Corporate America risks rolling back progress for women This year, only half of companies are prioritizing women’s career advancement, part of a several-year trend in declining commitment to gender diversity.2 And for the first time, there is a notable ambition gap: women are less interested in being promoted than men. When women receive the same career support that men do, this gap in ambition to advance falls away.

 Women at both ends of the pipeline are still held back by less sponsorship and manager advocacy. This is a solvable problem, but it requires a greater investment in women’s careers at a time when a number of companies may be deprioritizing them. Some have already scaled back programs beneficial to women like remote work, formal sponsorship, and targeted career development, and HR leaders worry about the long-term impact of changes like these for women. Corporate America has made real progress in women’s representation over the past decade—and companies that prioritize gender diversity see bigger gains. For companies that lost focus this year, 2026 should be the year of recommitting to women in the workplace.

WUNRN

Direct Link to Full 60-Page 2025 Report:  Women in the Workplace 2025.