Why do women join our organization but fail to advance to the top?

september 7, 2026

Women enter many organizations in strong numbers, but rarely make it to the top. This is not because women are less ambitious or less capable, but because the path to leadership is lined with invisible barriers that men rarely encounter. Gender diversity in the workplace begins with recruitment, but too often stalls halfway. In this article, we answer the most common questions about why advancing to the top is so difficult for women — and what can actually be done about it.

What holds women back on the path to the top?

Women are not held back by a single large barrier, but by an accumulation of smaller obstacles that together form a glass ceiling. These include structural factors such as limited visibility in decision-making, informal networks from which women are excluded, and an evaluation culture that unconsciously favors male leadership styles. The result is that ambitious women are systematically passed over for promotion.

Beyond structural factors, individual patterns also play a role. Women more often underestimate themselves than men do when applying for jobs or pursuing promotions. They wait until they meet ninety percent of the job requirements, while male colleagues apply at sixty percent. This is not a character flaw, but a logical consequence of an environment that consistently judges women more harshly.

Moreover, caregiving responsibilities still fall disproportionately on women. Part-time work, maternity leave, and the so-called motherhood penalty mean that women in leadership positions are more often perceived as less committed — even when their performance says otherwise. The glass ceiling in organizations is therefore not a single phenomenon, but a combination of culture, structure, and perception.

What are the unwritten rules that women miss out on?

The unwritten rules are the informal codes of conduct, power dynamics, and political games that determine who actually gains influence within an organization. They appear in no handbook, yet anyone building a career quickly notices they exist. Women are less often naturally initiated into these rules, which puts them at a structural disadvantage.

Concrete examples of these unwritten rules include:

Visibility is not a byproduct of good work. You need to actively ensure that the right people know what you contribute. Results do not speak for themselves.
Informal moments are strategic. Conversations by the coffee machine, lunches, and after-work drinks are not casual. This is where relationships are built that later matter when promotions are decided.
Ask and you shall receive. Salary increases, interesting projects, and promotions are rarely offered spontaneously. Those who want them must claim them.
Self-promotion is not bragging. Presenting yourself as a leader is a skill, not vanity. Those who don’t position themselves will be positioned by others.
Building coalitions pays off. Influence depends on who you know and who speaks up for you when you’re not in the room.

Women who don’t know these rules, or who consciously ignore them because they find them unfair, pay a price for it. Understanding the political game does not mean abandoning your values — it means being able to navigate strategically without losing yourself.

What is the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?

A mentor offers advice and guidance; a sponsor actively puts their reputation on the line to help you move forward. That may sound like a subtle distinction, but in practice it is enormous. Mentors talk with you; sponsors talk about you when you’re not in the room, at the moment an opportunity arises.

What does a mentor do?

A mentor is someone with more experience who helps you reflect, provides feedback, and shares knowledge. Mentoring relationships are valuable for personal development and working through dilemmas. However, they are rarely directly responsible for concrete career steps such as promotions or access to influential networks.

What does a sponsor do?

A sponsor is a senior person who actively mentions your name in the right meetings. They recommend you for projects, promotions, and high-profile roles. Sponsorship is transactional in the best sense: the sponsor invests in you because they believe you add value and that their own reputation benefits as a result. Research within large organizations consistently shows that women have relatively many mentors but relatively few sponsors — and that this is one of the most important explanations for why women lag behind in leadership positions.

For women whose goal is to advance to the top, it is therefore crucial to deliberately invest in sponsorship relationships, not just mentoring.

How do unconscious biases affect advancement decisions?

Unconscious biases affect advancement decisions because evaluators unintentionally fall back on familiar patterns when assessing leadership potential. In many organizational cultures, leadership is still unconsciously associated with traditionally male traits such as decisiveness, self-confidence, and directness. Women who display those same traits are often judged differently than men.

Specific mechanisms that play a role include:

Affinity bias: Decision-makers tend to favor people who remind them of themselves. In a leadership team composed mostly of men, this structurally leads to the promotion of male candidates.
Double standard: Assertiveness in men is seen as strength; in women, it is often perceived as difficult or aggressive. Modesty in women is considered appropriate, yet at the same time causes them to miss out on promotions.
Performance vs. potential: Men are more often evaluated on potential, women on proven results. This means women must have demonstrated more before they are given the same opportunity.
Halo effect: When someone performs well in one area, their other qualities are automatically rated more positively. This effect is stronger for candidates already perceived as “leaders.”

Unconscious biases are not malicious, but they do have real consequences for gender diversity in the workplace. Awareness alone is not enough. Structural adjustments to selection and evaluation processes are needed to reduce their impact.

What can organizations do in practice to improve advancement?

Organizations can improve the advancement of women into leadership positions by taking targeted measures in the areas of selection processes, culture, and talent policy. Voluntary awareness efforts are not enough. What works are concrete interventions that make the rules more transparent and structurally embed equal opportunity.

Effective measures include:

Blind résumé screening: Removing names and gender from the initial selection round demonstrably reduces the influence of affinity bias.
Structured performance reviews: Use fixed criteria and rubrics so that subjective impressions carry less weight.
Active sponsorship programs: Match high-potential female employees with senior sponsors who actively guide and advocate for them.
Transparency in promotion criteria: Make explicit what is required for the next step. Women navigate more effectively when the rules are clear.
Leadership programs for women: Invest in targeted development tracks that help women understand the unwritten rules and strengthen their strategic capabilities.
Inclusive leadership as a competency: Evaluate managers on their ability to develop and retain diverse talent. Make it part of their performance review.

Improving advancement requires a combination of individual support and structural change. Organizations that focus solely on awareness without adjusting their processes rarely see lasting results.

When is diversity policy effective — and when is it not?

Diversity policy is effective when it is concrete, measurable, and embedded in day-to-day operations. It is ineffective when it is primarily symbolic — focused on image rather than genuine behavioral change. The difference lies in the extent to which leadership takes responsibility and policy is translated into everyday decisions.

When does diversity policy work?

Policy works when it is championed by the top of the organization, when there are clear objectives with corresponding accountability, and when it is directly linked to HR processes such as recruitment, promotion, and compensation. Inclusive leadership must also be a concrete part of what is expected of managers — not an optional training course.

When does diversity policy fail?

Diversity policy fails when it consists of isolated initiatives without coherence, when responsibility rests with HR or a diversity committee rather than with line managers, or when it is primarily focused on recruitment without attention to advancement and inclusion. Mandatory awareness training without structural follow-through rarely leads to behavioral change and can even generate resistance. Developing female leadership takes more than an annual workshop. It requires a cultural shift that starts at the top and is visible in everyday decisions.

How we at Intouch Women help organizations and women advance

At Intouch Women, we have been working on exactly this challenge for nearly 30 years: why do women enter organizations but fail to advance, and what can concretely be done about it? We offer solutions at two levels: for individual women who want to shape their careers strategically, and for organizations that want to embed inclusive leadership.

For ambitious women, we offer the Masterclass Stratego for Women, our intensive six-month program in which participants learn to:

Understand the unwritten rules of the political game and navigate them strategically
Present and position themselves more powerfully without losing their authenticity
Conduct a stakeholder analysis and understand the key players in their environment
Negotiate effectively on salary, roles, and influence
Build a strong network of sponsors and allies

For organizations, we deliver keynotes, workshops, and customized programs focused on gender diversity in the workplace, inclusive leadership, and breaking through the glass ceiling. We work with organizations including Rabobank, Lidl, and the Dutch Ministry of the Interior.

Want to find out what we can do for your organization or your own career? Get in touch with us and discover how we can take concrete steps together toward more women at the top.

Veelgestelde vragen

How do I, as a woman, start building a sponsorship relationship?

Start by identifying senior leaders inside or outside your organization who know and value your work. Make yourself visible by contributing to projects they are involved in, and then explicitly ask for guidance or advice. Sponsorship rarely develops on its own, but grows out of a relationship in which you demonstrably deliver value and the other person builds trust in you.

What if my organization has a diversity policy, but I still see no advancement opportunities?

A diversity policy on paper and an inclusive culture in practice are two very different things. Map out which concrete processes — such as promotion criteria, performance reviews, and talent development — have actually been adjusted. If those structural changes are missing, it is worthwhile to raise this with HR or your manager, or to explore whether an external development opportunity such as a leadership program can help you navigate the rules more effectively.

How do I handle the double standard without losing myself?

The double standard calls for a deliberate strategy: learn the difference between how you come across and what you intend. Invest in developing your personal leadership in a way that feels authentic but is also strategically effective. Actively seek feedback from trusted colleagues or a coach who can help you refine your style without conforming to a mold that does not fit you.

Can men also contribute to breaking the glass ceiling?

Absolutely — and their role is in fact crucial. Men in leadership positions can actively sponsor women, normalize inclusive behavior in meetings and performance reviews, and push back against groupthink during promotion rounds. Research shows that gender diversity improves more quickly when male leaders actively commit as allies — not out of obligation, but out of genuine conviction.

What are the most common mistakes organizations make when trying to improve advancement?

The most common mistake is investing in awareness without changing the underlying processes. One-off training sessions, isolated initiatives, and placing responsibility with HR rather than with line managers rarely lead to structural results. A second frequent mistake is focusing on recruitment while the culture and talent policy for advancement and retention remain unchanged.

How do I, as an organization, measure whether my approach to gender diversity is actually working?

Effective measurement goes beyond tracking recruitment figures. Analyze advancement ratios by job level, examine differences in promotion and compensation decisions between men and women, and monitor the attrition of female talent. Link this data to specific interventions to see what works, and set measurable targets with corresponding accountability at the management level.

Isn't a leadership program specifically for women stigmatizing?

This is a commonly heard concern, but practice shows the opposite. Targeted programs for women are not compensation for a deficiency — they are an investment in leveling an unequal playing field. They provide a safe environment to learn the unwritten rules, develop strategic skills, and build a strong network — something male colleagues often already receive informally. The stigma does not lie in the program, but in the culture that makes it necessary.