A broken rung in the corporate ladder symbolizes barriers to women's leadership.

Shattering the Glass Ceiling: Why Women Aren't Reaching the Top and How to Fix It

Kai Mendoza in Business & Economy June 2025 • 4 min read.

"New research reveals a surprising reason why women are less likely to pursue leadership roles, and it's not what you think."

The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions has become a critical policy objective for organizations worldwide. While much effort has been directed toward addressing demand-side factors such as biased hiring practices, new research highlights the importance of considering supply-side dynamics—specifically, how leadership roles are perceived and pursued differently by women.

A recent study, "The Broken Rung: Gender and the Leadership Gap" by Ingrid Haegele, sheds light on a previously understudied aspect of this issue: the inherent features of early-career promotions that may disproportionately deter women. Through an analysis of application patterns and survey data from a large firm, Haegele reveals that women are significantly less likely to apply for promotions that involve assuming responsibility over a team.

This reluctance, the study argues, isn't due to a lack of ambition or confidence, but rather to the common design features of leadership positions. This article will explore the study's findings, discuss the underlying factors driving this gender difference, and suggest actionable strategies for organizations seeking to build more inclusive leadership pipelines.

The Broken Rung: A Critical Early-Career Disconnect

A broken rung in the corporate ladder symbolizes barriers to women's leadership.

Haegele's research pinpoints a 'broken rung' in the leadership ladder: women in lower-level positions are substantially less likely than their male counterparts to apply for early-career promotions. This disparity isn't observed for later-stage promotions, suggesting that the initial steps toward leadership are particularly problematic. The study found a significant gender application gap of 27.4% when using a combined measure of job authority.

This measure incorporates three dimensions: number of direct reports, managerial autonomy, and reporting distance to the CEO. The research controlled for various factors including worker characteristics (e.g., hours constraints, location preferences, confidence levels) and perceived success likelihood, but the application gap persisted, indicating that something inherent to the nature of these promotions was at play.

Family obligations often cited as reason for limited role reach.
Success Likelihood on how promotions will look in future.
Lack of worker level characteristics and promotions.

To truly find where source is ,laboroatory tests were done. Lab settings point to different diminesions of leadership. A large study of firm employees suggest resposniblity for team makes position less appealing for women. Data collected had 50% response rate.

Redesigning Leadership for Equity

The broken rung is not an insurmountable barrier. By understanding the factors that deter women from early-career promotions, organizations can take strategic action to redesign leadership positions and create more equitable opportunities for all. This requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses both the practical and perceptual challenges associated with team leadership. Organizations can improve the appeal of leadership roles for women by:

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Everything You Need To Know

What is the 'broken rung' in the context of women's leadership advancement, and why is it significant?

The 'broken rung' refers to a critical disconnect in the early stages of women's careers, where they are significantly less likely than men to apply for initial leadership promotions. This disparity is particularly important because it creates a bottleneck, preventing women from progressing to higher-level leadership roles later in their careers. This early-career gap is more pronounced than gaps at later stages, making it a key area to address in order to improve gender representation in leadership.

According to Ingrid Haegele's study, what specific aspects of early-career promotions deter women from applying, and how does the study measure these aspects?

Ingrid Haegele's study, 'The Broken Rung: Gender and the Leadership Gap,' reveals that women are less likely to apply for promotions that involve assuming responsibility for a team. The study uses a measure of job authority that incorporates the number of direct reports, managerial autonomy, and reporting distance to the CEO. While the study also considered factors such as worker characteristics, hours constraints, location preferences and confidence levels, the application gap persisted which indicated that something inherent to the *nature* of these promotions was at play.

What implications does the research have for organizations looking to achieve gender equality in leadership, considering both supply-side and demand-side factors?

The research emphasizes the need for organizations to consider supply-side dynamics, specifically how leadership roles are perceived and pursued differently by women, in addition to demand-side factors like biased hiring practices. Organizations should focus on redesigning early-career leadership positions to make them more appealing to women. This approach involves not only addressing practical challenges but also perceptual challenges associated with team leadership. Organizations should consider a multifaceted approach, possibly by providing more support for family obligations, highlighting the long-term career benefits of these positions, and ensuring that worker characteristics are compatible with promotion opportunities.

In what ways can organizations redesign leadership positions to be more appealing to women, based on the findings related to the 'broken rung'?

To make leadership roles more appealing to women, organizations should redesign positions to address both practical and perceptual challenges. Possible strategies include offering more flexibility and support for those with family obligations, clearly communicating the long-term career benefits and growth potential associated with these early-career promotions. Additionally, the dimensions of leadership that are measured by managerial autonomy, number of direct reports and proximity to the CEO should be redefined.

The study mentions that a 27.4% gender application gap was found. What factors were controlled for in this study to ensure the application gap could be clearly understood?

The 27.4% gender application gap was found while controlling for a number of worker characteristics, such as hours constraints, location preferences, and confidence levels. The perceived likelihood of success was also controlled for, but the application gap persisted, suggesting that the design features of leadership positions themselves may disproportionately deter women.