Corporate Success Linked to Increased Burnout for Women Leaders

• There are high levels of exhaustion among women holding high corporate positions
• According to a report by McKinsey & LeanIn.org, burnout rates among senior-level women are the highest in five years

Women who make it to senior roles in corporate America are experiencing very high degrees of burnout. According to the report issued by McKinsey and Lean In.Org, burnout for senior-level women is at its highest rate in five years.

“In a study done by Women in the Workplace 2025, about 60 percent of senior women reported recently that they had frequently experienced feelings of burnout, compared with 50 percent of senior men,” according to a report.

“They found that women who were newer to senior roles were having an even harder time. Seventy percent of senior women with fewer than five years with their current company reported frequent feelings of burnout, while 81 percent of senior women said they were concerned with their own job security.” Black women are having particularly high levels of feelings of burnout with regards to their job security.

Besides, it is stated that “the gender differences for burnout and job security become equal with tenure, but often there is more scrutiny for women to prove themselves to be tough when entering new organizations.”

The research polled 9,500 employees in 124 companies from July to August and incorporated interviews with 62 HR executives, as well as data from companies on their employees, totaling some 3 million.

Lean In.org and McKinsey have been monitoring the progress of women in companies’ talent pipelines since 2015 and identifying where companies are falling short.

The results of this year’s survey shown that women at senior levels face more barriers to advancement than men. Women who have been hesitant to be considered for advancement number 11 percent who do not see an opportunity for advancement with their company, while 3 percent of men have that view.

More women also view burnout or unhappy executives above them with 21 percent of senior women viewing these individuals, almost double that of men.

It is also highlighted that the number of organizations providing support for women is down: at least one in six organizations has reduced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, 13 percent have ended women's career programs, and 13 percent have reduced sponsorship programs for women.

This is extremely important because employees who have sponsors get promoted almost twice as often as those who don't.