Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In finds more women leaning out for the first time since the promotion survey began a decade ago: ‘Major moment of backsliding’

Lean In and McKinsey’s 2025 Women in the Workplace report, based on data from 124 companies covering 3 million workers and interviews with 62 HR executives, finds for the first time significantly fewer women than men want promotions (women: 69% entry-level, 82% mid-career, 84% senior; men: 80%, 86%, 92%), a sharp shift from 2023 when 81% of both sexes sought advancement; authors attribute the “ambition gap” to uneven managerial advocacy and career support (when support is equal the gap disappears) alongside structural pressures—rising childcare costs, stricter return-to-office mandates and rollbacks of DEI policies—that have coincided with a net decline of about 500,000 working women versus a nearly 400,000 increase in men year-to-date. Companies report a mismatch between rhetoric and action (88% say they prioritize inclusion but only 54% run women’s career programs, 48% target women of color, and 20% offer no specific support), and leaders warn the trend risks broader labor-market and economic damage—closing the participation gap could boost U.S. GDP by an estimated 4.2%.

Analysis

Lean In and McKinsey’s 2025 Women in the Workplace report, drawing on 124 companies, 3 million workers and 62 HR interviews, finds a newly material “ambition gap”: only 69% of entry‑level women, 82% of mid‑career women and 84% of female senior executives want promotions versus 80%, 86% and 92% of men in the same cohorts; this reverses 2023 parity when 81% of both sexes sought advancement and 93% of women under 30 were promotion‑seeking. The report links the gap to uneven managerial advocacy and career support — when women receive equal support the ambition gap disappears — alongside stricter return‑to‑office mandates, rising childcare costs and rollback of DEI policy levers such as EO 11246. Corporate responses are inconsistent: 88% of companies claim to prioritize inclusion but only 54% run women’s career programs, 48% target women of color, and 20% report no specific support, while BLS data show a net decline of about 500,000 working women versus a nearly 400,000 rise in men year‑to‑date. Leaders warn of macroeconomic consequences: increasing women’s participation to peer levels could add an estimated 4.2% to U.S. GDP, signaling medium‑term risks to talent pipelines, productivity and firms’ competitiveness if current trends persist.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Monitor corporate disclosures on promotion rates, gendered retention and explicit programs (54%/48% metrics) and favor companies that publish and fund women’s career initiatives, consider overweighting companies with formal childcare support and flexible work policies that reduce visibility and mentorship gaps and may retain female talent, actively engage or vote for stronger DEI commitments at portfolio companies given that 20% report no specific support which heightens execution risk, track macro indicators—female labor force participation and childcare cost trends—as inputs to GDP and consumer demand forecasts and consider hedging exposure if adverse trends continue, reassess risk to human‑capital‑intensive business models and prioritize firms with measurable talent‑management KPIs and low reliance on in‑office mandates