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Companies spend billions annually<\/a> on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). However, experts predict that gender parity will lag for another 151 years. Worse, a recent report<\/a> showed that, for the first time in years, the number of women in leadership is declining. It\u2019s time to recognize society has overlooked a key piece of the gender parity puzzle.<\/p>\n Women trail men in leadership<\/a> roles, workplace tenure<\/a>, and compensation. Understandably, the conversation often assumes an us-versus-them paradigm in which women are pitted against men.<\/p>\n Even our terminology emphasizes this construct. Terms like the \u201cglass ceiling\u201d and, more recently, the \u201cbroken rung\u201d<\/a> in the corporate leadership ladder point the finger at society\u2019s gender biases for limiting women\u2019s professional advancement. While damaging biases still exist, we notably neglect to acknowledge another factor in women\u2019s workplace experiences: unhealthy dynamics between women.<\/p>\n In my career, I\u2019ve been undermined in projects, excluded from meetings, and threatened with loss of my position on multiple occasions, but not by men\u2014by other women.<\/p>\n A female leader once offered me a director-level position (for work I was already doing, with no increase in pay). I was skeptical, as I had learned through working with her that an offer almost always precedes an uncomfortable ask. I quickly realized that, in exchange for official recognition in this role, I\u2019d need to agree to terms that raised ethical questions in my mind.<\/p>\n When I expressed my concerns and subsequently declined this so-called \u201cpromotion,\u201d she informed me that I would no longer be permitted in meetings and restricted my other activities. In other words, \u201cDon\u2019t speak unless spoken to.\u201d<\/p>\n Needless to say, this experience impacted my emotional health and sense of safety in my job. I ultimately left this role but encountered similar dynamics elsewhere in other ways.<\/p>\n Despite the popular narrative that \u201cwomen support women,\u201d the data reflects that my experience isn\u2019t uncommon. When considering female bullies in the workplace, one\u00a0survey<\/a> found women target women 65% of the time.<\/p>\n While men may opt for more overt or direct tactics, another survey found that women tend to engage in covert<\/a> or indirect bullying, such as social isolation, spreading rumors, or peer pressure to elicit a behavior from someone, all of which can be difficult for organizations to detect and manage.<\/p>\n Multiple studies<\/a> also found that toxic dynamics between women can be serious enough that women consider leaving their jobs, which poses an expensive problem for employees and employers alike.<\/p>\n Despite these stark statistics, dynamics between women are rarely (if ever) part of the discussion about why there are fewer women at the top of organizations.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s open ourselves to a more balanced conversation that recognizes both men and<\/em> women have work to do in elevating women to leadership roles.<\/p>\n The cause of the \u201cbroken rung\u201d should be seen as gender-neutral.\u00a0As women, we need to recognize that how we treat one another impacts how many of us stick around to rise in leadership. We should do better for one another.<\/p>\n Importantly, simply increasing the number of women in leadership doesn\u2019t address deep-rooted issues, like competition<\/a> or implicit <\/a>gender <\/a>bias<\/a>. While it was thought that women in senior roles would advocate for the rise of other women entering leadership, the data doesn\u2019t entirely reflect this. A Yale study<\/a> demonstrated that women chose a male candidate over another woman, even when they had identical resumes.<\/p>\n Women may believe there are limited seats available at the leadership table, which inherently drives competition for those coveted spots. Company incentives should exist for senior-level women to promote qualified junior-level women. This ensures the continuous advancement of women into leadership while diminishing fears of competition.<\/p>\n As for leadership hierarchies, many organizations have vertical reporting structures, where a single person serves as the gatekeeper to the leader directly above them, and so on.<\/p>\n First, this isolates senior leadership, making it more difficult for them to understand their employees\u2019 actual experiences. If a leader is unaware that the company culture is being undermined, they can\u2019t address the problem and, therefore, it becomes more pervasive.<\/p>\n\n