Across the talent pipeline, women are encountering a lack of sponsorship and manager advocacy that could bring opportunities for career advancement and sought-after leadership roles.
According to the Women in the Workplace 2025 report by McKinsey and non-profit LeanIn, which surveyed 124 organisations and 9,500 employees in corporate America, women remain highly motivated in their careers. However, only 69% of women in entry-level positions reported wanting a promotion, compared with 80% of men.
Women who flexiwork are less likely to be promoted
‘It isn’t that women aren’t driven,’ says Tracy Han, general manager for Singapore and Malaysia at co-working business Arcc Spaces. ‘It’s that the path to leadership becomes increasingly difficult for those further along the [talent] pipeline.
‘We are seeing a “proximity penalty”, where women who use flexible work are less likely to be promoted than those onsite. Yet this doesn’t seem to affect men in the same way. However, organisations that implement structured sponsorship and stretch opportunities can close the gap, helping talented women advance successfully while strengthening leadership diversity and organisational performance.’
Sponsorship gap
According to the report, women are less likely than men to have a sponsor who directly advocates for their career advancement. At entry level, only 31% of women reported having a sponsor, compared with 45% of men.
That disparity widens with seniority. Just 20% of senior-level women were offered opportunities to participate in leadership and career training, compared with 34% of men – leaving 11% of senior-level women unable to see a realistic path to promotion.
That gap is no surprise to Wendy Koh, vice president of sales for Asia Pacific at Hitachi Vantara. ‘Through my experience leading regional teams, I’ve seen that mentorship alone does not always translate into advancement,’ she says. ‘Many talented individuals, particularly women transitioning into leadership roles, remain underrepresented, not due to lack of capability, but because opportunities are not actively created for them.’
‘Authentic sponsorship requires advocating for a C-suite role’
Closing that gap means giving women the same access to advocacy and visibility as their male peers receive. According to Benjamin Soh, co-founder and managing director of sustainability data business ESGpedia, women should be included in high-visibility projects and actively connected to senior leaders who can champion their progression.
‘Sponsorship should go beyond mentorship by ensuring women have a clear pathway to leadership positions, with regular feedback, visibility and opportunities to lead high-stakes strategic initiatives,’ Soh adds. ‘This is essential for fostering equitable career advancement and ensuring women have the support they need to thrive in senior roles.’
Credibility on the line
But effective sponsorship demands more than guidance and feedback – it requires advocates willing to champion their colleagues.
‘Authentic sponsorship requires the sponsor to advocate for their candidate in conversations they have no access to – for their protégé to land that high-stakes crucible role in the C-suite,’ says Rain Khoo, director of diversity and inclusion consultancy Dignitea. ‘Managers who are male allies will evaluate from a lens of merit whether they are truly the best candidate and ready for the role.’
For sponsorship to deliver results, leaders must be held accountable for developing the talent they support at every level, according to Han. ‘In practice, this means including talent development as a metric in senior leadership performance reviews and ensuring high-performing employees are considered for promotions and key assignments – whether they are leading member engagement, driving occupancy or strengthening operational excellence.’
21% of women – but 31% of men – are encouraged to use AI
Tech divide
As emerging tools such as AI reshape professional services, women are not receiving the same encouragement as men to adopt them. Only 21% of entry-level women have been encouraged by their managers to use AI, compared with 33% of men, the McKinsey study found.
That gap matters because fluency with AI tools is fast becoming a factor in who gets ahead. Women who are not supported in building those skills risk being overlooked. The stakes are even higher when women’s career ambitions have broadened well beyond the next promotion, says Goh Soo Peo, managing partner at Passion For Action Training.
‘Previously, to be recognised, women sought to be promoted and to progress up the career track. Nowadays, it’s more than that,’ she says. ‘Women are seeking motivation, recognition for doing more meaningful work, doing things that are close to their heart, and choosing to focus on what they think is more important to them at this stage.’
‘You need to be comfortable with the unknown’
But pursuing meaningful work still requires keeping pace with technological change, Soo Peo warns. ‘It’s not just about promotion or career progression alone. On the whole, society is changing so quickly. You can’t afford to say you’re not prepared to jump on this, learning about AI. You need to be comfortable with the unknown.’
For businesses, that means investing in inclusive training programmes that provide equal access to AI tools and enable women at every level to advance their professional growth, Soh says. ‘Addressing gender inequality in AI adoption not only empowers women, but also supports a more diverse and equitable workforce. By removing technological and structural barriers, organisations create an environment where women can advance on merit, accelerating progress for both business and society.’
