Women Are Committed To Work, Yet Promotion-Shy: McKinsey Report

A new workplace analysis shows that women maintain the same level of career dedication as men, yet they express lower interest in pursuing promotions. The findings come from the Women in the Workplace 2025 report by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org. The study points to a widening ambition gap that is visible across different levels of corporate roles.

The researchers state that women remain highly driven in their daily work and consistently aim to perform at a high standard.

Employees across genders reported similar commitment. Yet fewer women said they wanted to take on higher positions.

At the entry level, only 69 per cent of women said they wanted a promotion, while 80 per cent of men reported the same.

The gap does not close at the senior level. There, 84 per cent of women said they hoped to advance, compared with 92 per cent of men. 

These differences surface despite strong performance and steady engagement from women across the study.

How Support Shapes Ambition

The report argues that meaningful support shapes ambition more than personal drive alone. When women and men receive similar guidance from managers and senior colleagues, their promotion aspirations nearly match.

The issue is that women often receive weaker support at critical moments. Many have fewer chances to build relationships with senior leaders.

They also receive less advocacy for their work and have fewer stretch assignments that prepare them for the next step in their careers.

The ambition gap is steepest at the entry level. Women in early career stages are far less likely to have sponsors who can recommend them for important assignments or open doors to broader opportunities.

Even when entry-level women do secure a sponsor, they are still promoted at lower rates than men. Senior-level women described repeated setbacks over the years.

Many said they had been overlooked for roles they were qualified for. These experiences create a sense that leadership positions are harder for them to reach.

The researchers clarify that lower interest in promotions does not mean lower ambition. Instead, the findings suggest that women often question whether advancement is realistic in environments where support is uneven.

Many respondents also described competing pressures in both work and home settings. These pressures influence the decision to pursue leadership roles.

Together, these factors create a landscape where motivated women see advancement as less attainable or more costly.

The report concludes that strong and consistent career support can reduce the ambition gap in a meaningful way. More frequent conversations between managers and employees can help.

Clearer promotion criteria and fair access to opportunities also matter. The authors argue that organisations that invest in transparent processes and active sponsorship will see women advance at rates closer to men.

Such progress helps maintain a healthier and more balanced leadership pipeline over time.

Views expressed by the author are their own.