Gen Z Women Are Less Likely to Want Senior Leadership

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about “conscious unbossing”—a.k.a. Gen Z opting out of management positions and climbing down the corporate ladder. But new data from Lean In suggests there’s more to the story—especially for Gen Z women. It’s not because they lack ambition, but because the current version of leadership wasn’t built with them in mind.

Here are some of the most surprising stats:

Gen Z women are 21% less likely than Gen Z men to want top roles (58% of Gen Z women vs. 74% of Gen Z men).
But Gen Z women are just as ambitious as young men when they believe companies want women in leadership: 74% of Gen Z women who hold that belief want the top job, matching Gen Z men overall (74%).
Fewer than half of Gen Z women believe companies want them there: Only 43% of Gen Z women believe workplaces genuinely want women in senior leadership (vs. 56% of Gen Z men).

To dig into the findings, I hopped on a call with Bridget Griswold, the CEO of Lean In, to talk about what’s making young women skeptical about climbing the corporate ladder, how companies can foster future leaders, and how women can advocate for more responsibility (without taking on unpromotable tasks).

What do you think people get wrong when they interpret this as Gen Z women being “less ambitious”?

“When they look up the career ladder, they see that the system wasn't built for them. The pay gap has grown over recent years. Companies are rolling back DEI. Only half of companies say they're prioritizing women's development, which has decreased in recent years. And it’s also what the men around them are saying: 46% of Gen Z men believe that men are better suited for leadership, and 57% of Gen Z men say that we've gone too far in promoting women's equality, that we're now discriminating against men. Only 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In the U.S., out of all C-suite executives, only 29% are women. It's understandable why they would feel that companies don't actually want to see them in leadership.”

What actually helps women build confidence and momentum toward leadership?

“I would encourage women to make their wins visible. Women are given less credit than men for the work that they do. So, I would encourage women to be confident in the work that they've done and continue to talk about it and make it known. Then, I would tell women to raise their hand. At a previous role, when I first started, I was given very little scope. So, I would come up with the best ideas, and I would make them mine. I would work hard and take ownership. After a couple of months, I had so much scope because I just pushed for it. I would encourage employers to give women challenging work. They want to be challenged.”

As a Gen Z woman CEO, you’re a real-life example of what this data is pointing to. How has seeing women in leadership shaped your own path?

“Lean In's theory of change is that if we have more women in leadership, the world will be a better place. And we know from the data that when women are in leadership, workplaces are more equitable and more equal. Women have less turnover. So, having women in leadership is so important.

In my own experience, I worked at Meta, and having Sheryl Sandberg as COO gave me someone I could look up to and see myself in a position like that. I had many female mentors in my career that I was able to look up to, and they allowed me to believe that I could do that too. I hope that there is maybe one girl out there who sees me in this position and believes that she can do it as well.”

For a young woman who’s on the fence about leadership, what questions should she ask herself before deciding she doesn’t want it?

"You have to recognize that the bias is there. There is a challenge. We know this when we look around. When you see yourself in leadership, are you willing to do what it takes to get there? We know it's going to be hard. It shouldn't be. Companies need to change that, but opting out isn't really the answer either because women make great leaders. We need women at the table. We need women at the top.

Also, one thing Sheryl said to me that surprised me, and something that I hear often, is that, as you become more senior, you actually have more flexibility, which I think is something that women don't recognize. If you're more senior, that doesn't mean that you have to give up more.”

What are the green flags that a company genuinely wants women in leadership?

“When they pay women equally to men. The number one reason that could convince Gen Z women to want to be in leadership is fair pay, so companies need to pay men and women equally. Another big one is the broken rung. For every 100 entry-level men who are promoted, 93 entry-level women are promoted. So, if companies fix this broken rung and promote an equal number of men and women, that is a really good sign.

Something else we talk about often at Lean In is that men are given opportunities based on their potential; women are given opportunities based on what they've already done and already proven. And so if you've never been a manager before, you can't prove that you should be one. So if companies can believe in the potential of young women, I think that's a really great green flag as well.”

How can women avoid taking on “leadership responsibilities” without the title, pay, or support?

“I would encourage women to push back. If they're asked to do office housework, they could say, ‘That is one way that I could fill my time, but actually, there's this project that really excites me, and I think I could do a really good job at it. And if I were to do the office housework, I wouldn't have time to do this really good opportunity that could have a really big impact. So that's what I would rather prioritize.’”

What should companies take away from this research?

“To make it clear that you want women in leadership. Also, encourage women to join leadership and peer support circles. Women who are in these circles are two times more likely to receive a promotion. We know that being in a circle and having this peer support with other women is really impactful. So I would also encourage women and companies to guide women into support circles because we know it's so impactful for them and their careers.”

For young women who want to grow into leadership, what’s one thing you’d tell them?

" I would tell them I'm proud of them. I'm very excited that they have these aspirations and this ambition because, as a woman, it's not easy. You don't grow up being told that you are destined to be a senior leader. To still have those ambitions and still be strong and vocalizing that you want to be in leadership is really impressive. You're also building a better world for the girls and women to come after you.”

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Why Gen Z Women Are Less Likely Than Men to Want Senior Leadership