Latest / Women at Work: Career, Leadership & Modern Work / How the Gender Gap in Career Sponsorship Holds Women Back
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this stat from the Center for Talent Innovation — I think it's from a study they put out last year — that says men are 54 percent more likely than women to have a senior-level sponsor actively advocating for their next promotion. That's not a mentorship gap. That's a sponsorship gap. Luna: And we talk a lot about mentorship on this show, but sponsorship is a different beast entirely. A mentor gives you advice. A sponsor puts their reputation on the line to get you the seat at the table. Lucas: Exactly. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who's done the landmark research on this, calls sponsorship 'the overlooked career accelerator.' And the data is clear — women are over-mentored and under-sponsored. We get the coffee chats. We don't get the person who says, 'She should run that division.' Luna: So let's get into why that is. Is it because women don't ask? Or because when they do ask, it's perceived differently? Lucas: I think it's both. There's a classic study — I'm thinking of the one by Bowles and Babcock on negotiation — that found women who initiate negotiations for themselves are often seen as pushy or less likeable. Sponsorship is essentially a high-stakes ask. You're saying, 'Will you advocate for me in rooms I'm not in?' That carries a perceived risk for the sponsor, and women are less likely to have the social capital to make that ask feel safe. Luna: Right. And men are more likely to have informal networks where sponsorship happens naturally — golf games, late dinners, old-boy stuff. Women often don't have that same access. Lucas: So the gap is structural. But there are companies that have tried to fix it. I read about a case at a large tech firm — I think it was mentioned in a Harvard Business Review piece — where they implemented a formal sponsorship program. High-potential women were paired with senior executives who had explicit goals to advocate for their promotions. Luna: And what happened? Lucas: Within two years, promotion rates for women in the program increased by 22 percent. The key was that the sponsors were held accountable. They had to report on their mentees' progress. It wasn't just a feel-good buddy system. Luna: That's exactly the kind of structural fix that works. Because the problem isn't that women aren't ambitious or competent. It's that the pathway to sponsorship is invisible and biased. Lucas: Let's talk about what sponsorship actually looks like in practice. A sponsor doesn't just write a LinkedIn recommendation. They pick up the phone and say to the CEO, 'I think Sarah should be on the shortlist for the VP role.' They're putting their own credibility on the line. Luna: That's a very different ask than 'can you give me feedback on my presentation?' And I think that's where a lot of women get stuck. They're great at finding mentors. But they hesitate to ask for sponsorship because it feels presumptuous. Lucas: There's research showing that women tend to underestimate their own readiness for promotion. They wait until they meet 100 percent of the qualifications. Men apply when they meet 60 percent. So when a woman does ask for sponsorship, she often feels like she needs to prove she's already perfect for the role. A sponsor, though, is betting on potential — not perfection. Luna: That's a really important reframe. So for a listener who wants to find a sponsor, what's the first step? How do you even identify who could be a sponsor? Lucas: Look for someone who has influence and a track record of developing talent. It doesn't have to be your direct boss. It could be someone two levels up who you've worked with on a project. The key is to make your ambitions known. Say, 'I'm interested in moving into a leadership role in the next 18 months. Would you be open to a conversation about how I can position myself?' Luna: And then ask directly for advocacy. Not just advice. You might say, 'If an opportunity comes up, would you be willing to recommend me?' That's a concrete ask. Lucas: And if the answer is no, that's okay. Better to know early. Sponsorship is a two-way street. The sponsor has to believe in you. If they don't, you find someone else. Luna: But what about the risk to the sponsor? If a sponsor advocates for someone who doesn't perform, that reflects badly on them. So how do women signal that they're a safe bet? Lucas: Deliver consistently. Build a reputation for reliability. And also, be explicit about what you've achieved. Women sometimes downplay their wins. A sponsor needs to see that you can produce results. So keep a brag file. Share your wins in a way that's not boastful but factual. Luna: And organizations have a role too. They can make sponsorship more equitable by formalizing it, like that tech company did. But also by training senior leaders to recognize their own biases. Lucas: Yes. Because even well-intentioned leaders may unconsciously sponsor people who remind them of themselves. That's how homogeneity persists. If 80 percent of senior leaders are men, they're more likely to sponsor other men. Luna: So part of the solution is leadership diversity itself. But that's a long game. In the short term, what can a woman do if she's in a workplace with no formal sponsorship program? Lucas: Build your own network. Look for allies at your level and above. Join employee resource groups. Attend cross-functional meetings. The more people who see your work, the more potential sponsors you have. And don't underestimate the power of peer sponsorship — colleagues who will vouch for you in meetings. Luna: That's a good point. Sometimes the best sponsor is someone who's just one step ahead of you and can pull you up. Lucas: Exactly. The bottom line is sponsorship is a career multiplier. And the gap is real. But it's not unbridgeable. Awareness is the first step. Luna: And we hope this episode helps bridge that gap for some of our listeners. If today's conversation was valuable, you know where to find us. Lucas: Yeah. If this episode helped you think about sponsorship in a new way, and if it's worth a coffee to you, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every bit keeps us ad-free and focused on the topics that matter. Luna: And honestly, even just sharing this episode with a colleague helps. That's a form of sponsorship too. Lucas: Alright. So to wrap up: sponsorship is not a nice to have. It's a career necessity. And the data shows women are less likely to have it. But by being intentional — both as individuals and as organizations — we can close that gap. Next week, we're going to look at how the performance review process itself can be redesigned to reduce bias. Luna: Looking forward to it. Thanks for listening, everyone.