As a female professional with two young daughters, I’m always fascinated by research about women in the workplace.
In 2018, I wrote an article about women in business continuity management leadership roles.
I was curious about what has changed and stayed the same over the last five years.
Recent Information about Women in The Workforce
Every year since 2015, Lean In and McKinsey & Company have conducted a study to gain insights into diversity in the workplace. The 2022 Women in the Workplace study highlights that women make up nearly half of entry-level employees, but only about 1 in 4 C-suite leaders are women. To have more women at the top levels of a company, we need to look at the problems in the pipeline. The study points out two main issues: the “broken rung” and the rate at which women leaders leave companies.
The study also found that there is still the “broken rung” keeping women back from advancing. This means that for every 100 men being promoted to manager, only 87 women are promoted.
I had not heard of “broken rung” before, but I knew exactly what it meant. The term “broken rung” refers to a broken step in the career advancement ladder within the corporate world. With fewer women getting promoted early on, they get trapped in lower-level positions.
The study shows that for every woman promoted to director, two women leave the company. Women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate the study has seen, and at a higher rate than men. Many women switch jobs for better opportunities, but some want to downshift or leave the workforce altogether. Women leaders are more likely to report burnout (43% of women leaders, compared to 31% of men at their level) and are more likely to switch jobs because of unmanageable workloads. Part of this burnout comes from home: as women move up in their careers, they continue to carry much of the household work and childcare.
In contrast, as men move up in their careers, they do less household work.
Update, November 2026: the 2025 Women in the Workplace report shows the broken rung is narrowing but not fixed. For every 100 men promoted to manager, 93 women were promoted.
Women in Technology
The picture is even more dire if we look at the statistics from a technology industry standpoint. According to a Zippia study, women hold 44% of STEM degrees but make up only 28% of the technology workforce. Women hold fewer than 20% of technology leadership roles.
The “broken rung” is evident when you look at female representation in technology jobs. Female representation is highest for junior jobs. It drops for mid-level jobs and then drops again for senior-level jobs.
A surprising trend I found while researching was the pandemic’s impact on women in technology. A TrustRadius study showed that women in technology were nearly twice as likely as men to be furloughed or lose their job during the pandemic. Millions of women lost their jobs in the first year of the pandemic.
Some analyses of the 2022 tech layoffs found that women were laid off at a disproportionate rate. These studies show a disproportionate impact of layoffs on women in technology. The Zippia study shows that women in technology also experience burnout. Not only do women in technology take on more at home, but since the pandemic they are taking more on at work.
Women in Business Continuity Management
Finding updated information specific to women in business continuity management was hard.
The leading United States-based business continuity certification body, Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII), had not updated its research from 2017 on Women in Business Continuity Management. The DRI Foundation does have a Women in Business Continuity Management Committee, which was created to help forge solid networks and assist women in advancing in their careers.
The United Kingdom-based Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has not published research on women in the field, but it did form the Women in Resilience group in 2019. When the group launched, women made up about 30% of BCI members. It was formed to empower women and provide a forum for discussion among women in the field.
I believe the formation of both women’s groups shows a desire to, at the very least, get women together to talk.
Conclusion
I was hoping for an updated conclusion with this updated information, but the conclusion is the same.
Women still experience both conscious and unconscious bias in the workplace. As the technology industry continues to boom, women must be a strategic piece of every workplace. Companies must strive to provide equal pay and opportunities.
Women should seek out a mentor. There are mentoring opportunities specific to business continuity, and you can request a mentor through the DRI Foundation’s women’s committee. A mentor can provide support and guidance as you advance in your career. They can also increase your confidence and industry knowledge. If you’re mapping your next step, our article on careers in crisis management may help.
In conclusion, the lack of women in business continuity management roles is not unique to the business continuity profession. A CIO.com article notes that the lack of females in senior roles contributes to the lack of females applying for technology roles, perpetuating the issue. Also, the bias that women face in the workplace is not unique to the profession. Companies need to provide fair compensation and growth opportunities for their female employees.
Keep Going
A few ways to go deeper if this was useful.
- Read more. Resilience, crisis management, and continuity writing at Bryghtpath Insights, or the structured Ultimate Guide to Business Continuity.
- Grow as a resilience leader. Listen to The New Role of the Resilience Leader on Managing Uncertainty, or explore coaching with Bryan Strawser.
- See how we run a program. How we managed a major healthcare technology company’s continuity and crisis program through Business Continuity as a Service.
- Talk to us. Set up a call about your business continuity program.
