This year, McKinsey’s research reveals some gains for women at the top, yet with lagging progress in the middle of the pipeline. True egality is far. The findings uncover the realities about women’s experiences in the workplace in 2023, including other insights on why it’s crucial to empower women across industries and regions.
Harvard professor Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences this year, for advancing the world’s understanding of women’s progress in the workplace. Goldin’s long-life research career in the subject has brought to light the barriers that need to be addressed to make meaningful progress toward gender parity, a topic covered extensively in the Women in the Workplace 2023 report by McKinsey.
Over the past nine years, women—and especially women of color—remain underrepresented across the corporate pipeline. We see a growing bright spot in senior leadership. Since 2015, the number of women in the C-suite has increased from 17 to 28 percent, and the representation of women at the VP and SVP levels has also improved significantly. Progress remains slow for women at the manager and director levels, creating a weak middle in the pipeline. Women of color face the steepest drop-off in representation from entry-level to C-suite positions. As they move up the pipeline, their representation drops by two-thirds.
The survey debunks four myths about women’s workplace experiences and career advancement:
Myth 1: Women are becoming less ambitious
Reality: Women are more ambitious than before the pandemic—and flexibility is fueling that ambition
Myth 2: The biggest barrier to women’s advancement is the “glass ceiling”
Reality: The “broken rung” is the greatest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership
Myth 3: Microaggressions have a “micro” impact
Reality: Microaggressions have a large and lasting impact on women
Myth 4: It’s mostly women who want— and benefit from—flexible work
Reality: Men and women see flexibility as a “top 3” employee benefit and critical to their company’s success
