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7 Ways to Get More Women in Leadership (and Keep Them There)

7 Ways to Get More Women in Leadership (and Keep Them There)

6 min read

Women in leadership aren’t held back by a lack of ambition. They’re held back by a lack of sponsorship, a broken first rung and rooms they were never invited into, and every one of those problems has a fix you can start on this quarter. This guide lays out where women in leadership actually stand right now, why the numbers stall, and seven moves that get more women into the roles they’ve earned. My stance is simple: stop waiting for companies to fix the pipeline and build your own support system around it.

Where Women in Leadership Stand Right Now

Let’s start with the good news, because there is some. According to Pew Research Center, women made up 46% of all U.S. managers in 2023, up from 29% in 1980. That’s real progress, built by women who kept showing up.

Now the part that should make you sit up. The higher you look, the thinner it gets. According to McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace 2025 report, women hold just 29% of C-suite roles, unchanged from 2024. And at the very top, Fortune counted 55 female CEOs on the 2025 Fortune 500, which is 11% of the list.

Nearly half of managers. Under a third of the C-suite. About one in nine CEOs. That gap is the whole story.

Key Takeaways

  • Women are close to half of U.S. managers but hold only 29% of C-suite roles and 11% of Fortune 500 CEO seats.
  • The biggest leak happens early: only 93 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men, and the gap compounds from there.
  • Sponsors, a deliberate network and visible P&L experience move women up faster than waiting to be noticed.

How to cite this article: McCloud, R. 2026. WomenCEO. 7 Ways to Get More Women in Leadership (and Keep Them There). https://womenceo.co/article/women-in-leadership/

Why Women in Leadership Roles Stall Out

If you’ve ever watched a brilliant woman get passed over and wondered what happened, here’s the honest answer. It usually wasn’t one decision. It was a series of small ones, starting years earlier.

The Broken Rung Comes First

The Women in the Workplace 2025 report found that only 93 women were promoted to manager for every 100 men, and only 74 women of color for every 100 men. That first promotion matters more than any other, because every future executive is drawn from the manager pool. Lose women there and you’ve shrunk the bench for the next twenty years.

Women Get Less Sponsorship

Mentors give advice. Sponsors spend their reputation on you. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org report that women overall are less likely than men to have a sponsor, and that employees with sponsors have been promoted at nearly twice the rate of those without. That’s not a small edge. That’s the difference between a career that moves and one that waits.

The “Ambition Gap” Is Really a Support Gap

You’ll hear that women simply want leadership less. The same report did find that 69% of entry-level women want a promotion versus 80% of entry-level men. But read the next line, because it changes everything: when women receive the same career support men do, that gap in ambition falls away. So no, women in leadership roles aren’t scarce because women don’t want them.

Why Gender Diversity in Leadership Pays Off

I’ll keep this short, because you already know it. Companies don’t promote women as a favor. They do it because better decisions come from rooms that don’t all think alike.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics studied more than 21,000 companies worldwide and found that the presence of women in C-suite positions was associated with higher profitability. The same research found that nearly a third of companies had no women on the board or in the C-suite at all. Gender diversity in leadership isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a competitive advantage most companies are still leaving on the table.

And networks matter for the women themselves, too. Northwestern University researchers found that women with a broad network plus a close inner circle of other women had an expected job placement level 2.5 times greater than women with low network centrality and a male-dominated inner circle (Northwestern Now, 2019).

Small group of women leaders in conversation, showing gender diversity in leadership at work

The Leadership Pipeline at a Glance

This is the concept that confuses people most, so here it is in one place. Each level of the pipeline has a different problem and a different fix.

Career stageWhat the data showsWhat’s really going onBest lever
Entry level to manager93 women promoted per 100 menThe broken rung: fewer first promotionsEarly sponsorship and clear promotion criteria
Women in management46% of U.S. managers (2023)Strong presence, but often in support functionsSeek P&L and line roles
Women in the C-suite29% of C-suite roles (2025)Fewer sponsors and narrower networksSponsors plus a peer network of senior women
CEO55 of the Fortune 500 (11%)Small pool of women with operating experienceExecutive mentorship and board exposure

If that 11% figure bothers you as much as it bothers me, we unpacked it in why 11% women CEOs in the Fortune 500 is a crisis.

7 Ways to Grow Women Leaders (Starting With You)

Here’s where we get practical. Some of these are for you. Some are for the women coming up behind you. Most are both.

1. Turn One Mentor Into a Sponsor

Pick a senior person who already knows your work. Tell them specifically which role you want next and ask, plainly, whether they’d put your name forward. Most women never make the ask. Make it.

2. Build a Deliberate Network, Not a Big One

Remember the Northwestern finding: breadth plus a tight inner circle of women. A goal-based group such as one of these women’s networking groups can give you both in a few months instead of a few years.

3. Go Get Line Experience

Revenue, operations, a P&L. In my experience, women in management often get steered toward support roles that rarely lead to CEO. Raise your hand for the messy, measurable job.

4. Make Your Wins Visible

Keep a running list of results with numbers. Share it in reviews, with your sponsor and with your skip-level boss. Quiet excellence doesn’t promote itself.

5. Practice the Skills Boards Look For

Strategic thinking, financial fluency, decisive communication. Our breakdown of the CEO skills that drive company growth is a good checklist.

6. Sponsor the Women Behind You

Once you’re in the room, hold the door. Recommend a woman for the stretch project. Say her name when she’s not there.

7. Stop Paying to Wait in Line

Some executive clubs come with steep dues and long waitlists. You don’t need permission to start building. The WomenCEO app is a no-waitlist, goal-based community with executive mentorship, free events and women who are working toward the same next step you are.

Focused woman founder planning her next move, one of many women leaders building her own path

What Companies Can Do About Women in Management

If you run a team or a company, you have more control here than you think. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org found that only half of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement. That leaves a lot of room to stand out.

  • Audit first promotions by gender every cycle, not just executive hires
  • Assign sponsors, not only mentors, to high-potential women
  • Write down promotion criteria so “fit” can’t quietly decide

None of this is expensive. It just takes someone deciding it matters. If you need a mentor while you push for it, our women leadership mentorship platform guide explains how executive mentors fit in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of leadership roles do women hold?

It depends on the level. Women were 46% of U.S. managers in 2023, according to Pew Research Center. Women in leadership at the top are far rarer: they hold 29% of C-suite roles and 11% of Fortune 500 CEO seats.

Why are there so few women in the C-suite?

Mostly because of what happens earlier. Fewer women get that first promotion to manager, and women overall are less likely to have a sponsor. By the time the C-suite has openings, the pool of women with the right experience is smaller than it should be.

What challenges do women leaders face?

The most common are the broken rung, less sponsorship, narrower networks and being steered into support roles instead of line roles. Many women leaders also face bias in how their confidence and decisiveness are judged. A strong sponsor and peer network help with nearly all of these.

How can women in leadership roles find a sponsor?

Start with a senior person who has already seen your results. Be specific about the role you want and ask whether they would advocate for you. Then make it easy for them by keeping your wins documented and visible.

Does gender diversity in leadership improve company performance?

Research points that way. The Peterson Institute’s study of more than 21,000 companies found that having women in the C-suite was associated with higher profitability. Diverse leadership teams also bring broader perspective to decisions.

How do women in management move into executive roles?

Seek P&L or operating responsibility, build relationships with sponsors and keep your results visible. Executive mentorship helps you see the next role before it opens. Communities like WomenCEO connect you with mentors who have already made that jump.

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