Women's career progression isn't only hindered by the glass ceiling; the barriers appear already in the early stages of their careers. Even though women graduate at higher rates than men do and have higher average GPAs, upon entering the workforce, they immediately lose their advantage.
The odds of advancement are lower for women at the pivotal first promotion opportunity to manager: for every 100 men, only 81 women are promoted, on average. This phenomenon is called “the broken rung,” and its effects compound throughout women’s careers as they risk missing opportunities before they even tap the glass ceiling
A book about hidden barriers and concrete solutions
On March 11, 2025, McKinsey & Company and Harvard Business Review Press published "The Broken Rung: When the career ladder breaks for women – and how they can succeed in spite of it". The book offers women practical tools to identify and overcome the hidden barriers to career progression.
The book is authored by McKinsey’s María del Mar Martínez, Kweilin Ellingrud, and Lareina Yee, who all have extensive experience supporting women leaders and researching workplace gender equality. The work is based on over a decade of research and insights from over 50 women leaders.
The Broken Rung book authors pictured from left, Kweilin Ellingrud, María del Mar Martínez, and Lareina Yee
Experience capital – a hidden opportunity in career development
One of the book's central themes is experience capital – the skills, wisdom, and experience accumulated throughout one's working life, which are critical for career advancement. While about half of a person's lifetime earnings come from education and half from experience, men get more value from their experience than women do.;
The first job is one of the most important building blocks of experience capital. When a company provides training, development opportunities, and encourages employees to try different roles, individuals accumulate skills and experience that open doors to new positions – even leadership roles. This kind of investment in personal growth benefits both the individual and the company", says María del Mar Martínez.
Relevant in Finland, too
Although the book's research is largely based in the United States, similar structural challenges can be seen across Europe, including Finland. The book discusses concrete ways women can advance their careers:
- Timely and bold job changes
- The importance of P&L roles (positions with profit and loss responsibility)
- Technology skills as part of future capabilities
- The growing value of soft skills, such as emotional intelligence
The Broken Rung offers inspiring reading for anyone looking to understand and break down the barriers to career advancement – and to build a more equitable working world.
More about the authors:
María del Mar Martínez is a senior partner at McKinsey' Madrid office and chairs the firm's global senior partner election committee. She previously led McKinsey's Risk & Resilience practice, served as the firm's global diversity leader, and has extensively studied global diversity topics. She was the first female partner in McKinsey's Iberia offices. Currently, she advises financial institutions and governments on growth, transformation, risk management, and resilience.
Kweilin Ellingrud is McKinsey's chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer and leads the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in Minneapolis. As a senior partner, she has led research on gender equality, racial equity, generative AI, the future of work, and global competitiveness. She works with clients in the financial sector on strategy and operational transformation.
Lareina Yee is the technology leader at the McKinsey Global Institute and serves as the global lead of Tech Alliances. Based in San Francisco, she is a senior partner whose client work focuses on technology and artificial intelligence. She was McKinsey's first chief diversity officer and in 2015 founded the Women in the Workplace study, which has reached over 1,000 companies and half a million employees.