Why the first promotion is crucial for gender equality

If a corporate career were a ladder, the first step would be the most decisive one. It’s the move from an individual contributor role to the first position with responsibility for managing a team. This is where the so‑called broken rung appears: the moment when, in that first promotion, more men than women are advanced — effectively determining who enters the leadership pipeline… and who is left out.

The report Women in the Workplace 2025 by McKinsey and LeanIn provides a very clear figure: for every 100 men who move into a manager position for the first time, only 93 women do so. For women of color, the number drops to 74.

Wat’s interesting is that this slowdown doesn’t happen because women are less ambitious. In fact, the report shows that women and men have a very similar level of commitment to their careers — but the aspiration to climb the ladder fades when real support is missing. And that support isn’t just a nice word: it means concrete actions from direct supervisors and senior leaders.

Here an uncomfortable truth emerges: women receive less momentum to climb that first step. They get less internal support, less active advocacy from the manager who has real influence over their career, and less access to stretch assignments — demanding, high‑visibility projects that help demonstrate potential and increase real promotion opportunities. The report shows that, at early career levels, only 31% of women have a sponsor, compared with 45% of men. And when someone has a sponsor, their chances of being promoted almost double… although that boost still benefits women less than men.

What do companies that give the first promotion the importance it deserves do?

• They define comparable promotion criteria, to prevent “potential” from meaning one thing for men and something different for women.
• They evaluate managers not only on results, but also on how they develop talent: whom they have put forward for key projects, whom they have supported in taking on their first people‑management role, and whom they have given visibility to at higher levels.
• They guarantee access to opportunities after a career pause (leave or reduced hours), ensuring that a few months of absence do not derail future progression. Some companies do this by creating formal return pathways, such as Goldman Sachs’ returnships.

The final message is simple: if we want more women in decision‑making positions, we must stop focusing only on the executive level of the company. The priority must be the first rung. That is where it is decided who will go on to build a career within the organization.