When Laura Mather returned to work after having her second child, she was focused on balancing work and family life. When her boss told her he was nominating her for Managing Director, her first instinct was hesitation. “I’m not sure I’m ready,” she admitted—even though her boss said she was the number one candidate.

With his encouragement, Laura moved forward. She realized that without her boss’s push, it would have taken her longer to progress—unlike many of her male counterparts, who were actively advocating for themselves. “I realized my boss had more faith in me than I had in myself. I needed to have more confidence.”

Today, Laura is the Group Chief Operating Officer at Société Générale, a leading multinational financial services company valued at approximately $30 billion.

Laura’s experience isn’t unusual. We often hear that women need encouragement to reach for the next step, even when they are eminently qualified. Bain’s research on women's leadership has long focused on two key enablers of women’s career ascension: aspiration to reach the executive level and confidence in one’s ability to achieve that goal. Bain’s latest survey of over 9,000 men and women across the US and Western Europe shows significant gains among women in aspiration and confidence over the past 10 years. But the work isn’t done yet; there are many other Lauras out there, and the data still shows a gap compared to men.

Notable gains across the board

Women have made significant workplace progress over the past decade in terms of more equal representation, particularly in leadership. Women’s representation in mid and senior management rose by 5 percentage points, while their presence roughly doubled at the CEO and board levels of Fortune 500 companies—from 5% of CEOs and 17% of board members in 2014 to 11% and 30%, respectively, in 2024 (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

This shift reflects a larger workforce trend: Women are outpacing men in earning college degrees and make up roughly half of the entry-level workforce. As companies compete on innovation, problem-solving, and execution, firms that don’t succeed in attracting and retaining women are leaving a lot of high potential talent on the table—or, worse, passing up great candidates for their competitors to snap up. Further, numerous studies have shown that increased gender diversity, particularly in senior leadership or on the board, is correlated with stronger business performance, including higher profitability.

Not surprisingly, women’s aspiration and confidence levels have also grown significantly. In 2014, only 16% of mid-career women aspired to top management, and 13% felt confident they could reach it. By 2019, those figures climbed to 38% for aspiration and 41% for confidence. By 2024, they had risen further to 54% and 59%, respectively, showcasing significant progress over the decade (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

Leaders like Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Tapestry, a $7 billion house of iconic accessories and lifestyle brands, found the aspiration and confidence to reach the next level when she realized the CEO role could take many forms. She shares, “Being a CEO was never on my radar—until a mentor told me, ‘CEOs come in many styles. Just because you haven’t seen one that shares your background and leadership style doesn’t mean you can’t do the job and make it your own.’ That changed everything for me.”

Broad investments in enterprise-wide efforts fuel progress

Since 2019, organizations have taken significant steps to improve women’s career growth, primarily through enterprise-wide policies and efforts that have been widely adopted (see Figure 3). By 2024, 57% of employees surveyed believed their companies offered flexible work arrangements, up from 23% in 2019. Access to leadership, communication, and networking training grew from 37% in 2019 to 62% in 2024.

Figure 3

The data confirms that these initiatives are improving aspiration and confidence for everyone, not just women. Aspiration and confidence for both women and men have risen significantly since 2019 (see Figure 4). And while historically we found that women’s aspiration and confidence dipped mid-career before rising again at senior levels, that dip has now disappeared. Instead, women’s aspiration and confidence rise steadily throughout their careers, and we see the largest gains at the mid-career and senior levels.

Figure 4

While this progress is worth celebrating, women still lag men in aspiration and confidence across all levels. Organizations looking to harness the full potential of their talent pool should be seeking the best next steps to sustain momentum and ensure all employees can thrive and contribute at their highest level.

From policies and programs to sustained behavioral shifts

To determine the most effective ways to further boost aspiration and confidence, we tested various interventions to see which were most strongly linked to higher aspiration and confidence levels among women. We also evaluated which interventions women perceive as most critical and whether organizations have widely adopted these interventions. Combining these metrics, three categories emerged (see Figure 5).

Figure 5

The first category, “Table Stakes,” consists of policies that are highly valued by employees and widely adopted by companies. These policies, which are relatively straightforward to implement as standalone HR benefits, include flexible work options, paid parental leave, and adequate healthcare coverage.

Policies in the second category, “Best Practices,” are highly valued by employees and also effectively increase aspiration and confidence. These are enterprise-wide efforts that go beyond policy changes—for example, unbiased recruiting and promotion decisions or leadership trainings.

The third and potentially most influential category is the “Emerging Differentiators”: high-impact interventions that are not yet widely appreciated or adopted. These are largely leadership behaviors, and the 10 global senior women executives we interviewed highlighted pivotal moments when these critical behaviors accelerated their path to the top. The four key emerging differentiators are:

• Fostering a growth mindset that encourages risk-taking: Our research shows that growth opportunities and transparent feedback are top drivers of inclusion, which is a key enabler to unlocking innovation and the full potential of talent. Many women feel they must “check every box” before pursuing a role. A growth mindset reframes risk as a learning opportunity, reinforcing that success isn’t about knowing everything or getting everything right, but about continuously growing and adapting.
• Enabling employees to make career choices that fuel their energy: Employees are more fulfilled when they do work that energizes them, and their performance reflects that. Leaders help by guiding employees to identify where they get energy from and providing the flexibility to pursue those areas, creating opportunities that accelerate career growth by leaning into those strengths.
• Maximizing transparency in career path options: Career success isn’t one-size-fits-all; sometimes it’s a direct climb and other times it involves building a “passport” of skills through lateral moves. But employees don’t always have clear visibility into available paths. Organizations can equip leaders to act as guides, helping employees identify the skills needed for advancement and the pathways to develop them.
• Valuing authentic and diverse leadership styles: Great leaders don’t fit a single mold. Research shows that authentic leaders—those who lead in a way that aligns with their values and strengths—are more effective. They build trust, boost engagement, and drive better team performance. Recognizing that different leadership styles can all be successful helps unlock the full potential of talent.

See what 10 global senior executive women have to say about the pivotal moments where these practices shaped their careers—plus their best advice for future women leaders:

This type of widespread behavior change requires ongoing effort from everyone, everywhere, all the time. It’s not just about benefits or HR policies—it’s about leaders showing up with intention during key moments that shape careers.

Our research, spanning Everyday Moments of Truth (2014), Charting the Course (2017), and Gender Parity: Inspiring Women to Reach for the C-Suite (2020), has explored key factors driving women’s aspiration and confidence, much of which is shaped by frontline managers. As seen in the experiences above, great leaders and mentors are already making a difference—but often in an ad hoc, case-by-case way. The data shows that these behaviors, while impactful, are not yet widely adopted. The next phase of growth isn’t dependent on individual women finding the right mentor; it’s about embedding these behaviors into everyday leadership so all talent has the support needed to reach its full potential.

At Bain & Company, we’ve been committed to helping organizations unlock the full potential of their talent for decades—and we’re proud to be recognized as a leader. If you’d like to explore this further, our experts are here to help you shape the next generation of leaders and build an organization where everyone thrives.