最新 McKinsey–LeanIn 调查显示，女性与男性在“想要升职”这一指标上的差距达到 11 年来最高。整体雄心虽上升，但仅 80% 的女性希望获得下一层级晋升，而男性为 86%。差距在职涯的顶部与底部最显著：入门级女性与男性的晋升渴望差距为 11 个百分点，高层为 8 个百分点。约半数公司称女性晋升是高优先级，但有 20% 表示几乎不重视；涉及有色女性时，这一比例接近 30%。相比之下，2017 年曾有 88% 的公司认为性别多元是优先事项，而去年仅 78%。调查明确指出，当女性获得与男性相同程度的管理层支持与赞助时，雄心差距消失。
工作环境在过去一年对女性变得更具敌意：公司撤回灵活办公安排、CEO 声称 DEI 走得太远，而性别薪酬差距连续第二年扩大。女性更不易获得晋升推荐、导师或高难度任务；而更高层女性则见证自己被越级忽视、晋升路径更陡峭、职位吸引力下降。数据还显示女性 CEO 的流失率高于男性，大多数离任者被男性接替；新当选女性董事比例下降；加州超过 40% 的 AI 初创公司未任命任何女性董事。女性 CEO 更易成为激进投资者目标，其任期比男性更短。
近期事件强化挫败情绪：高盛晋升为董事总经理的女性比例降至 2018 年以来最低；特朗普使用侮辱性语言指向女性记者；达沃斯在其要求下淡化“女性赋权”等主题；媒体质疑“女性是否毁了职场”。在外界传递持续削弱性的讯号之际，调查作者总结，女性在日常体验中已“感受到”企业不再支持她们，因此雄心下降并非个人动力不足，而是对体系失望的理性反应。
A new McKinsey–LeanIn study shows the ambition gap between women and men is now the largest in its 11-year history. Although overall ambition rose, only 80% of women want promotion to the next level compared to 86% of men. The gap is widest at the bottom and top of the hierarchy: 11 percentage points among entry-level employees and 8 points among senior staff. About half of companies say advancing women is a high priority, while 20% place little or no priority on it; for women of color the figure approaches 30%. In 2017, 88% of firms called gender diversity a priority, versus 78% last year. The survey finds that when women receive the same managerial sponsorship as men, the ambition gap disappears.
Workplaces have grown more hostile over the past year: firms are rolling back flexible work, CEOs claim DEI went too far, and the gender pay gap has widened for a second consecutive year. Women are less likely to receive sponsorship, stretch assignments, or promotion consideration; senior women report steeper advancement paths and less appealing roles. Female CEO departures exceed those of men, and most are replaced by men. The share of newly elected female directors is declining, and more than 40% of California-based AI startups appoint no women to their boards. Female CEOs face higher scrutiny from activist investors and have shorter tenures.
Recent events amplify discouragement: Goldman Sachs promoted the smallest share of women to managing director since 2018; Trump used derogatory language toward female journalists; Davos reportedly downplayed “female empowerment” to secure his attendance; and media narratives questioned women’s presence in the workplace. Against this backdrop, the report’s authors note that declining ambition reflects not diminished motivation but a rational response to systemic signals that corporate support for women is eroding.