The Unfinished Climb

Where the Climb Gets Steeper

Over the past decade, women have made powerful strides in education, entrepreneurship and leadership. Yet a persistent momentum gap continues to slow the journey. This is where women’s career progression stalls compared to men, even when they have the capability and ambition. It reflects how women leadership development still faces systemic hurdles that make the climb steeper and slower.

‍

Understanding the Momentum Gap

The momentum gap describes the difference in career acceleration between men and women, especially during the transition from mid to senior leadership. While entry-level representation is often balanced, senior roles tell a very different story. This is where challenges faced by women in middle management become more visible.

These gaps are closely connected to deeper issues within organisational leadership development systems.

‍

Key contributors include:

• Unconscious bias in promotions and performance evaluations
• Limited access to high visibility roles and decision making forums
• Work life integration challenges shaped by societal expectations
• Lack of strong sponsorship that moves beyond basic mentorship

Middle management becomes the pressure zone of any organisation. It is where strategy meets execution and where leaders truly form. For women, this level often becomes a bottleneck, limiting the pace of progression despite readiness and performance.

‍

The Invisible Workload: Doing More, Being Seen Less

Women in middle management often shoulder an invisible workload that keeps teams functioning smoothly. Emotional labour, coordination, relationship building and conflict management are essential to team success, yet they rarely show up in performance discussions.

The challenge is structural.

Women are evaluated on completed work while men are often evaluated on potential.
This creates a pattern where women are trusted as dependable executors instead of being positioned as strategic leaders, slowing the impact of developing women leaders.

‍

The Confidence and Competence Paradox

Studies show women tend to apply for promotions only when they meet all criteria, while men take the leap around sixty percent. This is not a competence issue. It is shaped by conditioning around perfection, visibility and self advocacy.

This slows the development of leadership skills for women, because capability is present but confidence is underplayed.

‍

Bias: Subtle, Yet Deeply Impactful

Bias today is often quiet, unintentional and deeply rooted.

Some common examples include:

• Labelling women as too emotional or not assertive
• Viewing leadership potential through traditionally male traits
• Giving nurturing or coordination roles instead of strategic ones
• Interruptions or overlooked ideas during meetings

This is why overcoming bias in leadership development is essential. Bias shapes who gets opportunities, exposure and recognition long before it shows up in promotion decisions.

‍

When Women Rise, Organisations Rise

Teams become stronger. Cultures become more resilient. Performance improves. Diversity in leadership is not an optional advantage. It is a core driver of sustainable growth.

Women are not short on ambition. They are short on equal access, structural visibility and systems that understand how organisations can support women leaders in a meaningful way.

‍

How SHINE Turns Momentum Into Movement

At InspireOne, our SHINE Women’s Leadership Program is designed to strengthen women leadership development in a focused and practical way. The program builds confidence, strategic presence and decision making. It supports developing women leaders by helping them shift from operational execution to high impact contribution.

SHINE also offers access to mentors and sponsors who actively champion growth. It provides a safe, supportive environment where women can voice challenges, practise leadership behaviours and strengthen networks. Through targeted learning, coaching and visibility, the program helps women navigate bias, balance life demands and step into leadership roles with clarity and confidence.

This is how organisational leadership development becomes real. It accelerates progression into senior roles and ensures talent is supported, recognised and able to rise.