When leadership diversity is discussed, attention usually gravitates toward the most visible layers of an organisation: executive teams, boards, and senior leadership roles. But by the time we are studying representation at the top, most of the outcomes have already been shaped.
Leadership pipelines rarely collapse at the executive level. They narrow quietly, much earlier, at the moment when leadership is first defined, distributed, and legitimised.
The “Broken Rung” is where the pipeline first narrows
A decade of research from McKinsey & Company together with LeanIn.Org shows a persistent “broken rung” in the leadership pipeline — the first step up into people management roles. This marks the largest relative drop in representation for women. Women of colour are especially affected. It sets the tone for future progression.
In simpler terms:
- Women’s overall representation across all roles remains lower in leadership than in the workforce, even in 2025. Companies still report under-representation at every stage of the corporate ladder.
- Global summary data shows women represent roughly 43% of the global workforce. However, they hold only about 31% of leadership roles. This is a sign that attrition begins early in the career trajectory.
- Although specific international figures differ by industry and region, this pattern of early narrowing is robust across contexts.
This “first promotion” matters because it does more than change a job title.
Leadership experience isn’t just a title
Becoming a first-time manager unlocks visibility and influence. It provides access to stretch assignments, sponsorship, and organisational trust. These resources signal to others that you are leadership material. People who don’t make this transition early may fall behind in accumulated leadership experience. They tend to face challenges even if they are technically qualified.
This early narrowing isn’t simply a matter of merit being objectively assessed. Early leadership identification is heavily influenced by subjective criteria. Terms like “leadership presence,” “potential,” and “instinct” shape these criteria. They are affected by familiarity, exposure, and comfort rather than actual performance or capability. Research reported by Harvard Business Review highlighted this dynamic. It showed the subjective nature of early leadership assessments. It demonstrated how they embed bias.
Uneven access to support systems compounds the problem
Sponsorship, where senior leaders advocate for high-potential people, is one of the strongest predictors of career advancement. Studies (including those summarised by LeanIn and Catalyst) show that employees with sponsors are promoted at nearly twice the rate of those without — and yet women are less likely to be sponsored than men.
What makes this particularly powerful is that sponsorship rarely begins formally or later in an employee’s career. It often starts with informal advocacy at early stages, meaning that access (or lack thereof) compounds quickly.
The narrowing affects many groups, not only women
It is tempting to assume this pipeline narrowing is only about gender — but it isn’t. The underlying mechanisms operate across multiple identity lines:
- LGBTQ+ professionals often report lower psychological safety and visibility in early-career roles, reducing their chance to be promoted into leadership.
- Employees with disabilities may be overlooked for leadership roles due to assumptions about stamina or flexibility.
- Immigrant professionals, even with strong technical capabilities, face early filtering. This happens due to communication norms, accent bias, or cultural familiarity.
While specific numbers can vary by country and industry, OECD reporting on gender representation in leadership confirms that women are underrepresented. This is true even in countries with active policies. This is true for managerial and senior roles. This shows that pipelines are affected long before senior decisions are made.
Data from global reports underline the trend
McKinsey & LeanIn Women in the Workplace Report (2025) — the largest corporate leadership diversity dataset — confirms that:
- Women remain underrepresented at every level of the corporate pipeline, with a particular drop-off at the transition to manager.
- Sponsorship gaps at early levels persist, directly affecting promotion outcomes.
Global workforce vs leadership figures compiled across 74+ countries show women make up only about 30.6% of leadership roles globally, despite representing 43.4% of the workforce.
OECD research confirms the persistent under-representation of women in managerial and leadership roles across many economies. It reinforces that early pipeline narrowing is not confined to any one geography.
Why early narrowing matters for organisational performance
Beyond fairness, there is a business case for diverse leadership. McKinsey studies show that companies with diverse leadership teams are more likely to outperform their peers financially. This includes gender and racial diversity. Diverse pipelines benefit organisational performance, not just equity goals.
But this benefit only materialises if talented people have opportunities to rise in the first place.
Why the narrowing is invisible and what that means
Early leadership decisions are not usually flagged as high-stakes. They are “practical,” “based on confidence or readiness,” or simply “who’s available.” That language makes them seem non-problematic. This is exactly what allows bias and familiarity to persist unnoticed. It also remains unexamined.
Leadership pathways are cumulative and self-reinforcing:
- Early trust brings visibility.
- Visibility leads to bigger assignments.
- Bigger assignments reinforce perceptions of readiness.
- The cycle repeats, widening gaps over time.
Senior leadership diversity is evaluated later. By that time, the pipeline has already been filtered. This filtering is due to years of early, seemingly ordinary decisions.
If representation matters, the intervention point is early
From my perspective, leadership pipelines narrow early. This happens because leadership itself is first defined early. This is when trust, exposure, and opportunity are first granted.
If organisations truly want broader leadership representation, they must shift the focus. It cannot be only on succession planning, executive appointments, or board quotas (though these matter). It must be on how leadership is first recognised, rewarded, and supported. That’s where the pipeline is shaped more than anywhere else.
Leadership pipelines don’t narrow suddenly. They narrow through ordinary decisions made early, and rarely revisited. Understanding that timing is the key to designing differently, before the narrowing becomes structural.
About EQUAIS
EQUAIS works with organisations to strengthen leadership systems. They ensure that access, progression, and opportunity are designed intentionally. They do not leave these factors to chance. The focus is not on awareness. Instead, it is on how leadership decisions are made in practice. These include first-time management transitions and sponsorship patterns. It also involves decision consistency and leadership behaviours under pressure. The aim is to help organisations build leadership structures that support long-term performance. It also seeks to expand the opportunities for individuals to progress within them.
