Coinciding with International Women’s Day today [Saturday], a new McKinsey & Co paper notes that the corporate ladder is missing a rung. For every 100 men who are promoted into management positions, only 87 women advance.
This “broken rung” creates an early career gap that hinders women’s progress and ultimately limits their representation in leadership roles, the report by the analyst group states.
On average, for every ten years that a man is in the workforce, a woman is working for 8.6 years, given that women have the majority of part-time roles, formally work fewer hours, and take more frequent and longer leaves (typically to give birth or take care of children, or to take care of parents or in-laws).
Occupational shifts have been going on for centuries, of course, as new tools and technologies reduce the need for some existing job categories and open space for new ones. But these changes are happening on a bigger and faster scale now, compounded by additional factors, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, demographic changes, and long-term trends in automation and, more recently, gen AI.
Another report, this time from UK membership organisation Energy & Utility Skills, promoted on the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) website, echoes the ongoing gender-bridging challenge.
It found women’s promotions have increased from 26% to 33% over three years, but they still make up just 28% of the workforce in gas engineering – a slight decline from last year. Forbes notes there are 369 female billionaires globally, just 13% of the total.
Ethnic minority representation remains low as well, at 7% of leadership roles, despite recruitment rates exceeding their current workforce proportion.
With 20% of employees nearing retirement, workforce renewal is crucial. However, the 26 to 35 age group continues to see the highest turnover since 2021, the report found.
Just 3.4% of employees have declared a disability, compared with 18% in the wider UK workforce, and there are concerns about limited socio-economic diversity in leadership.
While most leaders report commitment to DEI (98%), challenges remain in attracting diverse candidates to senior roles.
The report calls for:
- Better retention strategies, including improved exit interviews
- Transparent recruitment monitoring, particularly for ethnic minority applicants
- Greater leadership diversity, with structured pathways for progression
- Collaboration across organisations to share best practices
With over 200,000 new roles needed by 2030 to meet Net Zero and energy security targets, fostering an inclusive workforce is essential.
The good news is the breadth of the energy transition provides innumerable opportunities, and jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) could grow by 23%, states McKinsey.
The key message is that it’s never too late to learn new skills. Around 9% of jobs in the US each decade are entirely new, for instance.
One thing that is clear is that to succeed in the digital-first future, both women and men need to be “technologists”.
As Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, notes, “AI won’t replace managers, but managers who use AI will replace those who don’t.”
Net Zero needs more women in climate tech
Jo Parker-Swift, CEO and founder of Solivus, which specialises in decarbonisation of buildings, said that despite progress the gender gap in climate tech remains high.
Women make up less than 20% of the energy industry’s workforce – and less than one in five leadership roles in the energy sector are held by women.
“Though other factors such as societal stereotypes and underrepresentation play a part, it’s clear that the lack of women taking on STEM subjects is still the number one reason there is such a gender imbalance in the UK’s tech and green tech industry,” she said.
“Despite receiving a lot of attention in recent years, the gender gap in STEM subjects remains high. Only around a third of graduates are women – a figure that has remained largely unchanged for the past five years.”
When you break it down to subjects such engineering and technology the statistics are even worse with only 16% of graduates women.
“International Women’s Day offers a moment, though, to reflect on what is and isn’t working and what needs to be done to improve the balance. There is an element of chicken and egg. How can young women feel comfortable pursuing a career in an industry which it is still overwhelming male and female role models are lacking? At the same time, how can we close the gender gap if we are unable to get women through the front door because not enough of them are studying STEM?”
She believes a huge part of this solution lies in the classroom.
“Our sector offers incredible, challenging, and varied career opportunities – and it’s important that we reframe how children view STEM topics so that both boys and girls are encouraged into this space early and girls realise that companies do want to employ female engineers,” she said.
“It is also important that women already in start of their careers should receive training on how to combat social stereotyping or other common barriers to career progression.”
In all the arresting stats, the fact that 122 million girls are out of school worldwide, according to Unesco, surely tops the lot.
To help with the challenges some women may face working in a male-orientated environment, organisations need to build an infrastructure to support women and other minorities, with communication, management and leadership training that focuses on overcoming these particular challenges to benefit both them and the companies they work for.
“We would in my opinion then see a pattern of tech employers promoting more women into management and leadership roles. This is an easy way to shift culture and benefit all,” she added.
“The urgent need for better gender equality in green tech cannot be overstated. Global warming is happening … and having a diverse clean energy sector ensures that we are better equipped to address the world’s biggest climate problems.”
Major, complex challenges like the clean energy transition require a variety of minds, perspectives and novel new ways of thinking, potentially leading to more effective environmental solutions.
“It’s why improving gender balance is critical in developing the cutting-edge green technologies needed to fuel Net Zero.”
Europe sets out Women’s Rights roadmap
The European Commission has today also set out its Roadmap for Women’s Rights, to empower women and girls and fully realise a gender-equal society across Europe and the world, presented in the 2025 Report on Gender Equality.
The report highlights the multi-faceted nature of the gender gap in STEM education and careers and calls for a multi-level approach that encompasses educational reforms, policy interventions, societal attitude shifts and targeted support mechanisms.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said, “There is no reason why a woman should be paid less than a man … we know that societies where women and men are treated equally are better, fairer and more successful. So let us tap into the vast reservoir of talents and skills of everyone, men and women alike.”
