There’s More to the Story Than the Glass Ceiling
A promotion can look like progress and still come with conditions worth questioning.
That was on my mind reading the recent reporting about McKinsey senior partner Chris Bradley. According to Bloomberg, McKinsey removed Bradley from leadership responsibilities following a review of his LinkedIn comments questioning the glass cliff women face in leadership. He remained a senior partner at the firm. Company Business News
The glass ceiling describes barriers to reaching senior leadership. The glass cliff concerns the circumstances in which an opportunity becomes available, including appointments to leadership when an organization is already struggling.
The research deserves a thoughtful reading. A 2020 meta-analysis found evidence supporting the glass cliff, while also finding that its size and consistency varied across settings and study designs. It does not mean every woman inherits a crisis. It does give us reason to examine the conditions surrounding an appointment before drawing conclusions about the person leading it. the University of Groningen research portal
But the conversation left me thinking about something beyond the appointment itself.
What else is happening in a woman’s life while she is navigating these conditions?
For women in midlife, that question can change how we understand ambition, opportunity and the decisions that follow.
The career is only part of the picture
Imagine considering a bigger role while coordinating care for a parent, helping a young adult become financially independent and trying to understand why you are no longer sleeping well.
The opportunity may be exciting. You may be qualified and ready. You may also have questions about travel, flexibility, staffing and whether the expectations are realistic.
Those questions deserve serious answers.
The 2025 Caregiving in the US research from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving helps explain why. Women account for 61% of family caregivers, and the average caregiver is 51. These are figures for caregivers overall, rather than a study exclusively of women in midlife, but they help show how closely caregiving and the middle years of a career can overlap. AARP Research Report
AARP also reports that six in ten family caregivers are employed. Half of employed caregivers experience disruptions to work, such as arriving late or leaving early to care for someone. aarp.org
Behind those numbers are appointments, phone calls, transportation, paperwork and decisions that cannot always wait until after business hours.
Some of that work is visible. Much of it happens between meetings.
Your own needs are changing, too
Midlife can also bring changes in health, relationships and the way we see ourselves.
In a Mayo Clinic study published in 2023, 13.4% of 4,440 employed women ages 45 to 60 reported at least one adverse work outcome related to menopause symptoms. The sample was predominantly white and drawn from Mayo Clinic patients, so the findings should not be treated as an estimate for every working woman. Still, they document work difficulties that deserve attention and support. Mayo Clinic News Network
Alongside health changes, there may be grief, a relationship ending, children leaving home or financial responsibilities that have grown rather than eased.
There can also be a quieter shift: realizing that the goals you worked toward for years need another look.
These experiences vary. A woman does not need to be a parent or caregiver to find midlife complicated. Nor does this season necessarily mean stepping back. It can bring greater confidence, clearer priorities and a willingness to pursue something previously postponed.
The point is to leave room for the whole experience.
What are we calling a lack of ambition?
When a woman questions an opportunity, it is worth listening closely to what she is asking.
Does she want the role, but need reliable flexibility?
Is she concerned about inheriting a struggling team without the authority or resources to make changes?
Has she spent years doing more than the job required and become more selective about what she takes on next?
Or does she want something different now?
Those are different situations. They deserve different responses.
McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace 2025 report found that, among participating companies, 93 women were promoted to manager for every 100 men. The report also notes limitations in its company sample. Even with that qualification, it is a reminder that women’s career decisions take place within structures that still provide uneven opportunities. McKinsey
My concern is how easily a complex decision can become a simple judgment about commitment.
A woman asking whether an opportunity is sustainable may have a very clear understanding of what it will take to succeed.
Support needs to be practical
After more than 20 years working at the intersection of people, organizations and change, I pay attention to the conditions people are expected to work within.
When a role is demanding, what authority comes with it? Who will sponsor the person taking it on? Is there a realistic plan for staffing and resources? Can someone use flexibility without quietly losing access to the next opportunity?
These are useful leadership questions.
At home, support also needs to include ownership of responsibilities. Who notices what needs doing, makes the arrangements and follows through? Having someone help with a task can be valuable. Sharing responsibility for making sure it happens can make a different kind of space.
For women themselves, understanding what has changed can help clarify the next decision. That reflection might lead to negotiating a role, asking for support, changing direction or deciding that the opportunity is worth pursuing.
Reflection can help us make choices. Organizations still have responsibility for fair opportunities and workable conditions.
A few questions worth making room for
If you are considering what comes next, try these:
What has changed in my life since I first chose this goal?
What do I want from this opportunity?
What conditions would help me succeed?
Which responsibilities need to be shared or reconsidered?
Am I choosing freely, or working around a barrier I have come to accept?
I would like us to bring that same curiosity to conversations about women’s careers. Before interpreting a decision as hesitation, reduced ambition or an unwillingness to lead, ask what the person is weighing.
There may be much more to the story than we can see from work.
