Why Are So Many Women in C-Suite Roles Resigning Right Now?

Last month, the CEO of Walgreens, Rosalind Brewer, abruptly stepped down from her role after only about three years. The reason for her exit is speculated to be tied to falling stock shares, although she has agreed to stay on as a paid special adviser through February 2024.

Ms. Brewer was one of eight Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company and one of only two Black women on the entire list (she was also the only Black female CEO position of an S&P 500 company). Women in general are not well represented on these lists. In fact, female CEOs only run 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies as of June 2023.

We are watching as women drop out of C-Suite roles at a rapid rate — and as you can see, there aren’t that many of them there to begin with. So what’s the reason for this exodus? As you can imagine, the situation is complex and nuanced. Let’s dive into what’s going on:

Why Are Women Stepping Down from C-Suite Roles?

According to a report jointly published by McKinsey and Lean In, we are currently seeing the highest rate of voluntary departures among women in senior-level positions since they started collecting this kind of data five years ago. So what are the reasons for this increase?

Overworked and Underappreciated

According to the report, 43% of women in leadership roles report feeling burned out, compared to only 31% of men at the same level.

Among other things, women typically do more of the diversity, equity, and inclusion work within organizations. This is work that often goes underappreciated. Because they’re taking on more, women become stretched too thin in other areas, which inevitably leads to burnout. 

Microaggressions

This is a little bit difficult to quantify but as I read the report, I saw multiple statistics having to do with microaggressions in the workplace. These small acts of discrimination add up and can wear on a person to the point where they no longer feel valued or comfortable in their role.

For example, the report asked leaders whether anyone had ever said or implied that they weren’t qualified for their role. Of all of the men in leadership roles, only 6% experienced this type of microaggression. For women, it was 12% and for Black women, it was a shocking 20%.

Work-Life Balance

49% of female leaders say flexibility is one of the top three things they consider when deciding whether to join or stay with a company, compared to only 34% of men in these same types of roles. Of course, we all want work-life balance, but I think there’s a lot more at play here.

As women, we take on so much more of the childcare and household management duties, and to me, the data proves that even in these prestigious upper management roles, having the flexibility to manage these additional duties is something that women want way more than men.

A Lack of Support

Our current workplace culture is designed to fast-track men into leadership roles. It is not designed to do the same for women, especially women of color.

According to the Women in the Workplace 2022 report, 59% of Black women leaders want to be top executives, compared to 49% of women leaders overall. Unfortunately, 22% of female leaders said they decided to step down from their roles due to an unsupportive manager. It’s a shame that women and women of color aren’t being supported the same way men are.

The Time to Fix This is Now

We have to be more supportive of women in leadership roles and we have to make it easier for women to achieve these roles in the first place.

We have to give women the flexibility to manage their lives outside of work so they can show up to work feeling recharged, not drained. And we have to create a respectful company culture so women don’t have to navigate microaggressions as they try to do their work. I would hate to see us backslide and see even less diversity in the workplace, especially in these C-Suite roles. 

If you are looking to move into a mid- or senior-level role, I would love to help you. We can work together privately to get you into those types of opportunities. And if you work for an organization that wants to promote more women from within, I can help you with that as well. I offer consultation services for organizations on leadership development and talent acquisition.

What are your thoughts about women leaving executive-level roles? I’d love to hear whether you’ve experienced any of these issues in your role or if there’s something I might have missed!