{"id":1605231,"date":"2025-12-11T17:21:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1605231"},"modified":"2025-12-11T17:22:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:22:02","slug":"sheryl-sandbergs-lean-in-study-women-drop-ambition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/12\/sheryl-sandbergs-lean-in-study-women-drop-ambition\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheryl Sandberg\u2019s Lean In Finds Women Are Leaning Out in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sheryl
Sandberg argues that standardized processes are essential to closing the widening ambition gap. John Lamparski\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Twelve years after Sheryl Sandberg\u2019s best-seller Lean In<\/em> sparked a workplace movement urging women to push for advancement, many are now leaning out. A new survey by LeanIn.org, the nonprofit Sandberg founded alongside the book\u2019s release in 2013, conducted with McKinsey & Company shows a notable drop in women\u2019s ambition.<\/p>\n

LeanIn.org\u2019s annual \u201cWomen in the Workplace\u201d report, released Tuesday (Dec. 9) and based on data from 124 companies in the U.S. and Canada, finds for the first time that women are less likely than men to say they want a promotion. In 2025, 80 percent of women<\/a> sought a promotion compared to 86 percent of men. In prior years, ambition levels were aligned. Last year, for example, both were at 70 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do see that ambition gap,<\/a> but only when women don\u2019t get the opportunities and support they need,\u201d Sandberg said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the gap stems from persistent barriers at every career stage. Two in 10 companies now say women\u2019s advancement is a low or nonexistent priority\u2014a figure that rises to three in 10 for women of color. About half of the companies that previously contributed to the report also no longer prioritize advancing women, Sandberg said.<\/p>\n

Day-to-day, these barriers are reflected in how ambition is perceived and rewarded. Women are 30 percent more likely than men to be labeled \u201caggressive\u201d when they ask for raises or promotions, and men in senior roles are 70 percent more likely than their female peers to be selected for leadership training.<\/p>\n

Sandberg argues the solution is straightforward: \u201cStandardize your processes. Establish criteria in advance that everyone agrees to that are universally applied.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also notes the impact of post-COVID return-to-office mandates. A quarter of surveyed companies now offer fewer remote and hybrid options\u2014policies that disproportionately affect women, who make up about two-thirds of U.S. caregivers<\/a>. Women who work mostly remotely face stigma for using flexibility benefits, whereas men generally do not.<\/p>\n

Gender diversity programs are also shrinking. Nearly one-sixth of companies have reduced formal leadership sponsorships and scaled back programs designed for women. These cuts come amid the Trump administration\u2019s rollback of DEI efforts<\/a> and the rise of natalist policies that encourage women to have more children.<\/p>\n

As rhetoric promoting stay-at-home motherhood gains traction, Sandberg said the data doesn\u2019t support the idea that staying home is inherently better for families. These expectations, she added, \u201cwere never really gone.\u201d Even now, she said, \u201cDo I really think we ever fully encouraged leadership in\u2026women as much as men?\u201d The answer is no.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can afford to be a full-time spouse and a full-time parent as a man or a woman and you want to do that, I think that can be deeply fulfilling work,\u201d said Sandberg. \u201cMost women don\u2019t have that option.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Sandberg said expanding leadership opportunities for women is an economic imperative. \u201cIt\u2019s a question of economic productivity,\u201d she said. \u201cDo we want to get the best out of our workforce?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LeanIn.org and McKinsey report a widening ambition gap as women face shrinking DEI programs, fewer remote options and persistent workplace bias.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":129757851,"featured_media":1605235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"post_tag":[423975623,423792880],"company":[3835592],"channel":[186,423806427,423875639],"location":[],"nyo_column":[],"person":[423895062],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[423982679],"class_list":{"0":"post-1605231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-dei","8":"tag-workplace-culture","9":"observer_company-mckinsey-company","10":"channel-business","11":"channel-finance","12":"channel-economy","13":"nyo_person-sheryl-sandberg"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2025\/12\/sheryl-sandbergs-lean-in-study-women-drop-ambition\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2150315523.jpg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Rachel Curry","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"\"Sheryl