Women in Leadership

2. Powerful form of support where senior allies don’t just advise women but actively open doors, recommend them for stretch roles, and share their reputation.
4. Process of expanding women’s access to opportunities, resources, and decision-making power so they can actually shape organizational outcomes.
5. Term McKinsey uses for the first promotion step into management, where women are systematically passed over, creating long-term gaps in leadership.
6. Metaphor for the invisible upper barrier that blocks women from senior roles despite “equal opportunity” policies.
10. Leadership behavior where women (and allies) push for fair policies and representation.
11. Ongoing practice in which colleagues—often men—use their privilege to challenge sexist behavior, support inclusive policies, and amplify women’s voices.
12. Leadership style research shows women use slightly more often, characterized by vision, inspiration, collaboration, and individualized consideration.

1. Developmental relationship that offers guidance, feedback, and confidence-building; strongly associated with women’s progression into senior roles.
3. Successful female leaders whose visibility helps younger women imagine themselves in power and challenges the idea that leadership is “naturally male.”
7. Rigid beliefs that link leadership with masculinity and label women as “too soft” or “too aggressive,” reinforcing bias in performance evaluations.
8. Leadership practice where differences are actively valued, all voices are invited in, and team members feel a genuine sense of belonging
9. Eagly and Carli’s metaphor for women’s careers: a complex path with many twists and turns instead of a single “glass ceiling” at the top.