The Broken Rung: Why Women Still Feel Stuck in Their Careers

You’re great at your job. You meet deadlines. You navigate crisis with the precision of a surgeon. You hold things together when it feels like everything might fall apart.

But you’re still stuck in mid-level leadership.

You’re not imagining it. You’re not crazy. You’re not broken.

You’re simply not playing a game that was designed for women like you to win. And in today’s economy? The stakes have never been higher.

This blog is for every high-achieving woman who’s whispered, “I feel stuck in my career,” while smiling through yet another meeting that should have been an email. For every leader who’s typed “what to do when you feel stuck in your career” into Google at 2:13 AM while their soul quietly screamed for change.

I see you. Because I was you.

My Story: I Did Everything Right (And Still Felt Trapped)

For 33 years, I worked in international banking and tech. I was the fixer—the one they sent in when projects were going down in flames. I led teams across continents. I rescued multi-million-dollar deliverables. I made my bosses look good—some so good I practically did their jobs for them.

I did it all while raising a son with ADHD, caring for my aging mother, and holding the emotional weight of everyone around me. And I did it well. Consistently.

And still—I couldn’t crack the next level.

I networked. I upskilled. I leaned in. I stepped back from managing 100+ direct reports when burnout hit me like a brick wall. I followed every piece of conventional career advice. But no matter how hard I worked, I remained stuck in my job. And worse? I felt trapped by it.

Every so often, the misery would peek through. But mostly, I bottled it up. I applied to new roles. Nothing landed. I wondered what was wrong with me.

The answer? Nothing. I was simply out of alignment.

The Current Job Market is Not Your Friend—But That Doesn't Mean You're Powerless

Let’s get honest.

Today’s job market is volatile. AI disruption, corporate layoffs, political and economic instability—it’s all converging to make career transitions riskier than ever.

For women in finance and tech, the terrain is especially rough. You’re expected to do more with less, lead with empathy but perform like a machine, and smile through it all without showing the cost it takes on your body, mind, or spirit.

So if you’ve been telling yourself, "I feel stuck at my job, but it’s not safe to leave," you’re not wrong.

And yet… staying miserable is its own form of risk.

Every year you stay stuck in a role that drains you is a year you delay your leadership, your influence, and your joy. You don’t have to blow up your life to break through. But you do have to stop pretending it will fix itself.

According to Harvard Business Review’s “When You're Stuck in a Job You Can’t Quit”, it’s not uncommon for professionals to feel lost, stagnant, or emotionally trapped in their careers—especially when quitting isn’t a viable option.

Why Competence No Longer Equals Promotion (and the Truth About the Broken Rung)

You’re likely outperforming your peers. You probably have years (if not decades) of receipts proving your value. But here’s what no one tells you:

Competence makes you indispensable. It doesn’t make you promotable.

In fact, studies by McKinsey and LeanIn show that women in mid-level leadership roles are leaving their companies at the highest rate ever recorded. According to the 2023 Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey & LeanIn, women leaders are switching jobs at unprecedented rates—driven by lack of advancement, inflexible cultures, and burnout.

Let’s talk about the real bottleneck: “The Broken Rung.” According to the same report, this concept describes how women are systematically held back from advancement—not just at the entry-level, but at every level of leadership. While it's often associated with the first step up to manager, newer research shows the numbers of women advancing from mid-level to senior leadership are also dropping at an alarming rate.

This isn't just a pipeline problem. It's a systemic one.

For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 87 women are. For women of color? That number drops even lower.

So while women are entering the workforce in equal numbers, they're stalled at multiple leadership checkpoints.

If you never got that early promotion—or the mid-level visibility you deserved—you’ve been climbing with a limp ever since. And the system never slows down to let you catch up. According to the 2023 Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey & LeanIn, women leaders are switching jobs at unprecedented rates—driven by lack of advancement, inflexible cultures, and burnout. Why? Because they’re overlooked, undervalued, and overburdened.

The old playbook is broken.

To rise now, you don’t need to “do more.” You need to lead differently.

Want to dive deeper?
Watch the Free On-Demand Aligned Leadership Masterclass and discover how high-achieving women are rising—without burning out, selling out, or starting over.

Introducing: The 6 Pillars of Aligned Leadership

This is the framework that changed everything for me—and now, for the brilliant women I coach.

1. Establish Your Baseline

If you feel stuck in your job, this is where we begin. We assess your energy, values, and misalignment points. Most women don’t realize how deep the burnout runs until they map it. Your Life Wheel doesn’t lie.

2. Deepen Self-Awareness & Clarify Core Values

Feeling stuck at work often comes from betraying your own truth. You’re making decisions from fear or obligation, not alignment. When we anchor into your real values, clarity returns.

3. Mindset Shifts & Emotional Resilience

When you feel trapped in your job, your nervous system is already in survival mode. We shift limiting beliefs, release perfectionism, and build internal safety. You become unshakable.

4. Visioning & Goal-Setting

Forget SMART goals. We build a future vision that pulls you forward. Not the job you think you "should" want, but the one your soul has been craving.

5. Authentic Expression & Aligned Leadership

This is where we reclaim your voice, your presence, your truth. You stop performing leadership and start being the leader.

6. Integration & Expansion

The transformation isn’t a one-and-done. We make it real, sustainable, and magnetic. You lead differently, live differently—without quitting your job (unless and until it’s time).

Why Coaching is the Accelerator That Strategy Alone Can’t Touch

You don’t need another career webinar. You don’t need another LinkedIn workshop. You need someone who sees through the BS you’ve been sold and can help you finally come home to your own power.

Coaching collapses the timeline between stuck and sovereign.

Because what’s really keeping you stuck in your job isn’t lack of skill.

It’s the invisible weight of:

• Guilt

• Exhaustion

• Over-giving

• Fear of being "too much"

• Fear of being not enough

And these don’t go away with promotions. They just get heavier.

Forbes echoes this sentiment in “10 Tips to Stop Feeling Stuck in Your Career”, stating that alignment—not just activity—is key to fulfillment and forward momentum.

Let’s Get You Unstuck (Without Burning It All Down)

You don’t have to jump ship. You don’t have to start over. You don’t even have to know exactly what’s next.

You just have to stop pretending it’s fine when it’s not.

You don’t need fixing. You need realignment.

The Aligned Leadership Mini-Mastermind was built for women like you. Women who are done feeling lost in their career. Women who want to rise without sacrificing their wellbeing. Women who are ready to lead from truth, not templates.

This is the work. This is the way out. And this is your moment.

Call to Action:

What about you, Brave Soul? Where are you pretending to be "fine" when you're actually drowning?

Let’s start the conversation. Comment below: What’s the one thing you’ve been telling yourself you’ll do 'once things calm down at work'?

And if you’re ready to get unstuck without burning it all down? Join us for the inaugural 6-week Aligned Leadership Mini-Mastermind starting May 6th. Get all the details here!

Let’s make this the year you rise—without losing yourself in the climb.

Want to read more? Check out these related blogs:

Women Leadership: You Weren’t Hired to Check a Box - Own Your Power & Lead Boldly

Leadership Defined: Align, Lead, and Succeed