the point in the leadership pipeline where women experience the largest drop-off.
3. Set measurable targets for recruitment, promotion, sponsorship and retention.
4. Review job descriptions and promotion criteria for unnecessary requirements and biased language.
5. Introduce structured interviews and consistent evaluation rubrics.
6. Audit access to strategic assignments, leadership programmes and executive exposure.
7. Pair high-potential women with accountable sponsors, not only mentors.
8. Train managers to conduct fair career conversations and distribute opportunities equitably.
9. Strengthen flexibility, parental leave and return-to-work support.
10. Report progress to the executive team and board at regular intervals.
11. Include inclusion-related outcomes in leadership performance reviews.
12. Publish enough progress data to demonstrate accountability while protecting employee privacy.

Progress should be assessed by outcomes, not activity. The number of workshops held is less important than whether women are being promoted, paid fairly, retained, and trusted with meaningful authority.

Conclusion

Women in leadership are central to building more inclusive organisations, but representation alone is not enough. Organisations must address the broken rung, unequal sponsorship, biased promotion systems, limited access to strategic work and inflexible career expectations.

The evidence shows that progress is possible, but it is not automatic. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 data confirms that women’s representation in leadership has improved while the gap between mid-level and top-level leadership remains persistent. The International Labour Organization’s research also shows that gender diversity can support business outcomes, innovation, reputation and talent attraction when it is implemented seriously.ilo+1

The most effective organisations will treat inclusion as a leadership and business responsibility. They will measure who advances, redesign the systems that create unequal outcomes and build cultures where women and people of every background can lead with authority, authenticity and support.