Fewer Women Reaching Leadership Roles in the UK for Third Year in a Row: LinkedIn Report

• In the UK, the percentage of women in leadership roles has declined for the third consecutive year
• Women only accounted for 36.8% of leadership roles in the year that ended on March 1, 2025
• This is a 2.1% drop from the previous year.

According to recent data from LinkedIn, the number of women appointed to leadership positions in the UK has decreased for the third consecutive year. The results demonstrate that as women's careers advance, they still encounter increasing obstacles in achieving high positions.

In the year ending March 1, women held just 36.8 percent of leadership positions in the UK, a 2.1 percent decrease from the year before. With this decline, the proportion of women in senior positions returns to what it was in 2020.

Although there has been some improvement since 2019, the growth rate has drastically slowed, with women holding 30.9 percent of top management positions in 2024 compared to 27.6 percent in 2019. The increase has only been 0.3 percentage points over the last two years.

The data also shows that older women have a harder time moving up to senior roles. Just 19.4 percent of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) hold leadership roles, compared to 28.9 percent of Gen X, 36.7 percent of millennials, and 39.3 percent of Gen Z.

LinkedIn's analysis of its 43 million UK members also shows a greater decline in female hiring. As of March 2025, 45.8 percent of UK hires were women, a 4.6 percent drop from the previous year. The situation is similar worldwide: despite making up 43.2 percent of the workforce, women only occupy 30.9 percent of senior leadership positions.

The gender gap is even more pronounced in fields like science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), where women hold only 12 percent of leadership positions. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the workplace, LinkedIn is urging employers and the government to move toward skills-based hiring.

As AI transforms our workplace and demands more flexible, team-oriented leaders, women's advancement into senior positions has stagnated for the third year in a row, according to Janine Chamberlin, "UK Country Manager at LinkedIn. Women are 20 percent more likely than men to have a variety of experience in a range of fields and job roles, which is precisely the type of leadership we currently require. But at a time when their abilities are most needed, we're denying them important positions."

According to LinkedIn, hiring practices that prioritize skills over degrees could more than sixfold expand the pool of female talent worldwide.