The Broken Rung

We stand in the early weeks of fall, when the temperatures slowly begin to bow. The sun appears a little earlier each morning, and the vegetation seems to sigh as it awaits cooler temperatures and changing winds. 

While a beautiful and favorite season for many, fall symbolizes a time of death – the death of a way of being, moving, growing. It’s a necessary cycle of pruning, a season of letting go so there is room to receive what comes next.

It’s the same in leadership. Times have changed. What we once knew and depended on to bring growth, comfort, and accomplishment is diminishing in its impact. The death of what was is creating an opportunity for what shall be.

Technological advancement now tests our ability to balance profit, efficiency, and human value. The forward movement of diversity and democracy is being challenged by nationalism and the desire to preserve power, voice, and belonging within the hands of a few.

And the advancement of women in the workplace has experienced a fracture that we have not yet fully realized. The Women in the Workplace 2024 report by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company highlights that while the representation of women in senior leadership has increased over the past decade, the pipeline of women moving into leadership has narrowed.

The report calls this the “broken rung.” For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women are promoted. This early gap has a compounding effect. Men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, making sustained progress for women at more senior levels much more difficult. 

I found this report jarring. It reminded me of my own entrance into the workforce and leadership. Early in my career, I was afforded the opportunity to participate in the Institute for Diversity program, established through a partnership between the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association, and other national health associations.

The purpose was clear, expand leadership opportunities for ethnic minorities in healthcare management and create pathways into a field where minorities had historically been underrepresented.

Someone had to open the door. Someone had to believe that who I was, what I brought, and the perspective I carried belonged in the room. That opportunity gave me access and changed what was possible for me.

So, what do we as women do? How do we respond to the evolution occurring around us? Do we hibernate until the season passes? Do we fast-track our retirement from systems that seem to be demonstrating their discomfort with our presence? Or do we recognize that we have an opportunity to create a fold in time?

We may not all have the authority to hire, set policy, determine compensation, or design development programs. Yet we do have influence and, sometimes, influence is enough to change someone's trajectory. We create change through consistent, intentional acts that interrupt what has been and make room for what can be. A few ways women leaders can be intentional with their influence:

1. Name the rung where it breaks.

Leaders must look beyond representation at the top and examine where advancement begins to fracture.

Who is being considered? Who is being coached? Who is being sponsored? Who is being given meaningful opportunities? And who is being quietly overlooked before the opportunity is ever made visible?

If we don't name where the rung is breaking, we cannot repair it.

2. Use influence where authority is limited.

Every leader does not control policy, promotion, or pay. But every leader can influence who is invited into the room, whose voice is amplified once they arrive, and whose potential is spoken aloud when decisions are being made.

You may not be able to open every door. But you can open one.

3. Practice repair in real time.

Change is not built only through annual strategies, organizational statements, or leadership initiatives.

It is built in the moment a bias is interrupted. A pattern is questioned. A door is held open. A person is given access to the next step before the system decides they are ready.

This is how leaders impact change. We become witnesses to the season, but not passive observers of its turning. We prune what no longer gives life. We protect what is trying to grow.

Someone opened a door for me. I’m sure someone opened a door for you. Now, it is our responsibility to make sure the door does not close behind us.

Be Well,

LIPSTICK Coach