Women are getting ‘promotion burnout’ – is there really an ambition gap?
Longer hours, less flexibility and constant scrutiny – for many professional women climbing the corporate ladder, this is the reality of success.
Promotions, prestigious titles and higher salaries have long been seen as the ultimate markers of achievement, with many dedicating their working lives to reaching them, often at the expense of their health and wellbeing.
But that definition of success is starting to shift. Increasingly, women are questioning whether the trade-offs are worth it, and fewer are actively seeking promotions once considered the pinnacle of a successful career.
In a survey of 1,000 professional women by the recruitment agency Robert Walters, 54% said they felt less motivated to pursue promotions than they did two years ago. This shift has been attributed to “promotion burnout” as a result of the barriers women face. Four in five (81%) of the women surveyed said they felt disadvantaged compared with male colleagues during the promotions process, while 38% believe their work isn’t valued equally.
“In practice, I’m seeing that this is less about ambition and more about women deciding whether the reality of promotion is actually worth it,” says career coach and life coach directory member Latasha Baynham.
“Many women are weighing what promotion actually brings: greater responsibility, higher expectations and closer scrutiny, against whether support, recognition and autonomy increase in the same way.”
It’s no secret that women are often held to higher standards in the workplace than men. They’re evaluated more critically, penalised more for mistakes and exposed to more sexism and microaggressions. This pressure often drives women to over-perform and self-censor simply to be seen as credible. And the further they climb the corporate ladder, the more intense this scrutiny can get.
“I see women stepping into more senior roles only to find their authority questioned or their contributions more heavily scrutinised, which over time changes how rewarding progression feels,” says Baynham. “And for some women, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, that scrutiny can be even more pronounced, further increasing the perceived cost of stepping forward.”
These structural barriers make promotion feel less rewarding for women than for men. The gender pay gap, which currently stands at 10.9% and shows little sign of narrowing, means women often see lower financial returns from their work, which can make senior roles seem less worthwhile. At the same time, there are few role models at the top: only nine FTSE 100 companies have female CEOs, and there appears to be limited momentum for change.
Further, seniority and flexibility rarely go hand in hand, so many women end up having to choose between career progression and having children. High childcare costs often tip the balance, pushing many out of the workforce altogether.
Women often deselect themselves for promotion due to the expectations of more senior roles. “There’s often an expectation to work more and to be seen as much as possible, with reduced flexibility,” says Natalie Desty, director at STEM Returners, which supports people on a career break back to work through paid placements within STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) businesses.
“Many mid-career women find themselves part of the sandwich generation,” she adds. “The responsibility of providing care for children and potentially elder care also falls to them, and again, the need for flexibility often feels at odds with climbing the career ladder, leading women to worry that they are failing at work and failing at home. This results in a constant lack of equity in senior roles and boardrooms.”
In a recent survey, 54% of professional women said they felt less motivated to pursue promotions than they did two years ago. ·MoMo Productions via Getty Images
So what needs to be done to address the problem? Firstly, Baynham says, businesses need to shift the focus away from encouraging women to push for promotion and towards examining the experience they are stepping into.
“This means addressing the conditions that shape how women are received in leadership roles,” she says. “It includes challenging the subtle biases that lead to women’s authority being questioned and ensuring contributions are recognised consistently. It also means investing in meaningful leadership support, including coaching and creating environments where authority is respected rather than tested.”
There’s a lot of discussion about women lacking the confidence to pursue advancement, but this isn’t always the case. What matters more is making sure senior roles are clearly defined, come with adequate support, and are decently paid and flexible. Success should be easily measurable and performance should be judged equally and fairly, regardless of gender.
“This isn’t about women suddenly being less motivated. They’re getting clearer on what the next level actually involves, and weighing up whether it stacks up,” says Francesca O’Connor, co-founder HappyHQ.
“In a lot of organisations, the next level still looks like more pressure, more politics and more visibility, without a clear shift in support or reward,” she says. “So the question becomes less ‘can I do it?’ and more ‘is it worth it?’ If senior leaders look overstretched, under-supported, or constantly under pressure, it doesn’t make progression feel appealing. It makes people pause.”
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