What Is the Broken Rung? Why Women Fall Behind at the First Promotion
Who gets considered for a first management role? For employers examining diversity in leadership, that question deserves attention long before an executive position opens.
The broken rung describes the gap women face at the first promotion into management. When fewer women advance at this stage, fewer enter the pool from which future senior leaders can emerge (Ellingrud et al., 2025).
For employers, the question is practical: does fair access to opportunity continue after someone is hired?
What Does the Broken Rung Look Like?
The Women in the Workplace 2025 report from LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company reported 93 women promoted to manager for every 100 men. For women of color, the figure was 74 for every 100 men (LeanIn.Org & McKinsey & Company, 2025).
The report calculates these ratios assuming equal numbers of people in each group. They compare promotion rates, not raw headcounts, and do not mean that 93% of women received promotions.
The promotion data cover calendar year 2024 at participating companies in the United States and Canada, not every workplace. The report also cautions that its 2025 company sample had stronger women’s representation than earlier samples, so comparisons across years require care (LeanIn.Org & McKinsey & Company, 2025).
Why the First Promotion Matters for Fair Advancement
The consequences can extend beyond one promotion cycle. Ellingrud and colleagues describe an early advancement gap that can compound across a career, shaping who reaches later stages of leadership (Ellingrud et al., 2025).
For employers, this raises a question worth examining: Who gets the chance to build the management experience we later require for senior roles?
For employers committed to fair opportunity, the review should extend from recruitment through career development. Who can access the assignments needed to build management skills? How is readiness assessed? Are relevant standards applied consistently? These questions connect the first promotion to a broader responsibility: giving qualified employees a fair opportunity to progress.
What Can Contribute to the Broken Rung?
The 2025 report found that entry-level women received less sponsorship and fewer career-advancing actions from senior colleagues, such as recommendations for promotion (LeanIn.Org & McKinsey & Company, 2025).
Those findings give employers specific processes to examine. They do not establish a single explanation for every promotion gap or show why a particular employee was passed over.
For Diversity.com, a practical starting point is to ask:
What counts as readiness? Make the skills and evidence required for management clear. Ask evaluators to support their decisions with job-related examples.
Who gets the chance to demonstrate it? Review access to project leadership, stretch assignments, and acting-manager responsibilities.
Who gets considered? Examine how candidates are nominated and whether qualified employees have a clear way to express interest.
These are suggested review questions. The aim is to examine access and consistency, rather than assume that final promotion numbers explain the process behind them.
What Can Employees Ask About Advancement?
Employees preparing for a first management role can use career conversations to ask:
What specific evidence would demonstrate that I am ready?
Which assignments would let me develop and demonstrate those skills?
How are promotion candidates identified, and when are decisions made?
Ask for concrete examples and an agreed follow-up date. These questions can clarify the process; responsibility for making it fair remains with the employer.
Final Thoughts
For Diversity.com, fair opportunity includes both getting hired and having a clear path to grow. The broken rung gives employers a specific point in that journey to examine: the first move into management.
A useful question to bring to the next promotion cycle is: Have we given qualified employees a fair chance to prepare, be considered, and demonstrate what they can do?
For employers: Explore Diversity.com to connect with candidates from a broader talent pool.
For job seekers: Browse opportunities through Diversity.com’s job board, and ask prospective employers how they support internal advancement.
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Sources & References
Ellingrud, K., Yee, L., & Martínez, M. del M. (2025, February 28). How women can steer toward growing industries and companies. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/how-women-can-steer-toward-growing-industries-and-companies
LeanIn.Org, & McKinsey & Company. (2025). Women in the workplace 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/women-in-the-workplace
