Why women’s struggle to get on the ‘boss-man’s ladder’ has got harder

The late Dolly Parton knew a thing or two about women’s ambition and getting ahead in a world that was not built for her. Parton’s song from the comedy film Nine to Five, released in 1980 and worth watching for Parton’s performance alone, became an anthem for women newly entering the workforce. The lyrics succinctly express working women’s struggle to be taken seriously, the lack of credit they were given and poor pay and conditions: “9 to 5, for service and devotion/You would think that I/Would deserve a fair promotion/Want to move ahead/ But the boss won’t seem to let me/I swear sometimes that man is out to get me.”Parton was right about promotion. We know now – from decades of research in Ireland and the US – that leadership is a harder journey for women. Forget Leaning In, Dressing for Success and Power Poses, the workplace is simply not built for women to get ahead. We’re meant to be the supporting act, not the main performer. Women’s progression experiences and structural barriers at work are largely down to gendered perceptions, not their capabilities, credentials or confidence, research shows. Inequality at work is not an inevitable outcome because women are less able or deserving. It’s a choice, conscious or otherwise, to maintain a structure that was never built for women.READ MOREOrganisational culture has not kept pace with social and historical shifts for women, says Yseult Freeney, professor of organisational psychology at DCU Business School, who studies women in the workforce. The prevailing 1950s-era ideal worker norm, which necessitates continuous presence and availability, negatively impacts women, who still shoulder most of the caring responsibilities.Independent think tank Tasc released their annual report on inequality earlier this month. The State We’re in: Inequality in Ireland found: “The central lesson from 25 years of Tasc’s research is that inequality is not an inevitable outcome of economic or technological change. It is produced and reproduced through policy decisions, institutions and distributions of power. Those arrangements can be changed. The task is not only to compensate people for unequal outcomes, but to build an economy and society that produce greater equality from the outset.”[ Women make friends differently from men at workOpens in new window ]Women are a permanent part of the Irish workforce and public life now; there’s no going back. The number of women at work has increased by a whopping 90 per cent since 2000, with more than 1.3 million women in employment in the second quarter of 2026, according to a recent report from the Central Statistics Office. When it comes to workforce changes, this is the standout trend. You would think that with all these women in employment, attitudes towards female leadership would improve, structural barriers would be dismantled and pay disparities eliminated. Think again.Fair promotionWhen women ask for more – leadership positions, improved pay and conditions – there’s often pushback. Just look at the two recent GAA controversies: the delayed integration of the men’s and women’s associations and attempts to force players to wear skorts vs shorts. Our former president Mary McAleese thought she could help integrate the women and men’s GAA associations – after being asked to do so – on an agreed timeline. [ Mary McAleese’s accusations cannot be waved off by the GAA – they need to get integration rightOpens in new window ]Full integration of the three associations was to happen by 2027 but leadership wants to go slowly. No matter that 90 per cent of GAA members want to see this change, expressing a particular desire for fairness in critical areas such as shared facilities, aligned fixtures, equitable finance and comprehensive player welfare. Is it that the steering committee – chaired by a woman – was just pushing things too far, too fast?Other jurisdictions have even more decades of research on barriers to women’s leadership progression than we do. Harvard Business Review began studying American attitudes to women at work in 1965. This year, academics Dwayne Whitten, Wendy R Boswell and Susan Oldroyd built on this foundation with survey results of 193 American-based senior executives across industries plus qualitative interviews with a number of the respondents. “What the combined data reveal is not simply that bias persists, but rather specific and troubling new developments. While attitudes improved sharply between 1965 and 2006, the years since have produced a gap in how men and women experience evaluation, standards and opportunity. The divergence indicates progress on the surface, but deterioration underneath.”The leadership pipeline problem is structural, not attitudinal. “Male executives attributed it to the demands of operational roles’ interference with flexibility that parents of young children may desire. Female executives, examining the same pattern, pointed to something different. They felt that assumptions were applied before women were ever asked. As one executive stated directly, ‘We don’t ask the woman whether she is interested; we simply assume she is not’.”“It is measurably easier for women to advance in staff functions such as HR, finance and legal than in operational P&L [profit and loss] roles.” Research suggests that men are three times more likely than women to be actively encouraged to take on P&L responsibility, and it is from these roles that most people get promoted. In Ireland, organisations – including political parties – have focused largely on publicly visible efforts, like pretty cupcakes and inspirational talks on International Women’s Day, diversity policies and statements, without changing the processes and structures that actually determine who gets ahead and why.[ What’s really holding women back at work?Opens in new window ]Brian Sheehan, chief executive of Women for Election, says men and women are not judged on the same merits for leadership, even by themselves. “You have to ask a woman to run for election five times before she will, whereas, with a man, it’s once or twice. Culturally, there’s a deep undermining of women’s capabilities, talents, skills and experiences. The wider perception is that women are unwelcome in this area.”When it comes to choosing political party candidates he says, “Incumbency has the highest value in politics; it’s visibility over skills. Women are asked to prove they’re well able to do it, whereas men just need to have the potential to do it.”Boss-man’s ladderSadly, it has become harder for women to get on Dolly Parton’s “boss-man’s ladder” in recent years, as DEI efforts have stalled or been dismantled. “Organisations invested heavily in visible signals of inclusion while leaving intact the informal interpretive habits that shape who is seen, developed and trusted with the roles that lead to the top,” the HBR researchers found.“The tools required for a redesign – predefined criteria, structured documentation, P&L pipelines, and actionable feedback – are already at our disposal. What sixty years of evidence makes clear is that the barrier was never the tools; it was the willingness to actually use them.”DCU’s Freeney says structural and cultural changes are imperative. Visibility bias in the workplace favours those who are physically present, which may affect gender pay and promotion opportunities for women. Cultural shifts Normalise paternity leave for senior men to help reduce stigma associated with fatherhood and encourage positive parenting.Promote flexible working practices as an option for all employees, regardless of parental or caregiving status.Frame career breaks such as maternity, paternity and parental leave as brief pauses in a long-term career rather than big disruptions or skill erosion.Managerial supportsChallenge personal assumptions regarding women’s professional ambitions and commitment after maternity leave.Implement practical tool kits and one-page conversation guides to help managers navigate caring leave processes effectively.Margaret E Ward is chief executive of Clear Eye, a leadership consultancy. margaret@cleareye.ie