The largest study on the state of women in corporate America shows declining commitment to gender diversity and reveals women are now less interested in promotion than men—a gap that closes when women receive the same career support as male peers
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org released the 11th annual Women in the Workplace report, the largest and most comprehensive study on the state of women in corporate America and Canada. This year, only half of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement, part of a several-year trend in declining commitment to gender diversity. And for the first time, women are less interested than men in being promoted.
These are addressable issues. When women receive the same career support that men do—sponsorship, manager support, and access to stretch opportunities—this gap in ambition to advance falls away. Yet women at both ends of the pipeline are still held back by less sponsorship and manager advocacy. Corporate America has made progress in women’s representation over the past decade, but for companies that lost focus, 2026 must be the year to recommit.
Companies that truly invest in women and create a fair workplace for all employees will benefit from the talents of the full workforce. The decisions leaders make now will determine the future of women in the workplace, and those who get it right will win the war for talent and outpace their competitors.
Only half of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement, with two-thirds saying diversity is a high priority
- 54% of companies this year say women’s career advancement is a high priority—and 46% of companies say the same about advancing women of color
- 21% of companies are giving little or no priority to advancing women—and this number rises to 29% for women of color
- This marks a sharp decline in commitment compared to previous years
- In 2019, 87% of companies reported gender diversity was a high priority
- 67% of companies say they place a high priority on diversity—and 84% say the same about inclusion
- For reference, in 2021, 90% of companies said that they placed a high priority on diversity and inclusion
- While most companies are maintaining or increasing career development efforts for all employees, some are scaling back staffing and resources dedicated to diversity and inclusion and programs that support women’s career advancement
- 25% of companies have reduced remote/hybrid work options
- 13% scaled back offering flexible work hours
- 13% cut back on career development programs with content for women
- 13% scaled back formal sponsorship programs
For the first time, an ambition gap has emerged—women overall are less interested in being promoted than men
- Women and men show equal commitment to their careers and similar motivation to do their best work
- Yet 80% of women overall say they want to be promoted to the next level, compared to 86% of men
- This year, the ambition gap is most pronounced at the entry and senior-leader levels
- 69% of entry-level women want a promotion v. 80% of entry-level men
- 84% of senior-level women want to be promoted v. 92% of senior-level men
- Compared to senior-level men, senior-level women see a steeper path to the top
- Senior-level women who don’t want to advance are more likely than men at the same level to say they’ve been passed over for a promotion (women, 18%; men, 12%) and don’t see a realistic path to the top (women, 11%; men, 3%)—factors that may make their next career step seem even farther out of reach
- Entry-level women face an opportunity gap
- Women early in their careers are far less likely than men to be people managers: only a third of all entry-level people managers are women
- As a result, far more entry-level men are on a path that can lead to promotion
- When entry-level women have the same opportunity to serve as people managers as men at their level, they are equally as likely to want to be promoted
- Career support is strongly linked to a desire to advance
- When entry- and senior-level women and men have sponsors and receive similar levels of support from managers and more senior colleagues, they are equally enthusiastic about getting promoted to the next level
- For some, personal obligations can make it harder to aspire to the next level
- Almost 25% of entry- and senior-level women who don’t want a promotion say that personal obligations make it hard to take on additional work, compared to just 15% of men at these levels
- This maps to findings from previous years that show women do significantly more housework. In 2024, women with partners were more than three times as likely as men with partners to be responsible for all or most housework
Entry-level women have fewer doors opened for them
- Entry-level women are starting their careers with less support and fewer opportunities
- Compared to entry-level men, they are less likely:
- To have a sponsor: 31% of women v. 45% of men
- To get promoted: 30% of entry-level women v. 43% of entry-level men
- Four in 10 entry-level women have not received a promotion, stretch assignment, or opportunity to participate in leadership or career training in the past two years, compared to 3 in 10 entry-level men
- To feel they can push back or take risks:
- 62% of entry-level women feel safe to take risks and make mistakes v. 71% of men
- 66% of entry-level women feel comfortable disagreeing with others v. 71% of entry-level men
- Entry-level women receive less encouragement to use AI—and feel less positive about it
- Only 21% receive manager support to use AI tools, compared to 33% of men at the same level
- And this support matters: employees who are not encouraged to use AI are less optimistic about its impact
- As a result, only 37% of entry-level women believe AI will improve their career prospects, compared to 60% of employees overall
Women who primarily work remotely are promoted at lower rates
- Women who work remotely most of the time are less likely to have a sponsor and far less likely to have been promoted in the last two years than women who work mostly on-site (37% of women working mostly remote v. 53% of women working mostly on-site)
- Compared to entry-level women, entry-level men are promoted at more similar rates, regardless of where they work: only 25% of mostly off-site women at this level have been promoted in the last two years, compared with 44% of off-site men
Employees widely support fairness and inclusion in the workplace
- Across the board, employees value bias-free processes, respectful workplaces, and varied perspectives. Around 9 in 10 men and women at all career levels agree with the following statements:
- Hiring and promotion processes should be free from bias and favoritism
- When employees feel respected and valued, they are motivated to do their best work
- A variety of perspectives leads to better decision-making and outcomes
- Early and mid-career women are less likely to believe opportunities are fair
- 59% of entry-level women agree that the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees v. 74% of entry-level men
- 72% of mid-career women agree that the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees v. 81% of mid-career men
- 65% of entry-level women believe all employees receive the support they need to succeed and similar opportunities to advance v. 76% of entry-level men
- 75% of mid-career women believe all employees receive the support they need to succeed and similar opportunities to advance v. 82% of mid-career men
- 59% of entry-level women agree that the best opportunities go to the most deserving employees v. 74% of entry-level men
- More women in senior leadership are concerned that their gender will hold them back: 29% see their gender as a barrier to getting ahead v. 19% of senior-level men
In the past year, employees faced especially high job insecurity and burnout
- Many employees report feeling frequently burned out: 42% of women overall v. 41% of men
- Burnout is worse for senior-level women: 60% of senior-level women frequently experienced burnout v. 50% of senior-level men
- Black women are feeling it most: almost 8 in 10 (77%) senior-level Black women have been frequently burned out in the past year
- Roughly half of employees—across all levels—have seriously considered leaving their organizations in the past year
The complete report, including solutions that organizations can implement to make meaningful progress toward gender equality, is available at womenintheworkplace.com.
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ABOUT THE STUDY
The Women in the Workplace study is conducted in partnership with McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org. Over 11 years, more than 1,000 companies have participated, and approximately 490,000 people have been surveyed on their workplace experiences. For this year’s report, we collected pipeline data from 124 organizations employing approximately 3 million people, surveyed 70 companies on their HR policies and practices, conducted interviews with 62 HR executives, and collected insights from 9,500+ employees.
ABOUT MCKINSEY & COMPANY
McKinsey is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organizations accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. We work with clients across the private, public, and social sectors to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders. We combine bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organizations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting gains in performance, and build workforces that will thrive for this generation and the next.
ABOUT LEAN IN
An initiative of the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation, LeanIn.Org helps women achieve their ambitions and companies create equal and inclusive workplaces. LeanIn.Org conducts original research on the state of women, supports a global community of small peer groups called Lean In Circles, and provides companies with programs to build workplaces where everyone feels welcome and valued. Those programs include 50 Ways to Fight Bias, a training activity that teaches all employees to recognize and interrupt biases women face at work, and the Women at Work Collection, a leadership training program for employees who want to become more effective and inclusive leaders. The Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation, which also runs LeanInGirls.Org and OptionB.Org, is a private operating nonprofit organization under IRS section 501(c)(3).
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