
The Broken Rung: Why Women Fall Behind at the First Promotion (And How to Beat the Odds)
From The Conferences for Women by The Conferences for Women
May 28, 2026
About this episode
Lareina Yee discusses the concept of the 'broken rung' and its impact on women's career advancement.
Everyone talks about the glass ceiling. But according to Lareina Yee, co-author of Broken Rung and former McKinsey senior partner, the more urgent problem is much closer to the ground. What Is the Broken Rung? The broken rung refers to the very first step on the career ladder: that initial promotion from individual contributor to […]
People in this episode
Guest: Lareina Yee
Topics covered
- career advancement
- gender equality
- promotions
- workplace challenges
- women in business
Keywords
- broken rung
- promotion
- women in the workplace
- career ladder
- glass ceiling
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: McKinsey
Books & works: Broken Rung
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