Last year, McKinsey and LeanIn.org published the Women in the Workplace 2021 report.

It reveals a broken rung on the career ladder for women. It might not be the rung you think it is. It’s not the one toward the top, but, rather, one near the bottom.

The research says women are not promoted equally in the early stages of their careers. That means, they will not advance or learn at the same rate as men. That means, women will not be as prepared for the top runs as the men who were promoted earlier.

McKinsey shared a article about how that looks in tech companies. Hint: it’s worse in tech than in all other industries.

Why does this really matter?

In addition to impacting the lives of women and their families, fewer women at the top impacts companies too. Financially. Where it matters most to many.

"The most gender-diverse companies are 48 percent more likely to outperform the least gender-diverse companies." according to the article Repairing the broken rung on the career ladder for women in technical roles.

If that data point gets your attention, read the whole article. There's data galore.

McKinsey also includes three actions companies can take to repair the broken rung on the career ladder for women.

"By failing to promote and retain women in technical roles who are in the early stages of their careers, companies end up preparing fewer women for senior roles. This affects women’s lives and livelihoods and could create negative financial and cultural consequences for companies, since companies where women are well represented at the top earn up to 50 percent higher profits and share performance."

Did you see that?

"...companies where women are well represented at the top earn up to 50 percent higher profits and share performance"!

Mic drop!

Representation, promotions, and equality are not just about being fair. They impact financials. They impact people too—for anyone who sees the benefit of caring about people and profit.

What will you do to help repair the broken career ladder inside your company? Worth pondering how you can help impact it. If you can’t, maybe that’s worth pondering too.