The Leadership Cliff: A Playbook for Retaining Women at the Top

Recent narratives suggest women are opting out of leadership due to declining ambition. The data shows something else entirely. Experienced women leaders are exiting years before succession plans and turnover data signal risk, quietly weakening leadership continuity, productivity, and bench strength.

This insight paper identifies four workforce patterns—work design, advancement systems, caregiving strain, and delayed visibility—that drain leadership pipelines long before exits become visible or reversible. It reframes women’s attrition as an early warning sign of broader organizational risk, giving leaders a chance to act before losses become costly and irreversible.

What You’ll Learn
• Why turnover and engagement metrics surface risk too late
• Where leadership pipelines quietly stall or leak
• How hybrid work and advancement systems accelerate avoidable exits
• What leaders can redesign now to protect leadership continuity